There F was a mummy Am at the fair, all Dm crumpled in a F folding chair.
The Am people passed, but didn't care that the G mummy was a C man,
so G7 tell me if you C7 can
Chorus:
F Who are you? C7 F Who are you? C7
F Where have you Dm been, where are you G7 going to? C7
Well, F Andrew Mc F7 Crew must have Bb lost his Bbm way
'Cause though he F died long a G7 go he was C7 buried to F day. C7 F C7 F
Verse 1:
F Down on C7 nightmare F alley, C7 where the G7 shady people Csus2 sway C7
a F hobo C7 came a-hi F kin' C7 on a G7 salty summer Csus2 day C7
Well he F hopped a C7 freight in F Dallas, C7 and he G7 rode out of Csus2 sight C7
But on a F turn he F7 slipped, and he Bb lost his Bbm grip
and he F fell in C7 -to the F night. C7
Repeat Chorus
Verse 2: (same chords as first throughout all other verses)
Well, Andrew had one leg of wood, the other leg was small.
And when he fell off the train that night he found he had no legs at all.
Well they found him in the thicket, and the undertaker came.
And they mummified his body for a relative to claim.
Repeat Chorus
Verse 3:
But no one came to claim him, until the carnival passed through.
The carnies took him to their tent and they decided what to do.
Well they dressed him in a worn-out tugs and they put him on a stand.
And millions saw the legend called the `famous mummy man'.
Repeat Chorus
Verse 4:
Well, what a way to live a life and what a way to die.
Left to live a living death with noone left to cry.
Petrified amazement, and wonder beyond words,
A man who found more life in death than life gave him at birth.
Repeat Chorus
Verse 5:
But what about the ones who live and wish that they could go.
Whose lives are lost to living and performing for the show.
Well at least you got the best of life until it got the best of you,
So from all of us to what's left of you
Farewell, Andrew McCrew.
eadgbe eadgbe
Csus2: x32030 Bbm: xx3321
Nice to know:
The song is based on an authentic case. Andrew McCrew toured with
the carnival, posthumously, for about 35 years. He was buried in 1973.
That was when Don McLean read an article about him and wrote the song.
When the song came out, someone stepped forward and donated a headstone
on McCrew's previously unmarked grave. The fourth verse of the song is
carved on the headstone. (Anyway, that's what Don McLean tells on the
live album.)
Don McLean
