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Townes Van Zandt : Townes Van Zandt
1969

  1. For The Sake Of The Song
  2. Columbine
  3. Waitin' Around To Die
  4. Don't You Take It Too Bad
  5. Colorado Girl

  6. Lungs
  7. I'll Be There In The Morning
  8. Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel
  9. Quicksilver Daydreams Of Maria
  10. None But The Rain

For The Sake Of The Song

A
D
A
D
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A
E
A
A
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A
D
A
Why does she sing her sad songs for me? I'm not the one
A
D
A
To tenderly bring her soft sympathy. I've just begun
E
E
A
To see me way clear and it's plain if I stop I should fall
E
A
I can lay down a tear for her pain, just a tear and that's all
D
A
D
What does she want me to do? She says that she knows
E
A
These moments are rare, I suppose that it's true
D
E
A
Then on she goes to say I don't care, ah, she knows that I do
E
A
Maybe she just has to sing for the sake of the song
E
A
And who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong? She'd like to think that I'm cruel, but she knows that's a lie for I would be No more than a tool If I allowed her to cry all over me Oh my sorrow is real, even though I can't change my plans If she could see how I feel then I know that she'd understand Oh does she actually think I'm to blame? Does she really believe That some word of mine Can relieve All her pain? Can't she see that she grieves Just because she's been blindly deceived by her shame? Maybe she just has to sing for the sake of the song And who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong? Oh, but nothing's what it seems, maybe she'll start someday to realize If she abandons her dreams, then all the words she can say are only lies Oh, why can't she see that to gain is only to lose? All that she offers me are her chains, I got to refuse Oh but it's only to herself that she's lied she likes to pretend It's something that she should defend, with her pride And I don't intend to stand here and be the friend from whom she must hide Maybe she just has to sing for the sake of the song And who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong?

Columbine

Capo:
VII
|
C
/a
/b
C
|
x2
C
F
C
F
C
Tossin' hair of raven
F
/f#
G
G7
G6
Eyes of flashin' blue
C
F
C
F
C
All the livin' that you're savin'
F
C
F
C
G
C
Won't buy your dreams for you Cut yourself A columbine Tear it from the stem Now breathe upon the petals fine And throw 'em to the wind Watch the petals dancin' See 'em twirl and sing Now, all your pride and prancin' How much does it mean? Watch the petals start to fly And then come falling down Oh, hear the wind begin to cry As she sees 'em touch the ground Oh, lady, like the flower fair Some day you'll have to fall And you can find me standin' there To catch you if you call Tossin' hair of raven Eyes of flashin' blue All the livin' that you're savin' Won't buy your dreams for you

Waitin' Around To Die

Capo:
IV
Am7
Dm/a
Em
Am
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Am
Dm
Sometimes I don't know where this dirty road is taking me
Am
Em
Sometimes I don't even know the reason why
Am
Dm
But I guess I'll keep on ramblin', lots of booze and lots of gamblin'
Am
Em
Am
It's easier than just waitin' around to die Once I had a Ma, I even had a Pa He beat her with a belt once 'cause she cried She told him to take care of me, headed down to Tennessee It was easier than just waitin' around to die I came of age and I met a girl in a Tuscaloosa bar She cleaned me out and hid it on the sly I tried to kill the pain, I bought some wine and hopped a train Seemed easier than just waitin' around to die The a friend said he knew where some easy money was We robbed a man and brother did we fly The police caught up with me, dragged me back to Muskogee Now it's two long years of waitin' around to die Now I'm out of prison, I got me a friend at last He don't drink or steal or cheat or lie His name is Codeine, he's the nicest thing I've seen And together we're gonna wait around to die

Don't You Take It Too Bad

C
F
C
Well don't you take it to bad, if you're feelin' unlovin'
G
C
Well if you're feelin' unfeelin', if you're feelin' alone
F
Don't you take it too bad, cause it ain't you to blame, babe
C
G
Well it's only a game, babe, out of all this living
C
That we've got left to do
F
C
And if you go searchin', for rhyme or for reason
G
C
Well then you won't have the time, that it takes just for talkin
F
C
About the places you've been, babe, about the faces you've seen, babe
G
C
And how soft the time flies, past your window at night
F
C
And we just can't have that girl, cause it's a sad lonesome cold world
G
C
And a man needs a woman, to stand by his side
F
And whisper sweet words in his ears about daydreams
C
G
And roses and playthings, and the sweetness of springtime
C
F
C
And the sound of the rain

Colorado Girl

Capo:
II
D
G
D
I'm goin' out to Denver, see if I can't find
G
D
I'm goin' out to Denver, see if I can't find
A7
G
D
That lovin' Colorado girl of mine Well the promise in her smile shames the mountains tall Well the promise in her smile shames the mountains tall She can bring the sun to shinin', tell the rain to fall Been a long time Mama, since I heard you call my name Been a long time since I heard you call my name Got to see my Colorado girl again Be there tomorrow, Mama, now don't you cry Be there tomorrow, now Mama, don't you cry I got to kiss these lonesome Texas blues goodbye I'm goin' out to Denver, see if I can't find I'm goin' out to Denver, see if I can't find That lovin' Colorado girl of mine That lovin' Colorado girl of mine

