Originally in Eb, I play in D
Intro
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Vox on the 3
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Well, I | had two weeks of vacation time coming |
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After | working all year down at Big Roy’s Heating and | Plumbing |
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So o | ne night when my family and I were gathered ‘round the dinner table |
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I said, " | Kids, if you could go a | nywhere in this great big world now |
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Where’d you like to go ta?" |
Vox on the 1 of the chord on “biggest”
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They said, “ | Dad, we wanna see the | biggest ball of | twine in Minne | sota” |
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They picked the | biggest ball of t | wine in Minn | esota |
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So the v | ery next day we loaded up the car |
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With | potato skins and pickled wieners |
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Crossword puzzles, Spider-Man comics |
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And | mama’s home made rhubarb pie |
Vox on the 3 on “pulled”, 5 on “drive”, down to the 1 of the chord (4 of the key) on “neighbors”
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Pulled out of the | driveway and the | neighbors |
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They all wa | ved good- | bye and so began our three day j | ourney |
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We picked up a | guy holding a | sign that said, “Twine | ball or bust” |
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He s | melled real bad and he s | aid his name was | Bernie |
Vox down to the 3 of the chord
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I put in a Slim Whitman tape, my | wife put on a brand new hair net |
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Kids were in the back seat jumping | up and down, yelling “are we there yet?” |
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And a | ll of us were | joined together | in one common | thought |
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As we | rolled down the long and winding interstate in our ‘53 DeS | oto |
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We’re gonna see the | biggest ball of | twine in Minnes | ota |
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We’re headin’ for the | biggest ball of | twine in Minn | esota |
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Oh, we couldn’t w | ait to get there |
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So we | drove straight through for three whole days and | nights |
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Of course, we stopped for more pickled | wieners now and then |
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The s | cenery was just so pretty, | boy I wish the kids could’ve seen it |
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But you c | an’t see out of the side of the car |
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Because the w | indows are completely covered |
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With the | decals from all the places where | we’ve already | been |
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Like | Elvis-O-Rama, the | Tupperware Museum |
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The | Boll Weevil Monument and | Cranberry World |
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The S | huffleboard Hall Of Fame, | Poodle Dog Rock |
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And the | Mecca of Albino S | quirrels |
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We’ve been to | ghost towns, theme parks, | wax museums |
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And the | place where you can drive through the m | iddle of a tree |
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We’ve seen | alligator farms and tara | ntula ranches |
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But there’s s | till one thing we gotta s | ee |
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Well, we c | rossed the state line about 6:39 |
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And we | saw the sign that said, “Twine Ball exit, f | ifty miles” |
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Oh, the k | ids were so happy they started singing |
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“99 Bot | tles Of Beer On The Wall” for the twenty-seventh | time that day |
Vox on the 5
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So, we p | ulled off the road at the last chance gas station |
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G | ot a few more pickled wieners and a diet chocolate s | oda |
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On our way to see the | biggest ball of | twine in Minn | esota |
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We’re gonna see the | biggest ball of | twine in Minne | sota |
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Finally, at 7:37 early W | ednesday evening |
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As the sun was setting in the M | innesota sky | → |
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Out in the distance, on the horizon |
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It ap | peared to me like a vision before my u | nbelieving eyes |
vox on the 5
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I p | arked the car and walked with awe-filled | reverence |
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To-w | ard that glorious, h | uge majestic sphere |
vox back to the 3
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I was j | ust so overwhelmed by its sheer imm | ensity |
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I had to | pop myself a beer |
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Yes, o | n these hallowed grounds, open t | en to eight on | weekdays |
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In a l | ittle shrine, under a makeshift pagoda |
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There sits the | biggest ball of | twine in | Minnesota |
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I tell you, it’s the | biggest ball of | twine in Mi | nnesota |
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Oh, what on | Earth would make a m | an decide to d | o that kind of thing? |
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Oh, windin’ up t | wenty-one thousand, o | ne hundred forty pounds of s | tring |
Let ring
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What was he trying to prove? | W | ho was he trying | to impress? |
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Why did he build it? How did he do it? | It’s anybody’s | guess |
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Where did he get the twine? What was | goin’ through his m | ind? |
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Did it | just seem like a | good idea at the t | ime? |
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Well, we w | alked up beside it and I warned the kids |
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“Now, you | better not touch it, those ropes are there for a re | ason” |
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I said, "M | aybe if you’re good, I’ll tie it to the back of our c | ar |
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And we can take it home", but I was only t | easin’ |
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Then we w | ent to the gift shop and stood in line |
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Bought a | souvenir miniature | ball of twine |
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Some w | indow decals and anything else they’d | sell us |
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And I b | ought a couple postcards |
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“Greetings from the twine ball, | wish you were here” |
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Won’t the folks back home be j | ealous? |
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I gave our | camera to Bernie and we | stood by the ball |
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And we a | ll gathered ‘round and said “ch | eese” |
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Then B | ernie ran away with my | brand new Instamatic |
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But at | least we got our memori | es |
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So we all just stared at the ball for a while |
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And my | eyes got moist but I said with a smile |
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“Kids | this here’s what America’s all | about” |
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Then I s | tarted feelin’ kinda gooey inside |
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And I fe | ll on my knees and I cried and cried |
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And that | ’s when those se | curity guards threw us o | ut |
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You know, I | bet if we unraveled that sucker |
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It’d | roll all the way down to | Fargo, North Dak | ota |
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‘Cause it’s the | biggest ball of | twine in Minne | sota |
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I’m talkin’ ‘bout the | biggest ball of t | wine in M | innesota |
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Let ring
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Well, we s | tayed that night at the Twine Ball Inn |
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In the | morning we were on our way home again |
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But we really didn’ | t want to leave, that was perfectly | clear |
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I said, “ | Folks, I can tell you’re all sad to go” |
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Then I wi | nked my eye and I s | aid |
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"You know, I got a | funny kind of feelin’ |
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We’ll be | comin’ back again next | year" |
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‘Cause I’ve | been all around this great big world |
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And I | can’t think of anywhere e | lse I’d rather g | o ta |
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Than the | biggest ball of | twine in | Minnesota |
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I said the | biggest ball of | twine i | n Minnesota |
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Minnes | ota, Minnes | ota, Minnes | ota! |