"Letter From Omaha" From Josh Ritter Words and music by Josh Ritter Interpretation by Emily Whittredge Intro: G Am C G G Am C G Verse 1: G Am Well I can't sleep with all these hand-me-downs C G Battered up chests and faded dreams G Am Every new life seems to spin away C G Like sand escaping through the seams Em C Send me a letter from Omaha Am G Said a needle or thread could mend the tears Em But tonight the cotton fields, they C Smell like calico Am G And the color of your hair Verse 2: Stars stand against the lonely blue Like pin-pricks made by midnight hands They tried to sew you a pure white dress Got tied up in the misdeeds and demands Cotton burned all brown and wasted Like an innocence fell to disrepair But tonight the ashes, they Smell like calico And the color of your hair G Am C G G Am C G Verse 3: If I could have my one and only wish I'd sew your hair all to the lining of my shirt I'd stand in the noon day clean and golden Not the color of the dry land dirt Send me a letter from Omaha Said a needle or thread could mend the tears But tonight the sugarcane, it Smells like calico And the color of your hair