Wake Up John The Hanging Song

{tuning: Standard (EADGBE)}
[A] CAPELLA  [A]

Wake up John, it's time to go Come along John and don't be slow

Come along John, don't be slow Wake up John, it's time to go

Wake up John, it's time to go

{section: Intro}
[Dm] [A] x 7
[G]   [D]   [F]

{section: Verse 1}
A pr[A]iest joins the procession [F]just to [G]help me [A]kneel
With a [Bm]warder at my [C#m]elbow and [D]another at my [Dm]heel
[A]Marching in the morning down a [F]path I've [G]lately [A]seen
I was [Bm]sleeping in this [C#m]garden, am I [D]still within my [Dm]dream?
The [A]echo of my heartbeat is the [F]beating [G]of a d[A]rum
And [Bm]all the earth is [C#m]singing with [D]life's sweet [Dm]hum
We [A]filed in solemn silence, [F]shuffled [G]through a [A]door
The [Bm]place where life is [C#m]taken for the [G]letter of the [A]law

{section: Chorus}
[A]Shake the holy water, [D]summon up the [E]guard
[B]Dying's very [A]easy, [G]waiting's very [F#m]hard

{section: Verse 2}
[F#m]A rope was hanging from the roof, a [Bm]sight which puzzles me
I [F#m]thought a gibbet and a guard would [B]make a gallows tree
But [E]now all is revealed, stamped [G]there is the command
My [A]feet are on the trapdoor with a rope [B]around my hand
And [A]now the executioner is [F]shaking [G]hands with [A]me
"My [Bm]duty I must [C#m]carry out, you [D]poor fellow," says [Dm]he
A [A]rope is tied around my feet and a [F]bag up[G]on my [A]head
And [Bm]then the noose which [C#m]separates the [D]living from the [Dm]dead

{section: Chorus}
{section: Verse 3}
[F#m]There he whispers to me "Have you anything to say?"   [Bm]
My mout[F#m]h is dry, my throat is tight, I answer "Drop aw[Bm]ay"
[E]Silence now surrounds me, my heart is beating on [G]
The tra[A]pdoor hardly moves at all, my life is still my own [B]

{section: Violin solo}
[A]        [F]    [G]    [A] x8

[A]They stand me in a corner with my [F]hands and [G]feet still [A]bound
While a [Bm]carpenter is [C#m]called for and an [D]explanation [Dm]found
"The [A]rain has warped the timbers," I [F]hear the [G]hangman [A]say
"It's [Bm]funny but it [C#m]worked well, I [D]tried it [Dm]yesterday"
[F#m]"All is mended now," they say, "your [Bm]ordeal's nearly over
Your [F#m]life's as good as ended," but I [B]hear their voices waver
Once [E]more the bolt is shaken and a[G]gain I hang in limbo
While the [A]guards jump on the trapdoor and my body [B]stands on tip-toe

{section: Chorus}
{section: Verse 4}
They [A]stand me in a corner with my [F]hands and [G]feet still [A]tied
A [Bm]warder holds on[C#m]to the noose, the [D]trapdoor opens [Dm]wide
Is it [A]magic or coincidence that [F]keeps me [G]on the [A]brink?
It [Bm]seems to work with[C#m]out me, "Will it [D]kill me now?" I [Dm]think
[F#m]"Please, I'm tired of living and I [Bm]really want to die"
I was [F#m]taken to the scaffold and I [B]heard the hangman cry
[E]"Lee, I'm truly sorry, for[G]give these hands of mine"
He [A]three\w the bolt and I felt the jolt the [B]third and final time
My [F#m]life was spared that morning 'cos it [Bm]wasn't theirs to take
[F#m]Three's the most the law requires, a [B]man to feel the stake

{section: Chorus x2}