Tom Waits : The Black Rider

Ladies and gentlemen Harry's Harbour Bizarre is proud to present Under the Big Top tonight Human Oddities That's right You'll see the three headed baby You'll see Hitler's brain See Lea Graff the German midget who sat in JF Morgan's lap You'll see Priscilla Bajano The monkey woman Jo-Jo the dog face boy I'm Milton Malone, the human skeleton See Grace McDaniel's The mule faced woman And she's the homeliest woman in the world Under the Big Top tonight Never before seen And if you have a heart condition, please be warned Don't forget to visit our snack bar at Charleston Grotto All sales are final Void where prohibited by law You'll see Sealo the seal boy who has flippers for arms You'll see Johnny Eck, the man born without a body He walks on his hands He has his own orchestra and is an excellent pianist See Gerd Bessler, the human pincushion And don't forget, it's ladies night at Harvy's Harbour Bizarre You'll see Koko the bird girl Mortando, the human fountain Step a little A little closer ladies and gentlemen and don't be shy Dig deep in your pockets You'll see Radion, the human torso Deep from the jungles of Africa Ladies and gentlemen, Harry's Harbour Bizarre Ladies and gentlemen

C

Am

Dm

G

C

A

Come on along with the Black Rider

Dm

G7

C

Am

Dm

G

We'll have a gay old time

C

A

Lay down in the web of the black spider

Dm

G7

C

I'll drink your blood like wine

C

So come on in

F

It ain't no sin

Dm

Take off your skin

G7

And dance around your bones

C

A

So come along with the Black Rider

Dm

G7

C

Am

Dm

G

We'll have a gay old time

C

Am

Dm

G

Anchors away with the Black Rider I'll drink your blood like wine I'll drop you off in Harlem with the Black Rider Out where the bullets shine And when you're done You cock your gun The blood will run Like ribbons in your hair Just come along with the Black Rider We'll have a gay old time Well just come on along with the Black Rider I've got just the thing for thee Come on along with the Black Rider I want your company I think I'll have the veal A lovely meal That's how I feel Oh, may I use your skull for a bowl? Come on along with the Black Rider

Dm

G7

We'll have a gay old

Em

A7

We'll have a gay old

Dm

G7

We'll have a gay old

Em

A7

We'll have a gay old

Dm

G7

Eb

We'll have a gay old time

C

A/c#

Dm

G

x2

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Fm

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Db7

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Csus4

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C7

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Fm

C/g

AbG

No shadows, no stars

Eb

Fm

C7/g

There's no moon and no cars

Fm

November

Fm

C7

Eb

Ab

It only believes in a pile of dead leaves

Fm

Db

C7/g

And a moon that's the color of bone

Fm

Db

Eb

C7

No prayers for November to linger longer

Fm

C7/g

Stick your spoon in the wall

Fm

C7

And we'll slaughter them all

Fm

Eb/g

Ab

Eb

November has tied me to an old dead tree

Ab

Eb7

Ab

C7

Get word to April to rescue me

Fm

Db

Eb

Ab

November's cold chain made of wet boots and rain

Fm

Db

Eb7/g

C7

And shiny black ravens on chimney smoke lanes

Fm

C7

November seems odd

Fm

C7

You're my firing squad

Fm

November |

Ab/c

Bbm/db

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Bb/d

Cm/eb

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C/e

Fm

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C7/g

C7

|

Fm

C7

Fm

With my hair slicked back with carrion shellac

Fm

C7

Fm

C7

And the blood from a pheasant and the bone from a hare

Fm

Db

Eb7

Ab

Tied to the branches of a roebuck stag

Fm

Db

Eb

C

Left to wave in the timber like a buckshot flag

Fm

C

Go away, you rainsnout

Fm

C7

Go away, blow your brains out

Fm

November

C7

Fm

There is a light in the forest

Eb

Ab

There's a face in the tree

C7

Fm

I'll pull you out of the chorus

Eb

Fm

And the first one's always free

Db

Eb

Fm

You can never go a hunting

Db

Eb

Fm

With just a flintlock and a hound

C7

Fm

You won't go home with a bunting

Bbm

C7

Fm

If you blow a hundred rounds It takes much more than wild courage Or you'll hit the tattered clouds You must have just the right bullet And the first one's always free You must be careful in the forest Broken glass and rusty nails If you're to bring back something for us I have bullets for sale |

