[Intro]
[Strophe]
G                  Am 
Had an uncle named Matthew 
D7                   G 
Was his father's only boy 
G                         Am 
Born just south of Colby, Kansas 
D7                        G 
Was his mother's pride and joy
[Refrain]
G                         C                 Am 
Yes, and joy was just the thing that he was raised on 
D7                                G 
Love was just the way to live and die 
G               C            Am 
Gold was just a windy Kansas wheatfield 
D7                            G 
Blue was just a Kansas summer sky
[Strophe]
G                       Am 
All the stories that he told me 
D7                     G 
Back when I was just a lad 
G                        Am 
All the memories that he gave me 
D7                         G 
All the good times that he had
[Strophe]
G                  Am 
Growin up a Kansas farmboy 
D7                    G 
Life was mostly havin fun 
G                     Am 
Ridin' on his daddy's shoulders 
D7                        G 
Behind a mule beneath the sun
[Refrain]
G                         C                 Am 
Yes, and joy was just the thing that he was raised on 
D7                                G 
Love was just the way to live and die 
G               C            Am 
Gold was just a windy Kansas wheatfield 
D7                            G 
Blue was just a Kansas summer sky
[Strophe]
G                             Am 
Well, I guess there were some hard times 
D7                           G 
And I'm told some years were lean 
G                   Am 
They had a storm in '47 
D7                               G 
A twister came and stripped them clean
[Strophe]
G                             Am 
He lost the farm and lost his family 
D7                             G 
He lost the wheat and lost his home 
G                     Am 
But he found a family bible 
D7                  G 
Faith as solid as a stone
[Refrain]
G                         C                 Am 
Yes, and joy was just the thing that he was raised on 
D7                                G 
Love was just the way to live and die 
G               C            Am 
Gold was just a windy Kansas wheatfield 
D7                            G 
Blue was just a Kansas summer sky
[Strophe]
G                         Am 
So he came to live at our house 
D7                      G 
And he came to work the land 
G                          Am 
He came to ease my daddy's burden 
D7                   G 
And he came to be my friend
[Strophe]
G                         Am 
So, I wrote this down for Matthew 
D7                           G 
And it's for him the song is sung 
G                     Am 
Ridin' on his daddy's shoulders 
D7                        G 
Behind a mule beneath the sun
[Refrain]
G                         C                 Am 
Yes, and joy was just the thing that he was raised on 
D7                                G 
Love was just the way to live and die 
G               C            Am 
Gold was just a windy Kansas wheatfield 
D7                            G 
Blue was just a Kansas summer sky
[Refrain]
G                         C                 Am 
Yes, and joy was just the thing that he was raised on 
D7                                G 
Love was just the way to live and die 
G               C            Am 
Gold was just a windy Kansas wheatfield 
D7                            G 
Blue was just a Kansas summer sky