06_hwy61/it_takes_a_lot_to_laugh.htm

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   6 <title>It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry</title>
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  10 <h1 class="songtitle">It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry</h1>
  11 <p>Words and music Bob Dylan<br />
  12         Released on <a class="recordlink" href="index.htm">Highway 61 Revisited</a> (1965), in different
  13         studio versions on <a class="recordlink" href="../34_bootleg/index.htm">The Bootleg Series 1-3</a> (1991) and <a class="recordlink" href="../44_bs7_ndh/index.htm">No Direction Home</a> (2005), and in a live version on <a class="recordlink" href="../42_bs5/index.htm">Live 1975</a> (2002)<br />
  14         Tabbed by Eyolf &Oslash;strem</p>
  15 <hr />
  16 <h2 class="songversion">Original album version</h2>
  17 <p>Capo 1st fret (original key Ab major)</p>
  18 <p>The G - C/g - G (320003 - 3x2013 - 320003) pattern goes through the  whole song. One could play just a sustained G as well. The change of    this pattern that I've indicated in lines 2 and 4 is mainly to get an approximation to what the second guitar plays there. Likewise, in the last line there seems to be very little activity - maybe there should be just a G all through it.</p>
  19 <p>In later years, the song has been played as a slow, electric blues.</p>
  20 <hr />
  21 <p>Intro and recurring riff:</p>
  22 <pre class="tab">
  23       G     C/g   G     C/g
  24   .   :     .     .     .
  25 |---|---------3-------------3-|-
  26 |---|---------1-------------1-|-
  27 |---|-------0---0-----------0-|- etc.
  28 |---|-0---0-2---2-0---0-2---2-|-
  29 |-0-|-2---2-x---x-2---2-x---x-|-
  30 |-0-|-3---3-3---3-3---3-3---3-|-
  31 </pre>
  32 <pre class="verse">
  33         G         C/g        G    C/g
  34 Well, I ride on a mailtrain, baby,
  35 G7      C/g    G      C/g G C/g G
  36   Can't buy a  thrill.
  37       C/g       G   C/g G    C/g
  38 Well, I've been up all night,
  39 G              C/g    G
  40 Leanin' on the window sill.
  41       G    G7(/f)
  42 Well, if I die
  43    C/e        D    Dsus4 D
  44 On top of the hill
  45     G  C/g     G   C/g
  46 And if I don't make it,
  47 G    C/g     G C/g G
  48  You know my baby  will.
  49
  50 Don't the moon look good, mama,
  51 Shinin' through the trees?
  52 Don't the brakeman look good, mama,
  53 Flagging down the &quot;Double E&quot;?
  54 Don't the sun look good
  55 Goin' down over the sea?
  56 Don't my gal look fine
  57 When she's comin' after me?
  58
  59 Now the wintertime is coming,
  60 The windows are filled with frost.
  61 I went to tell everybody,
  62 But I could not get across.
  63 Well, I wanna be your lover, baby,
  64 I don't wanna be your boss.
  65 Don't say I never warned you
  66 When your train gets lost.</pre>
  67 <hr />
  68 <h2 class="songversion"><em>No Direction Home</em> version </h2>
  69 <pre class="verse">Well, I ride on a mailtrain, mama,
  70 Can't buy no thrill.
  71 I've been up all night, baby,
  72 Leanin' on the window sill.
  73 But if I die
  74 On top of the hill
  75 And if I don't make it,
  76 You know my baby  will.
  77
  78 Ah, don't the sun look good, baby,
  79 Coming down through the trees?
  80 Don't the ghost child look good, mama,
  81 Sittin' on this mad-man's knee?
  82 Don't the moon look good
  83 Goin' down over the sea?
  84 Don't my gal look fine
  85 When she's runnin' after me?
  86
  87 Well I just been to the baggage room
  88 where the engineer he's been tossed
  89 Oh, I stamped on 40 compasses,
  90 God knows what they cost
  91 Well, I wanna be your lover, baby,
  92 I don't wanna be your boss.
  93 And I can't help it
  94 if this train gets lost.</pre>
  95 <hr />
  96 <h2 class="songversion">Bootleg Series version</h2>
  97 <p>Uptempo electric blues with Dylan at the piano (presumably &ndash; it sounds
  98         like him, and none of the guitars do). The most appropriate way to
  99         play it on a guitar would be with a capo on the 4th fret (or with
 100         barr&eacute; chords), as in the following tab.</p>
 101 <p>The accompaniment figure would then be:</p>
 102 <pre class="tab">
 103   E           E6            E7          E6
 104 |-------------------------|--------------------------|
 105 |-------------------------|--------------------------|
 106 |-------------------------|--------------------------|
 107 |-------------------------|--------------------------|
 108 |-2-----2-----4-----4-----|-5-----5-----4-----4------|
 109 |-0-----0-----0-----0-----|-0-----0-----0-----0------|
 110 </pre>
 111 <p>The solo guitar plays this little lick at the end of each two-bar
 112         period (during the E-E6-E7-E6, that is):</p>
 113 <pre class="tab">
 114      (E6)          (E)
 115       .     .       :     .
