Interesting, Hugh. He sings "sickly" and "when" in the first line of the third verse, eh? Go figure.Still, the lyrics you posted differ from the ones posted on his website, specifically in the last line of the verse and the last line of the chorus.
BTW, I retract what I said about the "in the valley..." line (although I think Anne Murray sings "and a valley...". The house is on a hill with a mill on the river in the valley below.
Given that the internet has a couple of lyric variations and Anne Murray and Lightfoot himself each sing still different variations, it's likely several slightly different variations will continue to be sung.
And, yeah, the chord pattern is a really simple kind of bluegrassy thing. (Your chords migrated a bit in transit thru cyberspace, though.)
Here's Anne Murray's version:
Cotton Jenny (Gordon Lightfoot. © 1971)
C F C F C
There's a house on a hill, By a worn-down weathered old mill
G
In the valley below where the river winds.
C
There's no such thing as bad times.
C F C F C
And a soft southern flame, Oh, Cotton Jenny's her name,
G
And she wakes him up when the sun goes down,
C
And the wheels of love go 'round.Chorus:
C7 F C
Wheels of love go 'round, love go 'round,
D7 G
Love go 'round, a joyful sound.
C F G G7
He ain't got a penny for Cotton Jenny to spend, but then,
C F C G
Wheels of love go 'round.C F C F C
When the new day begins, he goes down to the cotton gin,
G
And he makes his time worthwhile for them;
C
Then he climbs back up again.
C F C F C
And she waits by the door; Oh, Cotton Jenny, he's sore.
G
And she rubs his feet when the sun goes down,
C
And the wheels of love go 'round.Chorus
------And if you want to do the third verse in 3rd person:
C F C F C
In the hot, sticky, South, where they say: "Well, shut my mouth!"
G
He can never be free from the cotton grind,
C
But he says "I got what's mine
C F C F C
With a soft southern flame, Oh, Cotton Jenny's her name.
G
She wakes me up when the sun goes down,
C
And the wheels of love go 'round."