Up On Cripple Creak Chord Chart by The Band

Welcome to my Up On Cripple Creek chord chard by The Band. Interesting thing about this song is that there really isn’t any guitar that can be heard. So I’m going to suggest a couple of strumming patterns for this and you can decided which one you like better. The chords are A, D, E and F#m. If you don’t know F#m you can always use the easy version pictured below to get through the song.

All chords are TWO MEASURES long meaning you play the strumming pattern twice, except where you see (1). Those chords are only 1 measure.

Strumming Option 1:
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
D   D    DU DU

Strumming Option 2:
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
D   DU    U DU

UP ON CRIPPLE CREAK GUITAR CHORD CHART BY THE BAND

We do not distribute printable chord and lyrics charts. These charts are here only to support online learning. We highly recommend buying music from Hal Leonard or a reputable online sheet music store.

Intro:  A :| x4

Verse:
         A                                                  D

When I get off of this mountain, you know where I want to go
A                                                              D(1)                 E(1)
Straight down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico
A                                                D
To Lake Charles, Louisianna, little Bessie, a girl who I once knew
A                                                       D(1)                                      E(1)
She told me just to come on by if there's anything that she could do


Chorus:
A
Up on Cripple Creek, she sends me
D
If I spring a leak, she mends me
E
I don't have to speak, she defends me
F#m(1)                    G(1)
A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one


Verse:
A                                                       D

Good luck had just stung me, to the race track I did go
A                                             D(1)                                E (1)
She bet on one horse to win and I bet on another to show
A                                    D
The odds were in my favor, I had them five to one
A                                                               D(1)                                  E(1)
That nag to win came around the track, sure enough she had won


Chorus:
A
Up on Cripple Creek, she sends me
D
If I spring a leak, she mends me
E
I don't have to speak, she defends me
F#m(1)                   G(1)
A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one


Verse:
   A                                                  D

I took up all of my winnings and I gave my little Bessie half
A                                                            D(1)                        E(1)
She tore it up and threw it in my face just for a laugh
A                                                             D
Now there's one thing in the whole wide world I sure would like to see
A                                                                     D(1)                                E(1)
That's when that little love of mine dips her doughnut in my tea

Chorus:
A
Up on Cripple Creek, she sends me
D
If I spring a leak, she mends me
E
I don't have to speak, she defends me
F#m(1)                    G(1)
A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one


Verse
A                                                                      D

Me and my mate we were back at the shack, we had Spike Jones on the box
A                                                                       D(1)                               E(1)
She says, "I can't take the way he sings, but I love to hear him talk"
  A                                                           D
Now that just gave my heart a throb to the bottom of my feet
A                                                D (1)                               E(1)
And I swore as I took another pull, my Bessie can't be beat

Chorus:
A
Up on Cripple Creek, she sends me
D
If I spring a leak, she mends me
E
I don't have to speak, she defends me
F#m(1)                   G(1)
A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one


Break: A(1) D(1)  :| x4


Verse:
                A                                             D

There's a flood out in California and up north it's freezing cold
A                                            D(1)                      E(1)
And this living on the road is getting pretty old
        A                                                        D
So I guess I'll call up my big mama, tell her I'll be rolling in
                A                                                            D(1)                                      E(1)
But you know, deep down, I'm kind of tempted to go and see my Bessie again


Chorus:
A
Up on Cripple Creek, she sends me
D
If I spring a leak, she mends me
E
I don't have to speak, she defends me
F#m(1)                   G(1)
A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one


Outro: A(1)  D(1)  :| x8  End on A
 

This file is the author’s own work and represents his interpretation of this song. It’s intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.

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