The Winner — Bobby Bare
Chords and lyrics for The Winner by Bobby Bare (key of C).
Verse 1
[C]The hulk of a man with a beer in is hand
[G]Looked like a drunk old fool
And I knew if I hit him right
Why I could[C] knock him off-a that stool
But ever'body they said Watch out,
Hey, that's[F] Tiger Man McCool
He's had a[G] whole lot of fights
And he's always come out a [C]winner
[G]Yea!, he's a[C] winner.
[C]But I'd had myself about five too many
[G]And I walked up tall and proud
I faced his back and I faced the fact
That he had [C]never stooped or bowed
I said, Tiger Man, you're a pussycat
And a [F]hush fell on the crowd
I said let's [G]you and me go outside and see
Who's a [C]winner.
[C]Well, he gripped the bar with one big hairy hand
[G]And he braced against the wall
He slowly looked up from his beer
My [C]God, that man was tall
He said boy, I see you're a scrapper
So just before you [F]fall
I'm gonna [G]tell you just a little
'Bout what it means to be a [C]winner.
[C]He said Now you see these bright white smiling teeth
[G]You know they ain't my own
Mine rolled away like chiclets
Down the [C]street in San Antone
But I left that person, cursin'
Nursin' seven broken [F]bones
And he, uh, only broke, uh, [G]three of mine
That makes me the [C]winner.
[C]He said Now behind this grin, I got steel pins
[G]That holds my jaw in place
A trophy of my most successful
[C]Motorcycle race
And each morning when I wake and touch
This [F]scar across my face
It [G]reminds me of all I got
by being a [C]winner.
[C]Now this broken back was a dying act
[G]Of a handsome Harry Clay
That sticky Cincinnati night
I [C]stole his wife away
But that woman she gets uglier
And she gets [F]meaner every day
But I [G]got her, boy
that's what makes me a [C]winner
Change to ...[D]
[D]He said You gotta speak loud when you challenge me son
'Cause it's[A] hard for me to hear
With this twisted neck and these migrane pains
And this [D]big old cauliflower ear
And if it wasn't for this glass eye of mine
Why, I'd [G]shed a happy tear
To [A]think of all you're gonna get
By being a[D] winner.
[D]I got ar-th-rit-ic elbows, son
I got [A]dislocated knees
From pickin' fights with thunderstorms
And [D]chargin' into trees
And my nose's been broke so often
I might [G]lose it if I sneeze
And [A]son, you say you
still wanna be a [D]winner.
[D]Now you remind me a lot of my younger days
With your [A]knuckles a-clenchin' white
But boy, I'm gonna sit right here
And [D]sip this beer all night
And if there's somethin' that you gotta gain or prove
by [G]winnin' some silly fight
Well, [A]OK, I quit, I lose
You're the [D]winner.
[D]Oh, I stumbled from that barroom
Not so [A]tall and not so proud
And behind me I still hear
the [D]hoots and laughter of the crowd
But my eyes still see and my nose still works
And my [G]teeth are still in my mouth
And you [A]know, I guess that
Makes me the [D]winner.
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