Richard Thompson Song Tabs from Memorable Music

THE WAY THAT IT SHOWS
from the album "Mirror Blue"

VERSE 1

G6sus4 G G6sus4 G
You're going to give yourself away one of these nights

G6sus4 G G6sus4 G
Your gaze of compassion just a little too right

G6sus4 G G6sus4 G
Your hug of encouragement a little too tight

Dm Am Bm F#
And then he'll know; it's the little things betray

G6sus4 G G6sus4 G
You're going to give yourself away to some Casanova

G6sus4 G G6sus4 G
On the spills and stains of the backstage sofa

G6sus4 G G6sus4 G
He'll catch you yawning with one leg over

Dm Am Bb Gm
And there's the sin; must be the enemy within

CHORUS.

Dm Dsus2 Dm Dsus2
And that's the way that it shows

Bm Bmsus4 Bm Bmsus4
That's the way that it shows

Gm7 Gm6 Gm7 Gm6
That's the way that it shows

E(b9) E E(b9) E
The way that it shows

Dm Dsus2 Dm Dsus2
That's the way that it shows

Bm Bmsus4 Bm Bmsus4
That's the way that it shows

Gm7 Gm6 Gm7 Gm6
A slip of the tongue, a squeeze of the hand

E Asus4 A7
That's the way that it shows

VERSE 2.

There's glycerine in the tears; rouge in the blush
Your artful stammer a little too rushed
All passion to the eye, all cold to the touch
And then he'll guess; your mind has drifted in the kiss

There's a chink in your armour, a crack in your defences
Your iron will gives way to your senses
Your whispered sweet nothings all sound like expenses
And that's enough; he won't believe your words of love

CHORUS.

And that's the way that it shows; that's the way that it shows
Yes, that's the way that it shows; the way that it shows
That's the way that it shows; that's the way that it shows
A slip of the tongue, a squeeze of the hand
E(b9) E E(b9) E
That's the way that it shows

... then carry on with chorus chords over solo & fade

BATHSHEBA SMILES
Richard Thompson 1997.

Gm Cm
Bathsheba smiles -
Gm Cm
she smiles and veins turn to ice,
Gm Cm
she smiles and heads bow down.
Gm Cm
She works the room
Gm Cm
and kisses every victim twice.
Gm Bb C
She spreads her joy around.
F Eb
Do you close your eyes to see miracles?
F Eb
Do you raise your face to kiss angels?
F Eb
Do you float on air to hear oracles?
Cm F Dm
Bathsheba smiles, smiles
Cm F Dm
Bathsheba smiles, smiles
Ab F Eb Bb (sus 4) Bb
No doubt can cross her mind, can cross her mind.

Bathsheba knows,
she knows you better than yourself P
confess upon your knees.
She shares her love,
and sharing love is sharing wealth P
dig in your pockets, please.
Do you close your eyes to see miracles?
Do you raise your face to kiss angels?
Do you float on air to hear oracles?
Bathsheba smiles, smiles
Bathsheba smiles, smiles
No doubt can cross her mind.

C
No pain no gain's a strain,
B Bb
but she never seems to hurt.
C
Catwalk pilgrims sing this song:
B Bb
"Hello heaven, goodbye dirt" P
Gm Eb
and no hair shirt.

Do you close your eyes to see miracles?
Do you raise your face to kiss angels?
Do you float on air to hear oracles?
Bathsheba smiles, smiles
Bathsheba smiles, smiles
No doubt can, no doubt can cross her mind.

F Eb
Do you close your eyes?
F Eb
Do you raise your face?
F Eb
Bathsheba smiles, smiles
F Eb
Bathsheba smiles, smiles
F Eb
Bathsheba smiles.

BEAT THE RETREAT
Richard Thompson
from "Pour Down Like Silver" or Disk B of "Watching the Dark"

Tuning: CGDGBE, low to high

Chords are:

C: o-o-2-o-1-0
Cadd4: o-o-3-o-1-o
G5: x-o-o-o-3-3
a: x-2-2-2-1-o

C Cadd4 G5
Beat my retreat, back home to you

C Cadd4 G5
Beat my retreat, back home to you

a C
I'm burning all my bridges

a C
I'm burning all my bridges

a C
I'm burning all my bridges

G5 C Cadd4
I'm running back home to you

Trailing my colours, back home to you
Trailing my colours, back home to you
This world is filled with sadness
This world is filled with sadness
This world is filled with sadness
I'm running back home to you

[instrumental over same chords as verse]

Follow the drum, back home to you
Follow the drum, back home to you
There was no sense in my leaving
There was no sense in my leaving
There was no sense in my leaving
I'm running back home to you

You can play the song quite adequately in standard,
but you won't get the same bass feel.
Also, Richard frequently plays octave bass runs like:

E_______________________________
B_______________________________
G___0___2-sl-3-sl-2_____________
D_______________________________
G___0___2-sl-3-sl-2_____________
C_______________________________

These are _much_ easier when you have the octave G strings as open,
since you can damp out the B string more easily.
(Actually, I was led to using this tuning because I heard these,
tried to play them in standard, and was disappointed.

