Bait Up from Nightsongs by Jan Hauenstein

Bait Up Jez Lowe

(Em) (D) (Em) (D) (Em) (D) (Cj7)
The (Em)village clock chimed (D)Home in Bed,
The (Em) old man spat and (D)swore.
I've been (Em)out to paint the (D)town, he said,
But the (Cj7)town isn´t (D)there any (Cj7)more.
(Em) Can I walk be(D)side you,
Though you're (Em)keen to be on your (Bm)way?
You must (Am)have someone that (Bm)waits for you
At the (D)end of this long (Cj7)day.
(Em)Rest (D)young (C)man,
In the shadow of the (D)clock we (Em)stand,
And I (C)feel it (C/B)creeping (Am)dark a(Am/G)cross my (D) brow.
I wish I (Am)had some(C)one to (Bm)put me bait up (Cj7)now.

(Em) My house, he said, will be (D)empty,
The (Em)grate will be long since (D)cold.
(Em) I might be my own (D)master,
But I´m a (Cj7)slave (D) to getting (Cj7)old.
It's a (Em)long time since I (D)woke up
To (Em)nowt but a lonely (Bm)night,
A (Am)long time since me (Bm)bait was waiting,
(D)Wrapped up neat and (Cj7)tight.
(Em)Rest (D)young (C)man,
In the shadow of the (D)clock we (Em)stand,
And I (C)feel it (C/B)creeping (Am)dark a(Am/G)cross my (D) brow.
I wish I (Am)had some(C)one to (Bm)put me bait up (Cj7)now.

(Em) I've walked my share of (D)young girls home
A(Em)cross this wintry (D)dark,
(Em) And had to leave them (D)sleeping
So as (Cj7)not to be (D)late for (Cj7)work.
I (Em)sometimes dream they (D)lie there still,
So (Em)soft and warm and (Bm)young,
But I (Am)guess they're old and (Bm)grey like me.
(D) Or even dead and (Cj7)gone.
(Em)Rest (D)young (C)man,
In the shadow of the (D)clock we (Em)stand,
And I (C)feel it (C/B)creeping (Am)dark a(Am/G)cross my (D) brow.
I wish I (Am)had some(C)one to (Bm)put me bait up (Cj7)now.
(Em) (D) (Em) (D) (Em) (D) (Cj7)

(Em) My father used to (D)warn me,
(Em) I thought that he was (D)mad
He said, (Em) Times that make you (D)happy
Just turn (Cj7)round and (D)make you (Cj7)sad.
(Em) I really shouldn't (D)drink this much,
At (Em)my age, it's just not (Bm)right.
But I'm (Am)tireder than two (Bm)deputies,
(D) I haven't eaten a (Cj7)bite.
(Em)Rest (D)young (C)man,
In the shadow of the (D)clock we (Em)stand,
And I (C)feel it (C/B)creeping (Am)dark a(Am/G)cross my (D) brow.
I wish I (Am)had some(C)one to (Bm)put me bait up (Cj7)now.
(Em) (D) (Em) (D) (Em) (D) (Cj7)

The way I play it.

© Jez Lowe, All Rights Reserved

janhauenstein@gmx.de

www.janhauenstein.com

Bait is slang for food, as eaten by the working miner at the coal-face. Someone to put my bait up means someone to share my bed at night, then see me off to work in the morning with something to eat at bait time. Jez Lowe

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