Shades Of Gray — Robert Earl Keen
Chords and lyrics for Shades Of Gray by Robert Earl Keen (key of Am).
Intro
[Am]
Verse 1
[Am]We made Oklahoma a [C]little after 3
[G]Randy, his brother Bob and my old [Am]GMC
We [Am]had some moonshine whisky
and [C]some of Bob's homegrown
We were [G]so messed up we didn't know
if we were drunk or [Am]stoned
Verse 2
[Am]Randy was a sad-sack, [C]tall, kinda frail
[G]Bob was a raving maniac, crazier than [Am]hell
They [Am]been kicked out of high school [C]several years ago
for [G]pushin' over port-a-cans at the 4-H [Am]rodeo
Verse 3
Since [Am]then they've done their little dance
[C]right outside the law
Popped [G]twice in Oklahoma, once in [Am]Arkansas
and I [Am]don't know what possessed me
to [C]want to tag along
'Cause [G]I was raised a Christian
and I knew right from [Am]wrong
Chorus
[F] Right or wrong, black or [C]white
[G] Cross the line you're gonna [Am]pay
[C] In the [G]dawn before the [Am]light
[F] Live and [G]die by shades of [Am]gray
Verse 4
We [Am]stole two Charolais heifers from
[C]Randy's sweetheart's paw
[G]Sold them at the livestock sale
outside of [Am]Wichita
We [Am]got nine hundred dollars and [C]never did suspect
the [G]world of hurt we'd be in once
we cashed that [Am]check
Verse 5
Next [Am]day we heard the story
on the [C]local radio
[G]Made our plans that very night
to go to [Am]Mexico
And I [Am]swear we would have made it
if it [C]wasn't for the shine
[G]I got sick about the time we crossed
that Kansas [Am]line
Chorus
[F] Right or wrong, black or [C]white
[G] Cross the line you're gonna [Am]pay
[C] In the [G]dawn before the [Am]light
[F] Live and [G]die by shades of [Am]gray
Verse 6
I was [Am]lyin' in the bar ditch
[C]prayin' I would die
when a [G]light come on above us
and a voice come from the [Am]sky
A [Am]half a dozen unmarked cars
came [C]screeching to a halt
They grabbed [G]Bob, he started screamin'
it was all my [Am]fault
Verse 7
There were [Am]men and dogs
and helicopters [C]buzzin' all around
They had the [G]brothers on the
pickup hood and me down on the [Am]ground
[Am]Bob flew all to pieces but
[C]Randy he held tight
when a [G]black man in a suit and tie
stepped out into the [Am]light
He [Am]told his men to turn us loose
[C]they put down their guns
He said these[G] are just some
sorry kids, they ain't the [Am]ones
Chorus
[F] Right or wrong, black or [C]white
[G] Cross the line you're gonna [Am]pay
[C] In the [G]dawn before the [Am]light
[F] Live and [G]die by shades of [Am]gray
Verse 8
They [Am]left us by the roadside
[C]downhearted and alone
[G]Randy got behind the wheel
Said boys, I'm going [Am]home
We [Am]turned around to face our fate
[C]hungover but alive
on that [G]mornin' in late April,
Oklahoma, [Am]'95
Chorus
[F] Right or wrong, black or [C]white
[G] Cross the line you're gonna [Am]pay
[C] In the [G]dawn before the [Am]light
[F] Live and [G]die by shades of [Am]gray
[F] Live and [G]die by shades of [Am]gray
[F] Live and [G]die by shades of [Am]gray
Repeat intro
Verse
[Dm] [F] [C] [Dm]
Chorus
[Bb] [F] [C] [Dm]
[C] [Dm] [F] [C] [Dm]
X