STRANGE AFFAIR
Richard Thompson

* (harm/art harm 12 frets higher)

-|--0---------0----3----0---------0-----0----------------------------|

-|-------3-1---------3-------3-1--------1----------------------------|

-|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

G
This is a strange affair
C G C
The time has come to travel but the road is filled with fear
G
This is a strange affair
C G C
My youth has all been wasted and I'm bent and grey with years

F C G C
And all my companions are taken away
F C G C
And who will provide for me against my dying day?
F C Dm Am G
I took my own provision but it threw me and wasted away
C F G C
This is a strange, this is a strange affair

Oh, where are my companions?
My mother, father, lover, friend and enemy
Where are my companions?
They're prisoners of death now and taken far from me
And where are the dreams I dreamed in the days of my youth?
They took me to illusion and they promised me the truth
And what do sleepers need to make them listen,
why do they need more proof
This is a strange, this is a strange affair

BORROWED TIME
Richard Thompson

(The C chords in the verse are fragments played by the guitar,
which alternates between Gm and C on these lines)

Intro (4 times) Gm Fadd9 Ebadd9 Fadd9
Gm F Gm

Gm C Gm C Gm
There's riders in this county
Gm C Gm C Gm
They're taking heads for bounty
F Eb Gm
Wake up Coreen they've come to ride us down
Gm C Gm C Gm
Sweetness we have tasted
Gm C Gm C Gm
The time to move is wasted
F Eb Gm C Gm
They're riding like a hurricane through this town

Gm Bb Gm
We've been too many nights sleeping in a feather bed
Bb Gm
You can't close both your eyes with a price on your head
F Eb
You've got to stand and fight for what you believe
F Eb
You've got to face death with your heart on your sleeve
F Eb Eb Bb
Life is a card game you've soon got to leave
Gm
Living on borrowed, living on borrowed
Gm C Gm C Gm F
Living on borrowed time
Gm
Living on borrowed, living on borrowed
Gm C Gm
Living on borrowed time

Gm Fadd9 Ebadd9 Fadd9 Gm Fadd9 Ebadd9 Fadd9
Gm F Gm

If you say that you want your freedom
They'll hear you in every kingdom
They'll travel ten thousand miles just to shoot you down
Well, the judge he was deluded
And the sheriff he soon colluded
And he swore . . . six feet off the ground

They'll hunt you down 'cause you dared to tell the truth
A man ain't safe these days under his own roof
But you can't live your life under no man's thumb
They'll all pay double for what they've done
High days come and the bad days come

Living on borrowed, living on borrowed
Living on borrowed time
Living on borrowed, living on borrowed
Living on borrowed time

But you can't live your life under no man's thumb
They'll all pay double for what they've done
High days come and the bad days come

Living on borrowed, living on borrowed
Living on borrowed time
Living on borrowed, living on borrowed
Living on borrowed time
(repeat)

YANKEE GO HOME
Richard Thompson

Intro
G C/G G C/G G C/G G C/G

G D
G.I. Joe put your gun away
G D
The sun is setting on another day
C D
Why don't you leave us alone
G C/G
Yankee Go Home

G D
They're burning effigies out in the street
G D
Man the lifeboats, sound the retreat
C D
Pentagon's on the Phone
G
Yankee Go Home

F C
You can't just kiss and run away
Eb Bb
There ain't enough money on a sergeant's pay
D/A Am7 D
When the dance hall girl you banged's in the family way

You turned my sister into a whore
With a pair of silk stockings from the P.X. store
Why don't you leave us alone
Yankee Go Home

My girlfriend won't talk to me
Since she met with a sailor from the land of the free
I'm tired of being alone
Yankee Go Home

I've lost count of the chewing gum that I've had
And vodka-cola make my teeth go bad
We'll handle this on our own
Yankee Go Home

Dow Jones going into a stall
Spray paint saying it on every wall
The climb was fine, now it's time to decline and fall

Overpaid, oversexed and over here
get smart, gringo, disappear
The Hun's at the gates of Rome
Yankee Go Home

