G             D    C              G 
Back in the long stretch of loneliness 
G        D       C       G 
I have come to call a living, 
G                 D    C              G 
I'm getting something for all this love's labor, 
G       D    C       G 
even when I am forgetting. 

Cm 
Oh we oh oh little perennials 
                   G 
where'd you come from? 

G        D    C                   G 
Daughter of my father's second cousin, 
G     D             C        G 
loyalties, I got em by the dozen. 
G            D   C                   G 
We share a past, we share a blood relation 
G              D           C       G 
and that's as good as an invitation. 

Cm 
Oh we oh oh little perennials 
                   G 
where'd you come from? 

Em           D     C 
I'm in the North Carolina Mountains, 
Em           D          C 
just to the west of where I met my calling. 
Em           D            C 
If you look south to the foothills of these mountains rising, 
Em          D              C 
that's the place where it feels good falling. 
Em          D             C 
That's the place that I know. 

G          D         C             G 
I look for words to fill the empty spaces, 
G         D                  C           G 
all the life revealed in these back stages. 
G             D     C            G 
I reach for names like little puzzle pieces; 
G     D         C     G 
oh perennial, come to me. 

Cm 
Oh we oh oh little perennials 
                    G 
where'd you come from?