C Am
1) The brass band was playin', and sweethearts were
swayin'
F G
To the light of the Montana moon.
C Am
There was joy in the air, seemed the whole town was
there
F G C
To step to them old country tunes.
2) I was only eighteen, but I felt like a king,
When I saw you up watchin' the band
And just on a chance, I asked you to dance,
And you smiled when you took my hand.
Chorus: C
Come out tonight, Millie, we'll go dancin'
C F
Cause tonight is a night for romancin'.
C Am C F
Out through the gardens and out o'er the hills
C G C
How I wish we could be there still.
3) With the paint brush in bloom, with the help of the
moon,
I courted you all summer long.
And we'd run off at will, to the top of the hill
While the band kept on playin' our song.
(Chorus)
4) The band kept on playin', but Time it rolled on,
We had children to bounce on our knee,
But once in a while, when you'd wink and then smile,
I'd slip you off to the Gardens with me.
(Chorus)
5) The years they rolled by, but not all were kind,
Our love kept us warm from the chill.
And the first thing I know, the kids were all grown,
And gone to dancin' out on the hill.
(Chorus)
6) The kids had moved way, and I was all gray,
When the mine said they'd found a new load.
But the whole town cried, when the company decided
That the Gardens would all have to go.
7) They brought in their shovels, and they blasted
away,
They stripped her like all of the rest.
Sixty-five years all gone down in dust,
And they still haven't found that load yet.
(Chorus)
8) But the years have been good, like I knew that they
would,
With you here, right by my side.
But now I'm here in my bed, and I can't raise my head,
Wish we could dance through the Gardens one more time.
(Final Chorus)