Vigilante Man
Words and music Woody Guthrie
Released on Dust Bowl Ballads (1964) and The Asch Recordings Vol 3; Hard Travelin’ (1998)
This is played in Woody's standard way, some hammer-ons on using the middle finger on the C and F chords.
Capo 2nd fret
Intro w/harp
C C C C F F F C F F C C G G C C
C
Have you seen that vigilante man?
F C
Have you seen that vigilante man?
F C
Have you seen that vigilante man?
G C
I been hearin' his name all over the land.
Well, what is a vigilante man?
Tell me, what is a vigilante man?
Has he got a gun and a club in his hand?
Is that a vigilante man?
Rainy night down in the engine house,
Sleepin' just as still as a mouse,
Man come along an' he chased us out in the rain.
Was that a vigilante man?
Stormy days we passed the time away,
Sleepin' in some good warm place.
Man come along an' we give him a little race.
Was that a vigilante man?
Preacher Casey was just a workin' man,
And he said, "Unite all you working men."
Killed him in the river some strange man.
Was that a vigilante man?
Oh, why does a vigilante man,
Why does a vigilante man
Carry that sawed-off shot-gun in his hand?
Would he shoot his brother and sister down?
I rambled 'round from town to town,
I rambled 'round from town to town,
And they herded us around like a wild herd of cattle.
Was that the vigilante men?
Have you seen that vigilante man?
Have you seen that vigilante man?
I've heard his name all over this land.
Words and music Woody Guthrie
Released on Dust Bowl Ballads (1964) and The Asch Recordings Vol 3; Hard Travelin’ (1998)
This is played in Woody's standard way, some hammer-ons on using the middle finger on the C and F chords.
Capo 2nd fret
Intro w/harp
C C C C F F F C F F C C G G C C
C
Have you seen that vigilante man?
F C
Have you seen that vigilante man?
F C
Have you seen that vigilante man?
G C
I been hearin' his name all over the land.
Well, what is a vigilante man?
Tell me, what is a vigilante man?
Has he got a gun and a club in his hand?
Is that a vigilante man?
Rainy night down in the engine house,
Sleepin' just as still as a mouse,
Man come along an' he chased us out in the rain.
Was that a vigilante man?
Stormy days we passed the time away,
Sleepin' in some good warm place.
Man come along an' we give him a little race.
Was that a vigilante man?
Preacher Casey was just a workin' man,
And he said, "Unite all you working men."
Killed him in the river some strange man.
Was that a vigilante man?
Oh, why does a vigilante man,
Why does a vigilante man
Carry that sawed-off shot-gun in his hand?
Would he shoot his brother and sister down?
I rambled 'round from town to town,
I rambled 'round from town to town,
And they herded us around like a wild herd of cattle.
Was that the vigilante men?
Have you seen that vigilante man?
Have you seen that vigilante man?
I've heard his name all over this land.
WRONG CHORDS!!!!!!!
Well they sound right when I play them listening along with the track. I'd be interested to know what you think the correct chords are..? Writing "wrong chords" is not all that helpful a correction! Did you make sure that you have a capo on fret 2?
I think they're correct, its just the technique is really important to get these three WG chord sounding right.
Fine Job, Keep up the good work!
Thank you for the chords! I play the ukulele and the higher voice makes the song sound too "clean". Respectfully I changed the G for G7 to make it sound more like Guthrie and then found that just switching down to the area of D made it sound better on the uke. No longer the correct chords but sounds good.