Just when I thought I got him to fall in love with Ten nes (C)see,
I should ’ve known (Dm7)bet ter than to take him back to Ab i (C)lene.
I put him right back in to her arms.
I was n’t a match for (Gsus)that kind of spark: she’s from Tex as.
I can (Fmaj9)tell by the way he’s two step pin’ ’round the (C)room.
And judg ing by the smile that’s (Dm7)writ ten on his face, there’s noth in’ I can (G)do.
It (G)does n’t take a (Fmaj9)crys tal ball to see.
A cow boy al ways (Am7)finds a way to leave.
Drink in’ Jack all by my (Fmaj7)self.
He’s choos in’ Tex as, I can (C)tell.
Well, I guess he for got a bout the Smok y Moun tain rain,
them old Hank tunes, the Mem phis blues we used to sing.
He al ways loved “Am a ril lo by Morn ing.” I should ’ve tak en that as a warn ing: she’s from Tex as.
I can He’s choos in’ Tex as, I can (C)tell.
When I’m east bound and down and I can’t help but cry, ’cause I For ty gets lone li er with (G)ev er y mile.
I’ll know that his mind was n’t (G)ev er gon na change, ’cause his (Dm7)heart still be longs to the (G)Lone Star State.
She’s from Tex as.
I can (Fmaj9)tell by the way he’s two step pin’ ’round the (C)room.
And judg ing by the smile that’s (Dm7)writ ten on his face, there’s noth in’ I can (G)do,
naw.
Yeah, it does n’t take a (Fmaj9)crys tal ball to see.
A cow boy al ways (Am7)finds a way to leave.
Drink in’ Jack all by my (Fmaj7)self.
He’s choos in’ Tex as, I can (Am7)tell,
no, oh.
Drink in’ Jack all by my self.
He’s choos in’ Tex as, I can (C)tell.
Oh, oh, yeah!
Just when I thought I got him to fall in love with Ten nes see.
This page shows “Choosin' Texas” by Ella Langley in our color-coded kid songbook view — every note is colored by pitch (red C, orange D, yellow E, green F, blue G, purple A, pink B) and the lyrics sit directly under each note, so children can sing along while they play. The song is in the key of C at 112 BPM, a medium-difficulty arrangement — try slowing the tempo down using the BPM control.
This arrangement is a great way to build your country rhythm chops in the key of C, where the chord shapes sit naturally under your fingers but the steady 112 BPM groove demands real control. Your right hand will carry the melody with a mix of quarter and eighth notes, and you'll want to watch for subtle syncopation in the vocal phrasing — resist the urge to rush those pickup notes heading into each chorus. Your left hand keeps a steady root-fifth pattern that drives the feel, so practice that independently until it's automatic. The trickiest spots tend to be transitions where the chord changes land just ahead of the downbeat; slow those bars to half tempo and loop them until the timing clicks. Use light sustain pedal, lifting cleanly on each chord change to keep things from getting muddy. Once this one feels comfortable, you'll notice your sense of rhythmic independence between hands has leveled up considerably — that's a skill that pays off in everything you play next.