Richard Thompson : Misc: Acoustic

Em7b5 xx2333

Dm

A7

Dm

We were heroes them, and the girls were all pretty

Dm

And a uniform was a lucky charm

Bb7

A7

Bought you the key to the city

F

We used to dance the whole night through

Bb7

Eb7

While Al Bowlly sang, "The Very Thought of You"

Em7b5

A7

Dm

Al Bowlly's in heaven, and I'm in limbo now I gave my youth to King and country But what's my country done for me But sentenced me to misery I traded my helmet and my parachute For a pair of crutches and a de-mob suit Al Bowlly's in heaven, and I'm in limbo now

F

C

F

C

Hard times, hard hard times

F

C

F

C

Hostels and missions and dosser's soup lines

F

C

F

C

Can't close me eyes on a bench or a bed

Bb7

A7

For the sound of some battle raging in my head Old friends, You lose so many You get run around all over town The wear and the tear of it just drag you down St Mungo's with its dirty old sheets Beats standing all day down on Scarborough Street Al Bowlly's in heaven, and I'm in limbo now Can't stay here, got to foot slog Once in a blue moon, you might find a job Sleep in the rain, sleep in the snow When the beds are all taken, you've got nowhere to go I can see me now, back there on the dance-floor With a blonde on me arm, red head to spare Spit on me shoes and shine in me hair And there's Al Bowlly, up on the stand That was a voice, and that was a band Al Bowlly's in heaven, and I'm in limbo now

G

D

Once there was a son

Am

C

Among the gorse, among the grey

G

D

And wondrous dreams he spun

Am

C

Among the gorse, among the grey

G

And he chased the clouds

C

And he kissed the wind

Bm

D

Barefoot and bloody at the knee

Em

It is, he said

C

D

Em

As if the world was made for me

G

D

And the elders gathered round

Am

C

Among the gorse, among the grey

G

D

And they staked him to the ground

Am

C

Among the gorse, among the grey

G

And they sucked the joy

C

From his beating heart

Bm

D

They washed his eyes with rue

Em

Now come, they said

C

D

Em

Come to the world we made for you

Em

D

Em

Fergus Laing is a beast of a man

G

A

Em

He stitches up and fleeces

Em

D

Em

He wants to manicure the world

G

A

Em

And sell it off in pieces

G

He likes to build his towers high

A

He blocks the sun out of the sky

Bm

A

In the penthouse the champagne's dry

Em

And slightly gassy Fergus Laing, he works so hard As busy as a bee is Fergus Laing has seventeen friends All as dull as he is His seventeen friends have seventeen wives All the perfect shape and size They wag their tails and bat their eyes Just like Lassie

A

Fergus Laing he builds and builds

Em

Yet small is his erection

A

Fergus Laing has a fine head of hair

Em

D

When the wind's in the right direction

C

B7

The wind's in the right direction Fergus Laing and his seventeen friends They live inside a bubble There they withdraw and shut the door At any sign of trouble Should the peasants wail and vent And ask him where the money went He'll simply say, it's all been spent On being classy Fergus' buildings reach the sky Until you cannot see 'em He thinks the old stuff he pulls down Belongs in a museum His own fair home is on the Park An airy jewel, a city ark Hung with Picasso, hung with Braque But nothing brassy Fergus Laing he builds and builds Yet small is his erection Fergus Laing has a fine head of hair When the wind's in the right direction The wind's in the right direction

Tuning: DADGBE (Drop D)

Capo:

II

G

D

Oh she dressed in the dark and she whispered Amen

G

C

D

C

She was pretty in pink, like a young girl again

G

D

Twenty years married, but she never thought twice

G

C

D

G

She sneaked out the door and walked into the night

D

C

G

And silver wings carried her over the sea

D

C

G

From the west coast of Ireland to west Tennessee

G

D

To be with her sweetheart she left everything

G

C

D

G

From Galway to Graceland to be with the King She was humming "Suspicion", that's the song she liked best She had "Elvis I love you" tattooed on her breast They landed in Memphis, her heart beat so fast She'd dreamed for so long, now she'd see him at last She was down by his graveside day after day Come closing time they would drag her away To be with her sweetheart, she left everything From Galway to Graceland to be with the King They came in the thousands, from the whole human race To pay their respects at his last resting place Ah but blindly she knelt there and she told him her dreams And she thought that he answered, or that's how it seemed And they dragged her away, it was handcuffs this time She said my dear man, are you out of your mind? Can't you see that we're married? I'm wearing his ring I've come from Galway to Graceland to be with the King From Galway to Graceland to be with the King

