Jim Stafford Swamp Witch Blackwater Hattie chords

Swamp Witch Blackwater Hattie by Jim Stafford

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



D                        C 
Black water Hattie lived back in the swamp
          G                      D
Where the strange green reptiles crawl.
D                          C
Snakes hang thick from the cypress trees
     G                       D
Like sausage on a smokehouse wall.
          D                     C
Where the swamp is alive with a thousand eyes
                        G
An all of them watching you
     D                C
Stay off the track to Hatties Shack 
       G                   D 
In the back of the Black Bayou

D                    C
Way up the road from Hattie�s Shack
       G                    F   D 
Lies a sleepy little Okeechobe town
D                   C               
Talk of swamp witch Hattie lock you 
G               F  D   
In when the sun go down
D                          G
Rumors of what she�d done, rumors of what she�d do
     D                      C 
Kept folks off the track of Hattie�s shack
       G                 F D  
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 hangin� too 
But the talk got shackled by the howls and the cackles
From the bowels of the Black bayou

Early one morn �tween dark and dawn 
When shadows filled the sky
There came an unseen caller 
On a town where road run dry
You�d swear 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 ain�t much pride when you�re trapped inside
A slowly sinkin� 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 savin� our town
Well fetch her from the Black Bayou

Party of ten of the towns best men 
headed for Hattie�s Shack
Said Swamp Witch magic was useful and good
And they�re 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 don�t come lookin� again