Robert Earl Keen

Robert Earl Keen - Shades Of Gray guitar chord

Shades of Gray

Written and performed by:

Robert Earl Keen

CD: Picnic

Shades of Gray

Capo 5 to play with CD

Am----C----G--------Am

Am C

We made Oklahoma a little after 3

G Am

Randy, his brother Bob and my old GMC

We had some moonshine whisky

C

and some of Bob's homegrown

G

we were so messed up we didn't know

Am

if we were drunk or stoned

C

Randy was a sad-sack, tall kinda frail

G Am

Bob was a raving maniac, crazier than hell

C

They been kicked out of high school several years ago

G Am

for pushin over port-a-cans at the 4-H rodeo

Since then they've done their little dance

C

right outside the law

G Am

popped twice in Oklahoma, once in Arkansas

and I don't know what possessed me

C

to want to tag along

G

Cause I was raised a Christian

Am

and I knew right from wrong

CHORUS:

F C

Right or Wrong, black or white

G Am

Cross the line you're gonna pay

C G Am

In the dawn before the light

F G Am

Live and die by shades of gray

We stole two Charolais heffers from

Randy's sweetheart's paw

sold them at the livestock sale

outside of Witchita

We got $900 and never did suspect

the world of hurt we'd be in once

we cashed that check

next day we heard the story

on the local radio

made our plans that very night

to go to Mexico

I swear we would have made it

if it wasn't for that shine

I got sick about the time we crossed

that Kansas line

CHORUS

I was layin in the barditch

prayin I would die

when a light come on above us

and a voice come from the sky

a half a dozen unmarked cars

came screeching to a halt

They grabbed bob, he started screamin

it was all my fault

There were men and dogs

and helicopter buzzin all around

they had the brothers on the

pickup hood and me down on the ground

Bob flew all to pieces but randy he

held tight when a black man in a

suit and tie stepped out into the light

he told his men to turn us loose

they put down their guns

he said these are just some

sorry kids, they ain't the ones

CHORUS

They left us by the roadside

down hearted and alone

Randy got behind the wheel

said boys I'm going home

We turned around to face our fate

hungover but alive on that

mornin in late April, Oklahoma, 1995

F C

Right or Wrong, black or white

G Am

Cross the line you're gonna pay

C G Am

In the dawn before the light

F G Am

Live and die by shades of gray

F G Am

Live and die by shades of gray

repeat intro

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