Fm

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Fm

Eb

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Fm

Eb

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C

Fm

| Why be a fool when you can chase away Your blind and your gloom I have blessed each one of these bullets And they shine just like a spoon To have sixty silver wishes Is a small price to pay They'll be your private little fishes And they'll never swim away I just want you to be happy That's my only little wish I'll fix your wagon and your musket And the spoon will have its dish And I shudder at the thought Of your poor empty hunter's pouch So I'll keep the wind from your barrel And bless the roof of your house |

Fm

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Fm

Eb

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Fm

Eb

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C

Fm

|

When you hear sweet syncopation And the music softly moans T'ain't no sin to take off your skin And dance around in your bones When it gets too hot for comfort And you can't get an ice cream cone T'ain't no sin to take off your skin And dance around your bones Just like those bamboo babies Down in the South Sea tropic zone T'ain't no sin to take off your skin And dance around your bones

Serves as an intro to The Briar and the Rose, with the same music:

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F

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Gm

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C

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F

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F

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Gm

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C7

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F

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Bb

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Am

|

A7

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Dm7

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Bb

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C7

|

Fsus4

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F

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Dm

|

C

|

Bb

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F/a

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Bb

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F

|

Gm

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C7

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F

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C

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F

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Bb

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Bb9

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C7

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Fsus4

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F

| That's the way the stomach rumbles That's the way the bee bumbles That's the way the needle pricks That's the way the glue sticks That's the way the potato mashes That's the way the pan flashes That's the way the market crashes That's the way the whip lashes That's the way the teeth gnashes That's the way the gravy stains That's the way the moon wanes

Key:

F

Gm

C

F

I fell asleep down by the stream

F

Gm

C7

F

And there I had the strangest dream

Bb

Am

A7

Dm7

And down by Brennan's Glen there grows

Bb

C7

Fsus4

F9

F

A briar and a rose

Dm

C

Bb

F/a

There's a tree in the forest, but I don't know where

Bb

F

Gm

C7

I built a nest out of your hair

F

C

F

Bb

And climbing up into the air

Bb9

C7

F

A briar and a rose

Modulate to:

G

Am

D7

G

I don't know how long it has been

G

Am

D7

G

But I was born in Brennan's Glen

C

G/b

B/d#

Em

And near the end of spring there grows

Am7

D11

G

A briar and a rose

Em

D

C

G/b

I picked the rose one early morn

C

G

Am

D7

I pricked my finger on a thorn

G

D7

G

C

They'd grown so close their winding wove

G/d

D7

G

The briar and the rose

G

Am

D7

G

I tried to tear them both apart

G

Am

D7

G

I felt a bullet in my heart

C

G/b

B/d#

Em

And all dressed up in spring's new clothes

Am7

D11

G

The briar and the rose

Em

D

C

G

And when I'm buried in my grave

C

G

Am7

D7

Tell me so I will know

G

D

G

C

Your tears will fall to make love grow

G

D7

G

The briar and the rose Your tears will fall to make them grow The briar and the rose

I'll shoot the moon right out of the sky for you baby I'll be the pennies on your eyes for you baby I want to take you out to the fair Here is a red rose ribbon for your hair I'll shoot the moon right out of the sky for you baby I'll shoot the moon for you A vulture circles over your head for you baby I'll be the flowers after you're dead for you baby I want to build a nest in your hair I want to kiss you and never be there And I'll shoot the moon right out of the sky for you baby I'll shoot the moon for you You know I love you, baby So why don't you call me? You know my number, 392-7704 Call any time I'll shoot the moon right out of the sky for you baby I'll shoot the moon for you I'll shoot the moon right out of the sky for you baby I'll be the flowers after you're dead for you baby I want to build a nest in your hair I want to kiss you and never be there I'll shoot the moon right out of the sky for you baby I'll shoot the moon for you