Tuning: DADGBE (Drop D)

Sweet thing, believe me You'll never deceive me You stared me down without blinking That's when I really started thinking You must have been running around You must have been running around 'Cause you were smiling Your friends say you're antsy For something fancy Like a caged bird that's broken free You want to fly high and mess on me Well, I know you've got a secret or two Your hair's in a brand new do And you're so happy Good things happen to bad people Good things happen to bad people But only, but only for a while You cried the day I walked you down the aisle And I know you've been bad from the way you smile Mona Lisa, what a teaser What's that strange cologne I'm smelling ? You know more than you're telling Well, I know you been running around I know you must have been running around 'Cause you're so happy Good things happen to bad people Good things happen to bad people But only, but only for a while You cried the day I walked you down the aisle And I know you've been bad from the way you smile Good things happen to bad people Good things happen to bad people But only, but only for a while You cried the day I walked you down the aisle And I know you've been bad from the way you smile

Well you know, I can't do nothing for you And you know, I say my piece and then I'll pound that pavement always wishing That I could live my life again Well I raised some Cain and sank some whiskey Well I ram like a mainsail There's arms I've held and hearts I've broken If I could live my life again And I hate the four walls of this prison Those cowards let me take the blame I swear I'll run with better company If I could live my life again And you know, true slipped through my fingers Somehow I never could explain Next time I'll say just what I'm thinking If I could live my life again And I wish that my sins could be forgiven That's why I sing this old refrain Just one more chance is all I'm asking If I could live my life again If I could live my life again

From the "Rogue's Gallery" collection.

Capo:

V

C

Heel your ho, boys, let 'em go, boys

G

F

Heave her head round into the weather

G

C

Heel your ho, boys, let 'em go, boys

G

C

Sailing homeward to Mingulay

C

What care we how white the Minch is?

G

F

What care we, boys, for windy weather?

G

C

When we know that every inch is

G

C

Closer homeward to Mingulay Heel your ho, boys, let 'em go, boys Heave her head round into the weather Heel your ho, boys, let 'em go, boys Sailing homeward to Mingulay

Instrumental verse

Wives are waiting at the pier head Gazing seaward from the heather Heave her head round and we'll anchor 'Ere the sun sets on Mingulay Heel your ho, boys, let 'em go, boys Heave her head round into the weather Heel your ho, boys, let 'em go, boys Sailing homeward to Mingulay Sailing homeward to Mingulay

Instrumental verse x2

Tuning: DADGBE (Drop D)

Capo:

V

C

F

G

C

F

C

E|---------|--------------|-------------h---------|------------------|---------|

B|---------|--------------|-------1--5-353--------|------------------|---------|

G|-0---0---|-2------2-----|-2--4-----------5-4----|-0----------------|-----0---|

D|---0---0-|----3-----3---|---------------------7-|---0-2--0-0--2----|---------|

A|-3---3---|--------------|-----------------------|-3--------------3-|-2---3---|

D|---------|-3----3-----3-|-3--------5----------5-|--------3-3-------|---5-----|

C

F

G

C

F

E|---------|--------------|-------------h---------|-------------------|--------|

B|---------|--------------|-------1--5-353--------|----3--1-----1-----|-1------|

G|-0---0---|-2------2-----|-2--4-----------5-4----|-0-------2-----2---|--------|

D|---0---0-|----3-----3---|---------------------7-|-----------3-----3-|--------|

A|-3---3---|--------------|-----------------------|-3-----------------|--------|

D|---------|-3----3-----3-|-3--------5----------5-|-------3-----------|-3------|

G/b

C

D

G

C

You and I, tempted by the promise of a different life

G/d

C

D

G

C

Time has fled, there's a constant battle running through my head

Am

D

G

G/b

C

And I don't know what to do, 'cause I still believe

Am

D

Em

After all the foolish things you've put me through

Am

D

Em

I could always make a start on something new

Am

D

C

D

And I've always been a man who's open to... persuasion Blind romance, there'll be no half measures given half a chance But we never learn, trusting in the fire while the cruel flame burns And we need to rebuild what was never there What got left behind After all the foolish things that we've been through I could always make a start on something new And I'll always be a man who's open to... persuasion

