Red Dirt Girl  written by  Emmylou Harris



Me and my best

 friend Lillia

n
        
And her blue t

ick hound dog 

Gideon

Sittin' in the

 front porch' 

coolin' in the

 shade

Singin' every 

song 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 Îem
    
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
             
Tonight she fi

              
nally laid tha

         
t hammer down
            
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


Any mistakes, e-mail me, and I will be duly embarrassed!