Lungs

Em
Won't you lend your lungs to me?
Em
D
Em
Mine are collapsing
Em
Plant my feet and bitterly
Em
D
Em
Breathe up the time that's passing
D
Em
Breath I'll give and breath I'll take
D
Em
And pray the day's not poison
Em
Stand among the ones that live
Em
D
Em
In lonely indecision Fingers walk the darkness down Mind is on the midnight Gather up the gold you've found You fool it's only moonlight And if you try to take it home Your hands 'll turn to butter Better leave this dream alone Try to find another Salvation sat and crossed herself And called the devil partner Wisdom burned upon a shelf Who'll kill the raging cancer? Seal the river at its mouth Take the water prisoner Fill the sky with screams and cries Bathe in fiery answer Jesus was an only son Love his only concept Strangers cry in foreign tongues And dirty up the doorstep And I for one and you for two Ain't got the time for outside Just keep your injured looks to you We'll tell the world we tried

I'll Be There In The Morning

C
F
C
There's no stronger wind than the one that blows down a lonesome railroad line
C
D
G7
No prettier sight than lookin' back at a town you left behind
C
F
C
But there's nothin' that's as real as the love that's in my mind
G7
F
Close your eyes, I'll be here in the mornin'
G7
F
Am
G7
Close your eyes, I'll be here for awhile There's lots of things along the road I'd surely like to see I'd like to lean into the wind and tell myself I'm free But your softest whispers louder than the highway's call to me Close your eyes, I'll be here in the mornin' Close your eyes, I'll be here for awhile All the mountains and the rivers and the valleys can't compare To your bluely dancin' eyes and yellow shinin' hair I could never hit the open road and leave you lyin' there Close your eyes, I'll be here in the mornin' Close your eyes, I'll be here for awhile Aw lay your head back easy love and close your cryin' eyes I'll be layin' here beside you when the sun comes on the rise And I'll stay as long as the cuckoo wails and the lonesome Blue Jay cries Close your eyes, I'll be here in the mornin' Close your eyes, I'll be here for awhile

Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel

|
C
|
Em
|
F
Em
|
Dm
| |
G
|
F
|
C
|
C
|
C
Em
Well, the drunken clown's still hanging round
F
Em
Dm
But it's plain the laughter's all died down
G
F
C
The tears you tried so hard to hide are flowing
C
Em
And a blind man with his knife in hand
F
Em
Dm
Has convinced himself that he understands
G
I wish him well, Miss Carousel
F
C
But I gotta be a-going
Am
Em
Won't you come and get me when
Am
Em
You're sure that you don't need me then
Am
Em
I'll stand outside your window
F
Em
G
G7
And proudly call your name Well, the lady's been told that all the gold Is worth so much it can't be sold No time to weep, she'll need her sleep tomorrow When she carries her face to the market place And bets it on the opening race She can ring her bells, Miss Carousel But her singing brings me sorrow Won't you come and get me when... Well, it's always done, every mothers son Is shown that grown men never run And so they fight with all the might inside them When the battle's been fought and they've all been taught That the trick is just not being caught Will you give 'em hell, Miss Carousel When they're begging you to hide them Won't you come and get me when... When the need arose, your eyes fell closed You clamped your fingers round your nose Would you say, that's any way to judge him Well, you haven't got the authority To kill him in the first degree But would you feel compelled, Miss Carousel If you had something to begrudge him
Instrumental chorus
On a velvet beach far beneath the reach Of those who come to pry and preach The natural man that tried to stand is falling Well, how long will it be before he sees You own his legs but his mind is free Only you can tell, Miss Carousel How long will he be crawling Won't you come and get me when... Ah, the castle wall has grown so tall Seems there ain't no hope at all To reach the top even though you stopped for breathing But I ain't gonna try to make you cry The teardrops couldn't find your eyes It's all been swell, Miss Carousel But the time has come for leaving Won't you come and get me when...

Quicksilver Daydreams Of Maria

C
Am
Em
Am
Dm
Well a diamond fades quickly when matched to the face of Maria
F
G
F
G
C
All the harps they sound empty when she lifts her lips to the sky
C
Am
Em
Am
Dm
The brown of her skin makes her hair seem a soft golden rainfall
F
G
F
G
C
That spills from the mountains to the bottomless depths of her eyes Well, she stands all around me her hands slowly sifting the sunshine All the laughter that lingered down deep 'neath her smilin' is free Well, it spins and it twirls like a hummingbird lost in the mornin' And caresses the south wind and silently sails to the sea Ah, the sculptor stands stricken and the artist he throws away his brushes When her image comes dancin' the sun she turns sullen with shame And the birds they go silent the wind stops his sad mournful singin' When the trees of the forest start gently to whisperin' her name So as softly she wanders I'll desperately follow her footsteps And I'll chase after shadows that offer a trace of her sigh Ah, they promise eternally that she lies hidden within them But I find they've deceived me and sadly I bid them goodbye So the serpent slides slowly away with his moments of laughter And the old washer woman has finished her cleanin' and gone But the bamboo hangs heavy in the bondage of quicksilver daydreams And a lonely child longingly looks for a place to belong

None But The Rain

C
Am
F
C
F
C
G
C
Am
F
Em
We had our day but now it's over
F
Em
F
F#
G
G7
We had our song but now it's sung
C
Am
F
Em
We had our stroll through summers clover
F
Em
G
C
But summer's gone now, our walking's done
C
/b
Am
F
G
C
So tell me gently who be your lover Who be your lover after I'm gone Will it be the moon that hears your sighin' Will it be the willow that hears your lonesome song
C
/b
Am
F
G
C
Will it be the rain that clings to your bosom Will it be the sunshine that dries your golden hair Will it be the wind that warns of my returning Will a rose be in your arms when I find you waitin' there
C
/b
Am
F
G
C
None but the rain should cling to my bosom None but the moon should hear my lonesome sigh None but the wind should warn of your returning Fare thee well, my love, goodbye
C
/b
Am
F
G
C