00_misc/railroad_bill.htm

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  12 <head>
  13 <title>Railroad Bill</title>
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  16
  17 <body>
  18
  19 <h1 class="songtitle">Railroad Bill</h1>
  20
  21
  22 <p>Trad.<br />
  23 As sung by Bob Dylan on the &ldquo;Minnesota Party Tape&rdquo; (May 1961)<br />
  24 Tabbed by Eyolf &Oslash;strem</p>
  25
  26 <hr />
  27
  28 <p>The accompainment here is fingerpicking, but not in its more common,
  29 steady-thumbed version. The alternating thumb is there, but played
  30 quite irregularly: lots of thumbstrokes are left out, and the accent
  31 pattern is reversed, so that the accented strokes are placed on
  32 usually unaccented beats, which gives the syncopated feel to the
  33 piece. The ground pattern is what is found in the second and third
  34 C-major chords in the first line. It's a very neat way of combining a
  35 melody in the upper voice, with a syncopated rhythm in the lower
  36 (including the index-finger stroke on the 3rd string in the bass
  37 line).</p>
  38
  39 <p>Anoter unusual feature is the mixture of fingerpicking and strumming,
  40 especially in the F chord parts. The tab here is just an
  41 approximation.</p>
  42
  43 <hr />
  44
  45 <pre class="tab">
  46                 C
  47   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
  48 --------------|-----3-----------|-3---------3-----|-3---------1-----|-0---------------|
  49 --------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
  50 --------------|-----------0-----|-------0---------|-------0---------|-----------------|
  51 --------------|--------(2)------|-------------2---|-------------2---|-----------------|
  52 ------0---2---|-3---3-------3---|-3---3-----------|-3---3-----------|-----------------|
  53 -[3]----------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----3---2---1---|
  54 </pre>
  55 <pre class="tab">
  56   E                                   F
  57   :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
  58 |-----0-0---------|-------0---------|-----1-1---------|-------1---------|
  59 |-----0-0---------|-----------0-----|-----1-1---1-----|-----------1-----|
  60 |-----------1-----|-0h1-------------|-----2-2-----2---|-0h2-------------|
  61 |-----------------|-------------2---|-0h3-------------|-----3-------3---|
  62 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
  63 |-0-----------0---|-----0---0-------|-----------------|-----------------|
  64 </pre>
  65 <pre class="tab">
  66   C                 G                 C
  67   :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
  68 |-------0---------|-------3---------|-0---------0-----|-0---------0-----||
  69 |-----------1-----|-----------0-----|-----------------|-----------------||
  70 |-0---------------|-----------------|-------0---------|-------0---------||
  71 |-----------------|-----------------|-------------2---|-------------2---||
  72 |-----3-------3---|-------------0---|-3---3-----------|-3---3-----------||
  73 |-----------------|-3---3-----------|-----------------|-----------------||
  74 </pre>
  75 <pre class="tab">
  76   C
  77   :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
  78 |-3---------3-----|-3---------3-----|/5-----5---------|-3-----0---------|
  79 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------1-----|
  80 |-------0---------|-------0---------|(0)--------0-----|-----------------|
  81 |-------------2---|-------------2---|(4)----------4---|-----------------|
  82 |-3---3-----------|-3---3-----------|/5---5-----------|-3---3-----------|
  83 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-------------0---|
  84 </pre>
  85 <pre class="tab">
  86   E                                   F
  87   :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
  88 |-------0---------|-------0---------|-----1-1---------|-----1-1---------|
  89 |-----------------|-----------0-----|-----1-1---1-----|-1---1-1---1(1)--|
  90 |-0h1-------1-----|-0h1-------------|-----2-2---------|(0h2)2-2--(2-2)--|
  91 |-----------------|-------------2---|-0---------------|----------(3)3---|
  92 |-----------------|-----------------|-----3-------0---|-----------------|
  93 |-----0---0---0---|-----0---0-------|-----------------|-----------------|
  94 </pre>
  95 <pre class="tab">
  96   C                 G                 C
  97   :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
  98 |-------0---------|------(3)--------|-0---------0-----|-0---------0-----||
  99 |-----------1-----|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||
 100 |-0---------------|-----------0-----|-------0---------|-------0---------||
 101 |-----------------|-------------0---|-------------2---|-------------2---||
 102 |-----3-------3---|-----------------|-3---3-----------|-3---3-----------||
 103 |-----------------|-3---3-----------|-----------------|-----------------||
 104 </pre>
 105
 106 <pre class="verse">
 107 C
 108 Railroad Bill, he ain't so bad,
 109 E                         F
 110 killed his mommy, shot a [round] in his dad [/around with?]
