My wife is a most knowing woman
(capo 1st) D - G - D -
A - D - A - A7 - D
D
1. My wife is a most knowing woman,
G D
she always is finding me out,
she never will hear
explanations
E A
but instantly puts me to rout.
A7 D
There's no use to try and
deceive her,
E A
if out with my friends night or day,
A7 D
in a most inconceivable
manner,
A A7 D
she tells where I've been
right away.
She says that I'm
"mean" and "inhuman."
A A7 D
Oh! My wife is a most knowing
woman.
- A - D - E
- A A7 -
D - A - A7 - D
D
2. She would've been hung up for witchcraft,
G D
if she had lived sooner, I
know,
there's no hiding anything
from her,
E
A
she knows what I do, where I
go.
A7 D
And if I come in after midnight,
E A
and say "I have been to
the lodge,"
A7
D
oh, she says while she flies
in a fury,
A A7 D
"Now don't think to play
such a dodge!
It's all very fine, but won't
do, man !”
A A7 D
Oh, my wife is a most knowing
woman.
- A - D - E
- A A7 - D
- A - A7 - D
D
3. Not often I go out to dinner,
G D
and come home a little
"so so,"
I try to creep up through the
hall-way,
E
A
as still as
a mouse, on tip-toe.
A7 D
She's sure to be waiting up
for me,
E
A
and then comes a nice little
scene,
A7
D
"What, you tell me you're
sober, you wretch you,
A A7 D
now don't think that I am so
green!
My life is quite worn out with
you, man!"
A A7 D
Oh, my wife is a most knowing
woman!
- A - D - E
- A A7 -
D - A - A7 - D
D
4. She knows me much better than I do,
G D
her eyes are like those of a
lynx,
though how she discovers my
secrets,
E
A
is a riddle would puzzle a
sphinx.
A7 D
On fair days, when we go out
walking,
E A
if ladies look at me askance,
A7
D
in the most harmless way, I
assure you,
A A7 D
my wife gives me, oh! such a glance.
And says "all these
insults you'll rue, man !"
A A7 D
Oh, my wife is a most knowing
woman.
- A - D - E
- A A7 - D
- A - A7 - D
D
5. Yes, I must give all of my friends up,
G D
if I would live happy and
quiet,
one might as well be 'neath a tombstone,
E A
as live in confusion and riot.
A7 D
This life we all know is a
short one,
E
A
while some tongues are long,
heaven knows,
A7 D
and a miserable life is a
husband's,
A A7 D
who numbers his wife with his foes.
I'll stay at home now like a
true man,
A A7 D
oh, my wife is a most knowing
woman.
- A - D - E
- A A7 - D
- A - A7 - D
(Stephen C. Foster)