Old Black Kettle

Intro  
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      G                                   
Well, I remember when I was just little 
C 
Mama used to cook in an old black kettle  
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On an old wood stove she'd had since she was wed  
          G 
Well, the oven door was sprung a little bit  
        C 
So we propped it up with a fork and stick 
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But that didn't matter 'cause Mama kept us fed  


    G  
My mama and daddy must have loved each other 
       C 
'Cause I had 11 sisters and brothers  
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And the girls worked just as hard as the boys did  
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There was corn to hoe then we'd go hoe it 
    C 
We might have been poor but we didn't know it  
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We'd heard that word but we didn't know what it meant  

 
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Oh, we used to have such a good life 
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And the days that I knew then are the happiest I've known 
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And oh, didn't we have such a good time 
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And it's sad to think the old black kettle's gone 


      A 
Well, there was nothing that pleased us any better 
      D 
Than when we got an occasional letter  
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From kinfolks living up north in some big town  
       A  
We'd think of all the games we'd play 
     D  
And we just couldn't hardly wait  
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When our city cousins said they's a-coming down 


 
      A  
Now Mama's done away with the old black kettle 
     D 
She used to cook in when I was just little 
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And the door ain't sprung on her electric range  
       A  
That little farm and home we had 
          D  
It ain't there no more and that's too bad  
 E                                   A 
Folks are doin' away with the simple things  


 D                                A 
Oh, we used to have such a good life 
         E                                            A7 E 
And the days that I knew then are the happiest I've known  
     D                         A         
And oh, didn't we have such a good time  
                           E                 D 
And it's sad to think the old black kettle's gone  

Outro 
    D        A              E                 D 
Now I just mean to say the simple things are gone 
                        A 
The old black kettle's gone