Intro: A
(Ko Ko Joe) (Ko Ko Joe) Son (Ko Ko Joe)
Go ahead home (Ko ko Joe)
verse 1
A
Well Up in Appaloosa county
D
There's a place called Ko ko Ridge
A D
Sittin' right on the bend Of the Etowah River
E
Where the water washed away the bridge
A
Cotton Mouth Country (Ko ko Joe)
D
A river rat's knee high (Ko ko Joe)
verse 2
A
Way up around the back border Lived a man
D
That the river folks talked about
A C
They said you better stay away from a Ko ko Joe
D A B
'Cause he's cause he's crazy no 'count (Ko ko Joe)
D
Ko-ko Joe They called him the Etowah River swamp rat
A B
The folks despised him (Ko ko Ko Ko Joe)
D
Ko-ko Joe He was an awfully peculiar man
C
The river was his only friend
D E A
And the folks didn't understand The man called Ko ko Joe
(Ko ko Joe) (Ko ko Joe)
verse 3
He'd eat monkey meat and mashed potatoes
D
He drunk a brew called a Mo-jo Claw
A D
That he beat outa roots from old dead stumps
E
On the banks of the Etowah
A E
Made him walk a little funny (Ko ko Ko Ko Joe)
A
Made his breath smell funky (Ko ko Joe)
verse 4
A
Well he never come across the river
'Cause the folks didn't like him in town
C
They said his hair was long His clothes were dirty
D A B
They didn't want him hangin' around (Ko ko Joe)
D
Ko ko Joe They called him the Etowah River swamp rat
E A B
The folks despised him (Ko ko Ko Ko Joe)
D
Ko ko Joe He was an awfully peculiar man
The river was his only friend
E A
And the folks didn't understand The man called Ko ko Joe
(Ko ko Joe) (Ko ko Joe)
Verse 5
A
Well it happened a year ago Sunday
And they still talk about it today
D
How the dam broke loose On the Etowah River
E
Nearly washin' everybody away Son
A
The river water rising (Ko ko Joe) Washin' up all the bushes
(Ko ko Joe) Well the headlines said
How a mother said my son woulda' lost his life
C
But he was pulled from the mud in the Etowah River
D A B
By the man y'all despised (Ko ko Joe)
Outro
D
Ko-ko Joe They called him the Etowah River swamp rat
E B
The folks despised him (Ko ko Joe)
D
Ko-ko Joe So be careful what you say my friend
C
About folks you don't understand
D E A
Someday you might need a man like Ko ko Joe (Ko ko Joe)
D A B
Go ahead home son (Ko ko Joe)
D
Ko-ko Joe They called him the Etowah River swamp rat
A
The folks despised him