Family Tradition
5 6 6 6 6 5 4
Country music singers have
4 4 4 4 -4 -4 -4 4 4
always been a real close family
4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 5 -4 4
But lately some of my kinfolk have
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5
disowned a few others and me
5 6 6 6 6 5 5
I guess it's because I went
5 -4 -4 -4 -4 4
and changed my position
-5 -5 -5 -5 -5
Lord, I guess I went
5 -4 -3 5 5 5 -4 4
and broke their fam'ly tradition
C H O R U S
7 7 7 7 7
They wanna know: "Hank..
7 7 6 5 -6 -6 -6 7 -6
Why do you drink? Why do you roll smoke?
6 6 6 -7 -7 6 6 6 -5 5
Why must you live out the songs that you wrote?
7 7 7 7 7 6
Stop and think it over -
6 6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 7 -6 -5
try to put yourself in this position
-7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7-7 -7
When I get stoned,I'm just carryin'on
6 6 6 6 5 -4 4
an old fam'ly tradition.
Verse 2
5 6 6 6 6 5 -4 4 4 4 4
Now I am very proud of my daddy's name
-4 -4 -4 -4 -4 5 -4
Although his kind of music
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5
and mine ain't exactly the same
7 7 7 7 7 6
Stop and think it over -
6 6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 7 -6 -5
try to put yourself in my position
-7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7
When I get stoned and sing all night long
6 6 6 6 6 5 -4 4
it's just a fam'ly tradition
CHORUS 2
(Don't ask me: "Hank...")
Why do you drink? Why do you roll smoke?
Why must you live out them songs that you wrote?
If I'm down in a honky tonk, and some ole slick's
tryin' to gimme some friction
I says "Leave me alone, I'm stayin' all night long
'cause it's a family
tradition"
verse 3
5 6 6 6 6 6 6 5
Lordy, I have loved some ladies,
4 -4 -4 -4 4 4
and I still love Jim Beam
-4 -4 -4 -4 5 -4
They both tried to kill me
4 4 4 4 4 4 5
in nineteen seventy-three
7 7 7 7 7 6
When that doctor asks me
6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 7 -6 -5
"Son, how'dja get in this condition?"
-7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7-7 -7
I says "Hey Sawbones, I'm just a-carryin' on
6 6 6 6 5 -4 4
the old fam'ly tradition."
CHORUS 3
(So don't ask me: "Hank...")
Why do you drink? Why do you roll smoke?
Why must you live out them songs that you wrote?
Stop and think it over -
try to put yourself in my unique position
When I get stoned and sing all night long,
it's just a family tradition.
