Clarence Carter
Patches Ukulele Chords
Clarence Carter “Patches” Capo 4 Written by: Catfish
F
I was born and raised down in Alabama
Em
On a farm way back up in the woods
C7
I was so raggedy, folks used call me, “Patches”
F Em Dm
Papa used to tease me ‘bout it
F A
Of course deep down inside he was hurt
Dm
‘Cause he’d done all he could
G
My papa was a great ol’ man
F
I can see him with a shovel in his hand
G
See, education he never had
F
But he did wonders when the time got bad
G
The little money from the crops he raised
F
Barely paid the bills we made
F D#
Oh, life it kicked him down to the ground
F F
When he tried to get up, life would kick him back down
F D#
One day papa called me to his dyin’ bed
F F
Put his hands on my shoulders and in tears he said
F
He said, “Patches
Em
I’m dependin’ on you, son
C7
To pull the family through
F Em Dm F A Dm
My son, it’s all left up to you”
G
Two days later papa passed away
F
And I became a man that day
G
So I told mama I was gonna quit school
F
But she said that was daddy’s strictest rule
G
So every morning ‘fore I went to school
F
I fed the chickens and I chopped wood too
F D#
Sometimes I felt that I couldn’t go on
F F
I wanted to leave, just run away from home
F D#
But I would remember what my daddy said
F F
With tears in his eyes on his dyin’ bed
F
He said, “Patches
Em
I’m dependin’ on you, son
C7
I tried to do my best
F Em Dm F A Dm
It’s up to you to do the rest”
F
But then one day a strong rain came
Em
And washed all the crops away
C7
And at the age of 13
F Em Dm F A
I thought I was carryin’ the weight of the whole world on my shoulders
Dm
And you know mama knew what I was going through
G
‘Cause every day I had to work the fields
F
‘Cause that’s the only way we got our meals
G
You see, I was the oldest of the family
F
And everybody else depended on me
G
Every night I heard my mama pray
F
Lord, give him strength to face another day
F D#
4 years have passed and all the kids have grown
F F
The angels took mama to a brand new home
F D#
God knows people, I she'd tears
F F
But my daddy’s voice kept me through the years
F
Sayin’, “Patches
Em
I’m dependin’ on you, son
C7
To pull the family through
F F A Dm
My son, it’s all left up to you”
F
I can still hear papa when he said, “Patches
Em
I’m dependin’ on you, son
C7
I tried to do my best
F Em Dm F A Dm
It’s up to you to do the rest”
F
I can still hear papa when he said, “Patches
Em
I’m dependin’ on you, son
C7
To pull the family through