 111 C        G        C
 112 Ride old Railroad Bill.
 113 </pre>
 114
 115 <pre class="bridge">
 116 [2 instr. verses, 2nd with harp]
 117 </pre>
 118
 119 <pre class="verse">
 120 Railroad Bill took my wife.
 121 If I'd said a word, he'd have taken my life
 122 Ride old Railroad Bill.
 123 </pre>
 124
 125 <pre class="bridge">
 126 [harp verse]
 127 </pre>
 128
 129 <pre class="verse">
 130 Railroad Bill he was comin' down the hill
 131 Lightin' cigars with a ten-dollar bill
 132 Ride old Railroad Bill
 133 </pre>
 134
 135 <pre class="bridge">
 136 [guitar verse + harp verse]
 137 </pre>
 138
 139 <pre class="verse">
 140 Ten policemen, all dressed in black,
 141 coming out of nowhere, walking down the tracks,
 142 and they're looking for Railroad Bill
 143 </pre>
 144
 145 <pre class="bridge">
 146 [guitar verse]
 147 </pre>
 148
 149 <pre class="verse">
 150 Railroad Bill, [comin' round the bend][/fence?]
 151 Robbin' a passenger train for 16 cents
 152 I'm gonna ride old Railroad Bill
 153 </pre>
 154
 155 <pre class="bridge">
 156 [guitar verse]
 157 </pre>
 158
 159 <pre class="verse">
 160 Railroad Bill got in a gamblin' game
 161 shot a man down, though he was to blame
 162 when you lose your mind, let it [turn?] loose
 163 </pre>
 164
 165 <pre class="bridge">
 166 [harp verse]
 167 </pre>
 168
 169 <pre class="verse">
 170 He's down in a jailhouse singin' railer's blues
 171 Same old pants on your passenger shoes
 172 When you lose your mind, let it loose
 173 </pre>
 174
 175 <pre class="bridge">
 176 [wicked harp verse + guitar verse]
 177 </pre>
 178
 179 <pre class="verse">
 180 Railroad Bill he's a mighty bad man
 181 Shot the lantern from a brakeman's hand
 182 Just to see that man suffer pain.
 183 </pre>
 184
 185 <pre class="bridge">
 186 [two lines of instrumental, then:]
 187 ride, ride, ride, ride.
 188 </pre>
 189
 190 <hr />
 191
 192 <h2 class="songversion">Additional verses from other versions</h2>
 193
 194 <p>Early one morning, standing in the rain<br />
 195 'round the curb come a long freight train</p>
 196
 197 <p>Railroad Bill, a-comin' on soon<br />
 198 Killed McMillen by the light of the moon</p>
 199
 200 <p>Kill me a chicken, send me the wing,<br />
 201 They think I'm working, lord, I ain't doin' a thing</p>
 202
 203 <p>Kill me a chicken, send me the hip<br />
 204 Think I'm workin', Lord, I'm laying in [deep]</p>
 205
 206 <p>Got a great long pistol, 'bout as long as your arm,<br />
 207 I'm gonna shoot everybody ever done me harm</p>
 208
 209 <p>Got a .38 special on a .45 frame.<br />
 210 How can I miss when I got dead aim</p>
 211
 212 <p>Gonna drink my whisky, gonna drink it in the wind<br />
 213 the doctor said it'd cure me, but he didn't say when</p>
 214
 215 <p>Going up on the mountain, going out west.<br />
 216 Thirty eight special sticking out of my vest.</p>
 217
 218 <p>Honey honey, think I'm a fool.<br />
 219 Think I would quit you when the weather is cool.</p>
 220
 221 </body></html>