06_hwy61/tombstone_blues.htm

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   7 <title>Tombstone Blues</title>
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  12
  13 <h1 class="songtitle">Tombstone Blues</h1>
  14
  15
  16 <p>Words and music Bob Dylan<br />
  17 Released on <a class="recordlink" href="index.htm">Highway 61 Revisited</a> (1965), <a class="recordlink" href="../28_biograph/index.htm">Biograph</a>
  18 (1985) and <a href="../44_bs7_ndh/index.htm" class="recordlink">No direction home</a> (2005), and in live versions on <a class="recordlink" href="../26_reallive/index.htm">Real Live</a> (1984) and
  19 <em><a class="recordlink" href="../37_unplugged/index.htm">Unplugged</a></em> (1995)<br />
  20 Tabbed by Eyolf &Oslash;strem. Solo licks tabbed by Jeff Kokosinsky</p>
  21
  22 <hr />
  23
  24 <p>Capo 2nd fret (sounding key F# major)</p>
  25
  26 <hr />
  27
  28 <pre class="verse">
  29     E                          A          E
  30 The sweet pretty things are in bed now of course
  31     E                           A    E
  32 The city fathers they're trying to endorse
  33     E                A             E
  34 The reincarnation of Paul Revere's horse
  35         E           A          E
  36 But the town has no need to be nervous
  37
  38 The ghost of Belle Starr she hands down her wits
  39 To Jezebel the nun she violently knits
  40 A bald wig for Jack the Ripper who sits
  41 At the head of the chamber of commerce
  42
  43 A
  44 Mama's in the fact'ry
  45           E
  46 She ain't got no shoes
  47 A
  48 Daddy's in the alley
  49      E
  50 He's lookin' for food
  51 A
  52 I'm in the kitchen *)
  53                    E
  54 With the tombstone blues
  55
  56 The hysterical bride in the penny arcade
  57 Screaming she moans, &quot;I've just been made&quot;
  58 Then sends out for the doctor who pulls down the shade
  59 Says, &quot;My advice is to not let the boys in&quot;
  60
  61 Now the medicine man comes and he shuffles inside
  62 He walks with a swagger and he says to the bride
  63 &quot;Stop all this weeping, swallow your pride
  64 You will not die, it's not poison&quot;
  65
  66 Mama's in the fact'ry
  67 She ain't got no shoes
  68 Daddy's in the alley
  69 He's lookin' for food
  70 I'm in the kitchen
  71 With the tombstone blues
  72
  73 Well, John the Baptist after torturing a thief
  74 Looks up at his hero the Commander-in-Chief
  75 Saying, &quot;Tell me great hero, but please make it brief
  76 Is there a hole for me to get sick in?&quot;
  77
  78 The Commander-in-Chief answers him while chasing a fly
  79 Saying, &quot;Death to all those who would whimper and cry&quot;
  80 And dropping a bar bell he points to the sky
  81 Saying, &quot;The sun's not yellow it's chicken&quot;
  82
  83 Mama's in the fact'ry
  84 She ain't got no shoes
  85 Daddy's in the alley
  86 He's lookin' for food
  87 I'm in the kitchen
  88 With the tombstone blues
  89
  90 The king of the Philistines his soldiers to save
  91 Puts jawbones on their tombstones and flatters their graves
  92 Puts the pied pipers in prison and fattens the slaves
  93 Then sends them out to the jungle
  94
  95 Gypsy Davey with a blowtorch he burns out their camps
  96 With his faithful slave Pedro behind him he tramps
  97 With a fantastic collection of stamps
  98 To win friends and influence his uncle
  99
 100 Mama's in the fact'ry
 101 She ain't got no shoes
 102 Daddy's in the alley
 103 He's lookin' for food
 104 I'm in trouble
 105 With the tombstone blues
 106
 107 The geometry of innocent flesh on the bone
 108 Causes Galileo's math book to get thrown
 109 At Delilah who's sitting worthlessly alone
 110 But the tears on her cheeks are from laughter
 111
 112 Now I wish I could give Brother Bill his great thrill
 113 I would set him in chains at the top of the hill
 114 Then send out for some pillars and Cecil B. DeMille
 115 He could die happily ever after
 116
 117 Mama's in the fact'ry
 118 She ain't got no shoes
 119 Daddy's in the alley
 120 He's lookin' for food
 121 I'm in the kitchen
 122 With the tombstone blues
 123
 124 Where Ma Raney and Beethoven once unwrapped their bed roll
 125 Tuba players now rehearse around the flagpole
 126 And the National Bank at a profit sells road maps for the soul
 127 To the old folks home and the college
 128
 129 Now I wish I could write you a melody so plain
 130 That could hold you dear lady from going insane
 131 That could ease you and cool you and cease the pain
 132 Of your useless and pointless knowledge
 133
 134 Mama's in the fact'ry
 135 She ain't got no shoes
 136 Daddy's in the alley
 137 He's lookin' for the fuse
 138 I'm in the streets
 139 With the tombstone blues
 140 </pre>
 141
 142 <hr />
 143
 144 <p>*) The copyrighted version has &ldquo;looking for the fuse / I am in the streets&rdquo;</p>
