Now ac Smack wa (C)ter Jack, (C)cap ture he for bought a shot gun,
’cause he know they was (C)in the (G)mood for a lit tle (C)sur con fron ta tion.
He just a let it all hang loose,
he did n’t (C7)think a bout the noose;
he could n’t (D)take no more a buse, so he shot down the con gre ga tion.
You can’t (D)talk
to a (Em)man
with a shot gun (Em7)in his (C)hand.
Now ac Big
Jim, (C)the chief, (C)cap ture stood n’t law and or der.
He called know
they for (C)old the (G)guard to come lit and (C)sur round the bor der.
You know the From his bull dog mouth,
he as he (C7)led the pos se south,
and came the (D)cry, “We’ve to to clean up the streets down the con gre ga tion.
You can’t (D)talk
to a (Em)man
with a shot gun (Em7)in his (C)hand.
for our wives and our daugh ters.”
You can’t (D)talk to a (Em)man
with a shot gun (Em)in his (C)hand.
for the un der tak er.
You can’t (D)talk to a (Em)man
with a (D)shot gun (Em7)in his (C)hand,
a (C7)shot gun in his hand.
(G)Smack wa ter Jack bought a shot gun.
Yeah!
Smack wa ter Jack bought (C)a shot gun.
(C)Yeah!
(G)Smack wa ter Jack bought a shot gun.
Yeah!
Smack wa ter Jack bought (C)a shot gun.
(C)Yeah!
This page shows “Smackwater Jack” by Carole King 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 G at 100 BPM, a comfortable easy-level arrangement perfect for first-time learners.