The flash pan hunter sways with the wind And his rifle is the sound of the morning Each sulfurous bullet must have its own wit Each cartridge comes with a warning Beware of elaborate telescopic meat It will find its way back to the forest For Wilhelm can't wait to be Peg Leg's crown As the briar is strangling the rose back down His back shall be my slender new branch It will bend, it will sway in the breeze As the devil does his polka with a hatchet in his hand As a sniper in the branches of the trees As the vulture flutters down as the snake sheds his dove Wilhelm's cutting off his fingers so they'll fit into the glove For Wilhelm can't wait to be Peg Leg's crown As the briar is strangling the rose back down The briar is strangling the rose back down

Now, George was a good straight boy to begin with But there was bad blood in him someway He got into the magic bullets and that leads straight to the Devil's work Just like marijuana leads to heroin You think you can take them bullets or leave 'em, do you? Just save a few for your bad days Well, now, we all have those bad days when you can't hit for shit The more of them magics you use, the more bad days you have without them So it comes down finally to all your days being bad without the bullets It's magics or nothing Time to stop chippying around and kidding yourself Kid, you're hooked, heavy as lead And that's where old George found himself, out there at the crossroads Molding the Devil's bullets Now a man figures it's his bullets, so it will hit what he wants But it don't always work that way You see, some bullets is special for a single aim A certain stag, or a certain person And no matter where you are, that's where the bullet will end up And in the moment of aiming, the gun turns into a dowser's wand And points where the bullet wants to go George Schmidt was moving in a series of convulsive spasms Like someone with an epileptic fit, with his face contorted And his eyes wild like a lassoed horse Bracing his legs, but something kept pulling him on Now he's picking up the skulls and making the circle I guess old George didn't rightly know what he's getting himself into The fit was on him and it carried him right to the crossroads

Come on people, got to get on board Train is leaving and there's room for one more God don't listen to the devil, he got ways to move you This train don't carry no smokers This train... Well, come on people, 'cause it's startin' to rain Get on board, it's the gospel train, yeah! Don't listen to the devil, now People, don't listen to the devil Satan will fool you Satan will fool you I said Satan will fool you Well, this train don't carry no smokers This train... This train... Come on people, get on board Train is leaving and there's room for one more Just trust in the Lord

D7

G

B

Em

The prettiest girl in all the world

Am

D7

G

D7

Is in a little Spanish town

G

B

Em

But I left her for a bonny lass

A7

D7

And I told her I'd see her around

G

G7

C

But that bonny lass and her heart of glass

A7

D

Em7b5

Fm7b5

D7

Would not hold a candle to bumming around

G

B

Em

So don't cry for me, 'cause I'm goin' away

Am

D7

G

D7

And I'll be back some lucky day Well, tell the boys back home that I'm doing just fine I left all my troubles and woe So sing about me, for I can't come home I've many, many, many more miles to go Why, there's Miss Kelsey, she taught dance at our school And old Johnny O'Toole, I'll still beat you at pool So don't cry for me, for I'm goin' away And I'll be back some lucky day Well, when I was a boy, my daddy sat me on his knee And he told me, he told me many things And he said son, there's a lot of things in this world That you're gonna have no use for And when you get blue and you've lost all your dreams There's nothin' like a campfire and a can of beans Why, there's Miss Kelsey, she taught dance at our school And old Johnny O'Toole, I'll still beat you at pool So don't cry for me, for I'm goin' away And I'll be back some lucky day So don't cry for me, for I'm goin' away And I'll be back some lucky day

I love the way the tattered clouds Blow wind across the sky As summer goes and leaves me With a tear in my eye I'm taking out my winter clothes My garden knows what's wrong The petals of my favorite rose Are in the shadows dark and long Through every year it's very clear I should be used to carrying on But I can be found in the garden singing this song When the last rose of summer is gone

Tom Waits : The Black Rider
1993

Lucky Day Overture

The Black Rider

November

Just The Right Bullets

T'ain't No Sin

That's The Way

The Briar And The Rose

I'll Shoot The Moon

Flash Pan Hunter

Crossroads

Gospel Train

Lucky Day

The Last Rose Of Summer

Tom Waits : The Black Rider 1993

Lucky Day Overture

The Black Rider

November

Just The Right Bullets

T'ain't No Sin

That's The Way

The Briar And The Rose

I'll Shoot The Moon

Flash Pan Hunter

Crossroads

Gospel Train

Lucky Day

The Last Rose Of Summer

Tom Waits : The Black Rider
1993