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Chords and Lyrics for On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away

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Words and Music by Paul Dresser

VERSE 1

          G       C                  G 
'Round my Indiana homestead wave the cornfields,

A7     G                 A         D7        G 
In the distance loom the woodlands clear and cool,

                         C                 G 
Oftentimes my thoughts revert to scenes of childhood,

A7      G                 A7       D7       G 
Where I first received my lessons, nature's school,

    B7                                Em 
But one thing there is missing in the picture,

    A7                            D7 
Without her face it seems so incomplete,

  G              C             G 
I long to see my mother in the doorway,

A7     G                  A       D7     G 
As she stood there years ago, her boy to greet,

                           B7              Em C 
Oh, the moonlight's fair tonight along the Wabash,

E7       A                                         D7 
From the fields there comes the breath of new-mown hay,

            G             B7                Em   C 
Through the sycamores the candle lights are gleaming,

D7     G            A       D7  G 
On the banks of the Wabash, far away.

VERSE 2

     G                       C                 G 
Many years have passed since I strolled by the river,

A7     G                    A    D7    G 
Arm in arm, with sweetheart Mary by my side,

                        C               G 
It was there I tried to tell her that I loved her,

A7     G                 A      D7    G 
It was there I begged of her to be my bride,

     B7                                             Em 
Long years have passed since I strolled through the churchyard,

      A7                           D7 
She's sleeping there my angel Mary dear,

  G                 C                G 
I loved her but she thought I didn't mean it,

A7        G              A        D7   G 
Still I'd give my future were she only here.

                           B7              Em C 
Oh, the moonlight's fair tonight along the Wabash,

E7       A                                         D7 
From the fields there comes the breath of new-mown hay,

            G             B7                Em   C 
Through the sycamores the candle lights are gleaming,

D7     G            A       D7  G 
On the banks of the Wabash, far away.

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