04_anotherside/balladinplaind.htm

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   7 <title>Ballad in Plain D</title>
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  12
  13 <h1 class="songtitle">Ballad in Plain D</h1>
  14
  15
  16 <p>Words and music Bob Dylan<br />
  17 Released on <a class="recordlink" href="../04_anotherside/index.htm">Another Side Of Bob Dylan</a> (1964)<br />
  18 Tabbed by Eyolf &Oslash;strem</p>
  19
  20 <hr />
  21 <p>Probably Dylan's most misnamed song, since it's not really in plain D,
  22 but in plain C with a capo on the 2nd fret (which of course turns it
  23 into D, but hardly &ldquo;plain&rdquo;, from a guitar perspective, anyway)</p>
  24
  25 <p>The F chord at the end of lines 1 and 3 is sometimes played, sometimes
  26 not &ndash; it's just an embellishment, really.</p>
  27
  28 <p>What is played C/g-G7 in the last line of the first verse, is in most
  29 subsequent verses replaced with a G-G6-G7 turn.</p>
  30
  31 <p>Other deviations from the chords of the first verse are noted.</p>
  32
  33 <p>Chords:</p>
  34 <pre class="chords">
  35 G     320003
  36 G6    322003
  37 G7    323003
  38 C/g   332010
  39 Bb/d  xx0331   (in some verses he plays x00331, probably an error
  40                 but quite nice)
  41 </pre>
  42
  43 <hr />
  44
  45 <pre class="verse">
  46 G-G7 C            Am        C/g     (F) C
  47 I    once loved a girl, her skin it was bronze
  48                         Am            Bb/d          F
  49 With the innocence of a lamb, she was gentle like a fawn
  50   C           Am           C/g    (F) C
  51 I courted her proudly, but now she is gone
  52             C/g          G7 C     G G6 G7
  53 Gone as the season she's taken.
  54
  55 In a young summer's youth, I stole her away
  56 From her mother and sister, though close did they stay
  57 Each one of them suffering from the failures of their day
  58 With strings of guilt they tried hard to guide us.
  59
  60 Of the two sisters, I loved the young
  61      Am                   C/g          F
  62 With sensitive instincts, she was the creative one
  63 The constant scrapegoat, she was easily undone
  64 By the jealousy of others around her.
  65
  66 For her parasite sister, I had no respect
  67 C            Am           C/g      F
  68 Bound by her boredom, her pride to protect
  69 Countless visions of the other she'd reflect
  70 As a crutch for her scenes and her society.
  71
  72 Myself, for what I did, I cannot be excused
  73 The changes I was going through can't even be used
  74 For the lies that I told her in hopes not to lose
  75 The could-be dream-lover of my lifetime.
  76
  77      C      Am             C/g   F           C
  78 With unseen consciousness, I possessed in my grip
  79 A magnificent mantelpiece, though its heart being chipped
  80 Noticing not that I'd already slipped
  81 To a sin of love's false security.
  82
  83      C           Am       F            C
  84 From silhouetted anger to manufactured peace
  85 Answers of emptiness, voice vacancies
  86 Till the tombstones of damage read me no question but, &quot;Please
  87 What's wrong and what's exactly the matter?&quot;
  88
  89 And so it did happen, like it could have been foreseen
  90     C          Am         Bb        F
  91 The timeless explosion of fantasy's dream
  92 At the peak of the night, the king and the queen
  93 Tumbled all down into pieces.
  94
  95      C      Am          F          C
  96 &quot;The tragic figure&quot; her sister did shout
  97 &quot;Leave her alone, God damn you, get out&quot;
  98     C       Am     (Dm)    F C
  99 And I in my armor, turning about
 100 And nailing her in the ruins of her pettiness.
 101
 102 Beneath a bare light bulb the plaster did pound
 103 Her sister and I in a screaming battleground
 104 And she in between, the victim of sound
 105 Soon shattered as a child to the shadows.
 106
 107        C            Am                   C
 108 All is gone, all is gone, admit it, take flight
 109 I gagged in contradiction, tears blinding my sight
 110 My mind it was mangled, I ran into the night
 111 Leaving all of love's ashes behind me.
 112
 113     C              Am          F          C
 114 The wind knocks my window, the room it is wet
 115 The words to say I'm sorry, I haven't found yet
 116   C            Am                F          C
 117 I think of her often and hope whoever she's met
 118 Will be fully aware of how precious she is.
 119
 120 Harmonica solo verse:
 121
 122 C   Am    F    C
 123 C   Am    Bb/d F
 124 C   Am    C/g  F   C
 125 C   G  G6 G7   C
 126
 127 G G6 G7
 128
 129 Ah, my friends from the prison, they ask unto me
 130      C         Em           F
 131 &quot;How good, how good does it feel to be free&quot;?
 132 And I answer them most mysteriously
 133 &quot;Are birds free from the chains of the skyway&quot;?
 134
 135 Harmonica:
 136
 137 Am    C/g    F       F
 138 C     C      G G6 G7 G7
 139 C
 140 </pre>
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