Red Dirt Girl  written by  Emmylou Harris

This tab is accurate with regard to the way Emmylou Harris plays it in her live 
shows.  I watched several of her performances on YouTube and she plays open cords 
G, C, and D with just a few embellishments.



Me and my best

 friend Lillia

n

And her blue t

ick hound dog 

Gideon

Sittin' on the

 front porch' 

coolin' in the

 shade

Singin' every 

song that the 

radio played

Waitin' for th

e Alabama sun 

to go down
        
Two red dirt g

irls in a red 

dirt town
            
Me and Lillian
             
Just across th

              
e line and a l

             
ittle southeas

                      
t of Meridian



She loved her 

brother I reme

mber back when
            
He was fixin' 

up a '49 India

n
     
He told her "L

ittle sister, 

gonna ride the

 wind

Up around the 

moon and back 

again"
      
He never got f

arther than Vi

etnam
        
I was standin'

 there with he

r when the tel

egram come
       
For Lillian
              
Now he's lyin'

             
 somewhere abo

              
ut a million m

             
iles from Meri

                        
dian


              
She said "Ther

             
e's not much h

ope for a red 

dirt girl

Somewhere out 

there is a gre

at big world,
         
that's where I

'm bound
             
And the stars 

              
might fall on 

              
Alabama, but o

              
ne of these da

      
ys
              
I'm gonna swin

              
g my hammer do

                 
wn
              
Away from this

          
 red dirt town
              
I'm gonna make

              
 a joyful soun


d"



She grew up ta

ll and she gre

w up thin

Buried that ol

d dog Gideon
       
By a crepe myr

tle bush at th

e back of the 

yard
       
Her daddy turn

ed mean and he

r mama leaned 

hard

Got in trouble

 with a boy fr

om town

Figured that s

he might as we

ll settle down
           
So she dug rig

ht in
              
Across a red d

             
irt line just 

             
a little south

              
east of Meridi

           
an



She tried hard

 to love him b

ut it never di

d take

It was just an

other way for 

a heart to bre

ak
           
So she learned

 to bend
             
But one thing 

they don't tel

l you 'bout th

e blues when y

ou got 'em
       
You keep on fa

llin' 'cause t

here ain't no 

bottom
             
There ain't no

              
 end, at least

              
 not for Lilli

          
an



Nobody knows w

hen she starte

d her skid
             
She was only 2

7 and she had 

5 kids

Coulda' been t

he whiskey, co

ulda been the 

pills

Coulda been th

e dream she wa

s tryin' to ki

ll
              
But there won'

 
t be a mention

 in the news o

f the world
              
About the life

             
 and the death

              
 of a red dirt

              
 girl named Li

                       
llian

              
Who never got 

             
any farther ac

             
ross the line 

                           
than Meridian

              
Now the stars 


still fall on 

Alabama
             
The night she 

              
finally laid t

              
hat hammer dow

                 
n
             
Without a soun

              
d, in the red 

       
dirt ground


>From the album "Red Dirt Girl" by Emmylou Harris GRACD 103

Chords transcribed by Richard Kolarik

richard.kolarik@virgin.net


Malcolm Burn    bass, electric guitar, drum box programming
Emmylou Harris  vocal, acoustic guitar
Ethan Johns     omnichord
Daryl Johnson   percussion, bass pedals
Buddy Miller    electric guitar