WORRIED  MAN  BLUES

      Traditional American
Accordion Notation  
Either row:  Buttons 5 to 8*   
​  
(Place first finger at button 5 and little finger at 8, covering all the notes without having to change your finger positions.)
​
Verse 1 (of 5):

.5    ;5      "5    .5    .5*     .:6     .7*   ;7     "7    .7    .7*     .:6
 It  takes   a   wor-ried   man   to  sing   a   wor-ried  song

.6     ;5*    "5*  .5*   .6*    .:6     .5*   ;6     "6     .6    .5*    .:5
 It  takes   a   wor-ried  man   to  sing    a   wor-ried  song

.5*    ;5     "5    .5    .5*    .:6     .7*   ;7    "7   .7    .7*     .:6
 It  takes   a   wor-ried  man   to  sing   a  wor-ried  song.

 .6     .6*   .6     .:7*
I’m  wor-ried  now

  "6  "6    .7*     .8*    .7   .7*     ::6~
But   I   won’t  be  wor-ried  long


For most (though not all) performances, the Verses follow the notation give above for the Chorus.

Embedded youTube VIDEOS
Ten videos in keys of:  A=3   C=1    D=1   G=5     
Key: A

Group:  Stanley Brothers

​Posted by:  drwierd
Key:  A

Group:  Nashville Jam

​Posted by:  Music City Roots
​
Key:  A

Singers:  Jim and Jesse McReynolds

​Posted by:  Edmund StAustell
Key:   C

Singer:  Carl Martin ?

Posted by:  Carl Martin
Key: D

Group:  The Kingston Trio

​Posted by:  The Kingston Trio - Topic

In some of the choruses, the Trio changes the rhythm a bit.
Key:  G

Singer:  Lukas Simpson

Posted by Lukas Simpson
Key:  G

Group:  Papa Pider's Jazz Band

Posted by:  Papa Pider's Jazz Band -
​                                                   Topic
Key:   G

Singer:  Dean Barber

​Posted by:  Dean Barber
Key:  G

Performers:  Raymond Crooke and
                     Lew Dite

Posted by:  raymondcrooke

​Well done.
Key:  G

Performers:  Michael & Dianne Porter

​Posted by: Dianne Porter
BACKGROUND MATERIALS, INFORMATION & LINKS

LYRICS        Verse 1




                      Verse 2

​                          etc.
 It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
 It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
 It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
 I’m worried now but I won’t be worried long

I went across the river and I laid down to sleep
When I woke up, there were shackles on my feet

Twenty one links of chain around my leg
And on each link, the initials of my name

I asked the judge what’s gonna be my fine
Twenty one years on the Rocky Mountain Line

If anyone should ask you who composed this song
Say it was me and I sing it all day long
Background:
Click HERE for Wikipedia background information.  This opens in a separate window to make it easy to return to this site.