by Johnny Cash
Intro [ G – C -D ]
[G] Well I [G] left Kentucky back in ’49, I [C] went to Detroit working on an assembly line. The [D] first year they had me puttin wheels on [G] Cadillacs.
Every [G] day I’d watch them beauties roll by and [C] sometimes I’d hang my head and cry, cause I [D] always wanted me one that was long and [G] black.
One [G] day I devised myself a plan that should [C] be the envy of most any man, I’d [D] sneak it out of there with a lunch box in my [G] hand.
Now, [G] gettin’ caught meant gettin’ fired, but I [C] figured I’d have it all by the time I retired. I’d [D] have me a car worth at least a hundred [G] grand.
[CHORUS] I’d get it [G] one piece at a time and it [C] wouldn’t cost me a dime, you’ll [D] know it’s me when I come through your [G] town.
I’m gonna [G] ride around in style, I’m gonna [C] drive everybody wild, cause [D] I’ll have the only one there is [G] around.
[G] So the very next day when I punched in with my [C] big lunch box and with help from a friend, I [D] left that day with a lunch box full of [G] gears.
I’ve [G] never considered myself a thief, but [C] GM wouldn’t miss just one little piece, [D] especially if I strung it out over several [G] years.
The [G] first day I got me a fuel pump and the [C] next day I got me an engine and a trunk, then I [D] got me a transmission and all the [G] chrome.
[G] The little things I could get in my big lunch box like [C] nuts and bolts and all four shocks, but the [D] big stuff I snuck out in my buddy’s mobile [G] home.
[G] Well, up to now my plan went all right till we [C] tried to put it all together one night, and that’s [D] when we noticed that somethin was definitely [G] wrong.
The [G] transmission was a ’53 and [C] motor turned out to be a ’73, and [D] when we tried to put in the bolts all the holes were [G] wrong.
So we [G] drilled it out so that it would fit and with a [C] little bit of help from an adaptor kit, we [D] had that engine runnin just like a [G] song.
Now, the [G] headlights, they was another sight, we had [C] two on the left and one on the right, but we [D] pulled out the switch and all three of them came [G] on.
The [G] back end looked kinda funny too, but we [C] put it together and when we got through, well [D] that’s when we noticed that we only had one tail [G] fin.
[G] About that time my wife walked out and I could [C] see in her eyes that she had her doubts, but she [D] opened the door and said honey, take me for a [G] spin.
So we [G] drove up town just to get the tags and we [C] headed right on down main drag, I could [D] hear everybody laughing for blocks [G] around.
[G] Up there at the courthouse, they didn’t laugh because to [C] type it up it took the whole staff, and when they [D] got through the title weighed sixty [G] pounds.
[CHORUS]
It’s a ’49, ’50, ’51, ’52, ’53, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57, ’58, ’59 automobile
It’s a ’60, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’70 automobile.
