Swamp Witch (Blackwater Hattie) by Jim Stafford
Tabbed By Glenn Gibson -
[email protected] - 06/23/10
Drop D tuning
A fun tune in drop D tuning from the days of Swamp Rock
Black water Hattie lived back in the swamp
Where the strange green reptiles crawl.
Snakes hang thick from the cypress trees
Like sausage on a smokehouse wall.
Where the swamp is alive with a thousand eyes
An all of them watching you
Stay off the track to Hatties Shack
In the back of the Black Bayou
Way up the road from Hattieâs Shack
Lies a sleepy little Okeechobe town
Talk of swamp witch Hattie lock you
In when the sun go down
Rumors of what sheâd done, rumors of what sheâd do
Kept folks off the track of Hattieâs shack
In the back of the Black Bayou
One day brought the rain and the rain stayed on
And the swamp water overflowed
Skeeters and the fever grabbed the town like a fist
Doctor Jackson was the first to go
Some say the plague was-a brought by Hattie,
there was talk of a hanginâ too
But the talk got shackled by the howls and the cackles
From the bowels of the Black bayou
Early one morn âtween dark and dawn
When shadows filled the sky
There came an unseen caller
On a town where hope run dry
In the square there was found a big black round, vat full of gurgling brew
Whispering sounds as the folk gathered round
It came from the Black Bayou
There ainât much pride when youâre trapped inside
A slowly sinkinâ ship
Scooped up the liquid deep and green
And the whole town took a sip
Fever went away and the very next day the skies again were blue
Lets thank old Hattie for savinâ our town
Well fetch her from the Black Bayou
Party of ten of the towns best men
headed for Hattieâs Shack
Said Swamp Witch magic was useful and good
And theyâre gonna bring Hattie back
Never found Hattie and they never found the shack
Never made the trip back in
There was a parchment note they found tacked to a stump
Said donât come lookinâ again