 116 ------------------|------------
 117 ------------------|------------
 118 ------------------|------------
 119 ---b8r6---4-------|------------
 120 ------------6---4-|-6----------
 121 ------------------|------------
 122 </pre>
 123 <p>(b8r6 means that the string is struck in bent position, two semitones,
 124         as if played on the 8th fret, then released to normal position, on the
 125         6th fret).<br />
 126 </p>
 127 <pre class="verse">
 128         E         E6         E7    E6
 129 Well, I ride on a mailtrain, baby,
 130 E E6    E7      E6     |: E E6 E7 E6 :|
 131   Can't buy no thrill.
 132                E     E6      E7     E6
 133 Yes, I've been up all night, baby
 134 E       E6    E7 E6  |: E E6 E7 E6 :|
 135 Leanin' on the   window sill.
 136          E    E7/d
 137 Yes, but if I die
 138    A/c#       B
 139 On top of the hill
 140       E E6     E7      E6
 141 And if I don't make it,
 142 E E6       E7 E6       |: E E6 E7 E6 :| x4
 143   You know my baby will.
 144 </pre>
 145 <hr />
 146 <h2 class="songversion">Bangla Desh Concert version</h2>
 147 <p>Great (almost) solo acoustic version, played at the Concert for Bangla
 148         Desh, Aug 1, 1971 (Us release Dec 20, 1971)</p>
 149 <p>Chords:</p>
 150 <pre class="chords">
 151 G/d      xx043x
 152 Eo'      xx032x
 153 D7       xx021x
 154 G/d(iii) xx0433 (half-bar chord)
 155 D7(iii)  xx0535
 156 G7/f     120003
 157 </pre>
 158 <hr />
 159 <pre class="tab">
 160 Intro and recurring riff:         &quot;Can't buy a thrill&quot; figure:
 161
 162   G     C/g G       C/g G         G/d         Eo'   D7
 163   :     .     .     .             :     .     .     .
 164 |-3---3-3---3-3---3-3---3-|     |-------------------------|-3---       the bass plays an
 165 |-0---0-1---0-0---0-1---0-|     |-3---3-3---3-2-----1-----|-0---       ascending d-e-f#-g here)
 166 |-0---0-0---0-0---0-0---0-|     |-4---4-4---4-3-----2-----|-0---
 167 |-0---0-2---0-0---0-2---0-|     |-0-----------0-----0-----|-0--- etc.
 168 |-2---2-----2-2---2-----2-|     |-------------------------|-2---
 169 |-3---3-3---3-3---3-3---3-|     |-------------------------|-3---
 170                                         can't buy   a       thrill
 171 </pre>
 172 <pre class="tab">
 173 &quot;Top of the hill&quot; figure:
 174
 175   G           G7/f        C/e           D           G/d(iii)      D7(iii)     D
 176   :     .     .     .     .     .       :     .     .     .       :     .     .     .
 177 |-3-----------3-----------0-----------|-2---2-2---2-3---3-3---3-|-5-5-5-5---5-2---2-2---2-|
 178 |-0-----------0-----------1-----------|-3---3-3---3-3---3-3---3-|-3-3-3-3---3-3---3-3---3-|
 179 |-0-----------0-----------0-----------|-2---2-2---2-4---4-4---4-|-5-3-5-5---5-2---2-2---2-|
 180 |-0-----------0-----------2-----------|-0---0-0---0-0---0-0---0-|-0---0-0---0-0---0-0---0-|
 181 |-2-----------2-----------3-----------|---------------------------------------------------|
 182 |-3-----------1-----------0-----------|---------------------------------------------------|
 183   If  I       die      on top   of the  hill
 184 </pre>
 185 <hr />
 186 <pre class="verse">
 187         G
 188 Well, I ride a mailtrain, baby,
 189 G/d     Eo' D7 G
 190   Can't buy a  thrill.
 191                 G
 192 Well, I've been up all night,
 193 G/d            Eo' D7 G
 194 Leanin' on the window sill.
 195       G    G7/f
 196 Well, if I die
 197    C/e        D    G/d(iii)  D7(iii)  D
 198 On top of the hill
 199        G
 200 And if I don't make it,
 201              G/d D7    G
 202  You know my baby   will.
 203 </pre>
 204 <hr />
 205 <p>A variant for the &ldquo;can't buy a thrill&rdquo; figure in subsequent verses is:</p>
 206 <pre class="tab">
 207 |-7---7-7---7-6---6-5---5-|-3--
 208 |-------------------------|-0--
 209 |-7---7-7---7-6---6-5---5-|-0-- etc.
 210 |-0---0-0---0-0---0-0---0-|-0--
 211 |-------------------------|-2--
 212 |-------------------------|-3--
 213 </pre>
 214 <hr />
 215 <h2 class="songversion">Rolling Thunder Revue version</h2>
 216 <p>See the Bangla Desh version for intro and recurring riff and for the
 217         basic outline of the &ldquo;top of the hill&rdquo; figure.</p>
 218 <pre class="verse">
 219         G
 220 Well, I ride a mailtrain, baby,
 221 G       C   C G
 222   Can't buy a thrill.
 223                 G
 224 Well, I've been up all night,
 225 G              C  C   G
 226 Leanin' on the window sill.
 227       G    G7/f  *)                              *) could be played G7sus4/f (xx3013)
 228 Well, if I die                                      or plain F instead
 229    C/e        D    G/d(iii)  D7(iii)  D
 230 On top of the hill
 231        G
 232 And if I don't make it,
 233             C C  G
 234 You know my baby will.
 235 </pre>
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