 145
 146
 147 <p>Solo licks:</p>
 148 <pre class="tab">
 149 Main Riff Throughout        w/ the Tombstone Blues...
 150 ||--2-----------------|-||-------------------------------|-----------------
 151 ||----5----2----2-----|-||-------17^----17^--------------|-----------------
 152 ||*-----4^---4^---2---|-||*---16-----16-----16-16^-14----|-----------------
 153 ||*-----------------4-|-||*---------------------------16-|-----------------
 154 ||--------------------|-||-------------------------------|-----------------
 155 ||--------------------|-||-------------------------------|-----------------
 156 </pre>
 157
 158 <pre class="tab">
 159 ||------12-----------------------------------|-----------------------------
 160 ||--12^----12-12-12-12-10---12^--------------|-----------------------------
 161 ||*-----------------------------11-----------|-----------------------------
 162 ||*------------------------------------------|-----------------------------
 163 ||---------------------------------14-14^----|-----------------------------
 164 ||----------------------------------------14-|-----------------------------
 165 </pre>
 166
 167 <hr />
 168
 169 <h2 class="songversion"><em>Real Live</em> version</h2>
 170 <pre class="verse">
 171     B
 172 The sweet pretty things are in bed now of course
 173
 174 The city fathers they're trying to endorse
 175
 176 The reincarnation of Paul Revere's horse
 177         A                      B
 178 But the town has no need to be nervous
 179
 180 . . .
 181
 182 E
 183 Mama's in the fact'ry
 184           B
 185 She ain't got no shoes
 186 E
 187 Daddy's in the alley
 188      B
 189 He's lookin' for food
 190 E
 191 I'm in the kitchen
 192                    B
 193 With the tombstone blues
 194 </pre>
 195
 196 <hr />
 197
 198 <h2 class="songversion"><em><a class="recordlink" href="../37_unplugged/index.htm">Unplugged</a></em> version</h2>
 199
 200 <p>(recorded nov 1994)</p>
 201
 202 <p>The G is a bluesy mix of G major and minor (exactly the same used in <a href="../00_misc/viola_lee_blues.htm" class="songlink">Viola Lee Blues</a>.</p>
 203
 204 <p>The following riff is played by one of the guitars throughout the
 205 song, where there's a line with G.</p>
 206 <pre class="tab">
 207   G
 208   :     .     .     .       :     .     .     .
 209 |-------------------------|---------------1---------|-
 210 |-------------------------|------------23--3--------|-
 211 |--- 3----0---------3--0--|----3----0---------3--0--|-
 212 |-------------------------|-------------------------|-
 213 |-------------------------|-------------------------|-
 214 |-------------------------|-------------------------|-
 215 </pre>
 216
 217 <pre class="verse">
 218     G
 219 The sweet pretty things they're in bed now of course
 220
 221 The city fathers they're trying to endorse
 222
 223 The reincarnation of Paul Revere's horse
 224         Bb          C          G
 225 But the town has no need to be nervous
 226
 227 The ghost of Belle Starr she hands down her wits
 228 To Jezebel the nun she violently knits
 229 A bald wig for Jack the Ripper who sits
 230 At the head of the chamber of commerce
 231
 232 C
 233 Mama's in the fact'ry
 234           G
 235 She ain't got no shoes
 236 C
 237 Daddy's in the hallway
 238 G
 239 lookin' for the fuse
 240 C
 241 I'm in the kitchen with the
 242 C   Bb    G
 243 tombstone blues
 244 </pre>
 245 </body></html>