G

D

And it's written in my heart

C

G

So that everybody can see it

G

D

And it's written in my soul

Am

D

After all, I still believe it

Em

Am

D

I still believe it

Em

Am

D

I still believe it

Em

Am

D

G/b

I still believe it I don't know what to do, 'cause I still believe After all the foolish things you put me through I could always make a start with something new And I'll always be a man who's open to... persuasion I still believe it... persuasion

Tuning: DADGBE (Drop D)

Capo:

III

D

Valerie, you give me heart attack Valarie, you put me on the rack You say that I'm history, you say I'm no good Then you want to be two babes in the wood

Bm

A

G

Bm

That's what I call playing to the gallery

Bm

A

G

D

I'm wait, wait, waiting for Valerie Valerie, she's got a scar down here Valerie, she's got gold in her ear A figure like this, lips like that Red fingernails, teeth like a cat She never gets home till five or four or three I'm wait, wait, waiting for Valerie

Bm

I'm soft in the head, I give her hard cash

D

She spends all my money on junk and trash

Bm

Nylon fur, plastic shoes

E

And fifty-seven things she's never going to use

E

Never, never, never going to use Valerie, you're going to choke or drown Valerie, why don't you put that down? If you don't get over this eating jag They're going to take you home in a body bag I can't stand to see one more calorie I'm wait, wait, waiting for Valerie Every time I turn my back She's round the corner looking for a crack It's going to be the ruin of me I'm running on nervous energy Running on nervous energy Valerie, she want to move out of town Valerie, she want the money down She want leopard-skin this, tiger-skin that Matching luggage, lipstick, hat I can't afford her on my salary I'm wait, wait, waiting for Valerie

D5

Gm

D5

Gm

D5

Gm

D5

When the spell is broken

D5

Gm

D5

When the spell is broken

F

Am

How you ever gonna keep her now

Am

Gm

You can't cry if you don't know how When the spell is broken When the spell is broken All the joy is gone from her face Welcome back to the human race

Am

How long can the flame

Bb

Of love remain?

C

Bb

When you curse and fight

C

Bb

And never see the like

C

Or hear like spoken

Dsus2

When the spell is broken When the spell is broken When the spell is broken All your magic and your ways and schemes All your lies come and tear at your dreams When the spell is broken When the spell is broken Now you're handing her that same old line It's just straws in the wind this time When love has died There's none starry-eyed No kiss, no tears No farewell souvenirs Not even a token When the spell is broken

Instrumental verse

Don't swear your heart From the very start Love letters you wrote Are pushed back down you throat And leave you choking When the spell is broken

Tuning: DADGAD

Capo:

II

Dm7 003500

G 5000x0

F 3000x0

These are Joni's original chords, transposed to Dm.

I haven't checked them against the fingerings here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS5IwEkypf0

Dm

C

Csus4

I came upon a child of God, he was walking along the road

C

Csus4

Dm

I asked him, where are you going? And this he told me

Dm

C

Csus4

I'm going down to Yasgur's Farm, gonna join in a rock and roll band

C

Csus4

Dm

Get camp out on the land and get my soul free

Dm

Bbadd9

G7sus4/d

We are stardust

F

Bbmaj7/d

We are golden

Dm

Csus4

C

Gsus4/d

F

Dm

And we got to get ourselves back to the garden So can I walk beside you? I've come here to lose the smog I feel to be a cog in something turning Maybe it's just the time of year, maybe it's the time of man I don't know who I am, but life is for learning We are stardust We are golden And we got to get ourselves back to the garden By the time we got to Woodstock we were half a million strong And everywhere there was song and celebration And I dreamed I saw the bombers riding shotgun in the sky Turning into butterflies above our nation We are stardust We are golden And we got to get ourselves back to the garden

Richard Thompson : Misc: Acoustic

Al Bowlly's In Heaven

Among The Gorse, Among The Grey

Fergus Laing

From Galway To Graceland

Good Things Happen To Bad People

If I Could Live My Life Again

Mingulay Boat Song

Persuasion

Valerie

When The Spell Is Broken

Woodstock