1952 VINCENT BLACK LIGHTNING
Richard Thompson 1991

A D
Said Red Molly to James that's a fine motorbike,
D A
A girl could feel special on any such like
A D
Said James to Red Molly, well my hat's off to you
D A
It's a Vincent Black Lightning, 1952
A E D A
And I've seen you at the corners and cafes it seems
E D A
Red hair and black leather, my favourite colour scheme
A Bm D A
And he pulled her on behind and down to Boxhill they did ride

A D
Said James to Red Molly, here's a ring for your right hand
D A
But I'll tell you in earnest I'm a dangerous man
A D
I've fought with the law since I was seventeen
D A
I robbed many a man to get my Vincent machine
E D A
Now I'm 21 years, I might make 22
E D A
And I don't mind dying, but for the love of you
A Bm D
And If fate should break my stride
D A
I'll give you my Vincent to ride

Come down, come down, Red Molly, called Sergeant McRae
For they've taken young James adie for armed robbery
Shotgun blast hit his chest, left nothing inside
Come down, Red Molly to his dying bedside
When she came to the hospital, there wasn't much left
He was running out of road, he was running out of breath
But he smiled to see her cry
Said I'll give you my Vincent to ride

Said young James. in my opinion, there's nothing in this world
Beats a 52 Vincent and a red headed girl
Now Nortons and Indians and Greeves won't do
They don't have a soul like a Vincent 52
He reached for her hand and he gave her the keys
He said I don't have any further use for these
I see angels and ariels in leather and chrome
Swooping down from heaven to carry me home
He gave her one last kiss and died
And he gave her his Vincent to ride.

A MAN IN NEED
Richard Thompson

A
I packed my rags went down the hill
Left my dependents A-lying still
F#m
Just as the dawn was rising up
E
I was making good speed
A
I left a letter lying on the bed
F#m
From a man in need it read
A E D
It's so hard to find
A E D
It's so hard to find
A
Who's going to cure
F#m E D A F#m A
The heart of a man in need?

All of my friends don't comprehend me
Their kind of style it just offends me
I want to take them
I want to shake them
'Til they pay me some heed
You've got to ride in one direction
Until you find the right connection

It's so hard to find
It's so hard to find
Who's going to cure
The heart of a man in need?

(Guitar solo over verse and chorus chords)

Who's going to give you Real happiness?
Who's going to give you contentedness?
Who's going to lead you?
Who's going to feed you?
And cut you free?
Well I've sailed every ship in the sea
But I traveled this world in misery

It's so hard to find
It's so hard to find
Who's going to cure
The heart of a man in need?

E D A
Who's going to shoe your feet?
E D A
Who's going to pay your rent?
E D A
Who's going to stand by you?
A F#m E D A F#m A
Who's going to cure the heart of a man in need?

A F#m E D A F#m A

D A
Of A Man in Need?

IT'S JUST THE MOTION

(Acoustic guitar capo 2nd fret,
Electric guitar in normal tuning, chords are written in concert pitch)

INTRO:

(3 times.....)
|---------------I----------------------------------------I
|-2-3-3-2-2-0-0-I---0-0-2--------------------------------I
|---------------I---------2-----/9-\2------2-------------I
|---------------I----------------------2-4---------------I
|-4-5-5-4-4-2-2-I---2-2-4-0------------------4-/5-4-2-0--I
|---------------I----------------------------------------I

D
When you're rocked on the ocean
D A
Rocked up and down don't worry
D
When you're spinning and turning
D A
Round and round don't worry
F#m
You're just feeling seasick
E
You're just feeling weak
C#m
Your mind is confused
D D
And you can't seem to speak
A D
It's just the motion
A Esus E (use D form on 4th fret)
It's just the motion

When the landlord is knocking
And your job is losing don't worry
When the baby needs rocking
And your friends are confusing don't worry
You're just feeling seasick
You're just feeling weak
Your mind is confised
And you can't seem to speak
It's just the motion

E D
Blown by a hundred winds
C#m B
Knocked down a hundred times
D C#m B
Rescued and carried along
A D
Beaten and half-dead and gone
F#m B F#m B
And it's only the pain that's keeping you sane
F#m B E
And gives you the mind to travel on

Oh the motion won't leave you
Won't let you remain Don't worry
It's a restless wind
And a sleepless rain, Don't worry
Under the ocean
At the bottom of the sea
You can't hear the storm
It's as peaceful as can be
It's just the motion

(guitar solo)
Repeat bridge
Repeat 3rd verse

NIGHT COMES IN

A7sus Em
Night comes in, like some cool river
D C A7sus
How can there be, be another day?
A7sus Em
Take my hand, oh real companion
D C A7sus
And we'll dance, dance till we fade away

Oh, the sands pour down like silver
They can only, only break my heart
Drink the wine, the wine of lovers
Lovers tired of being apart

F#m A
Dancing till my feet don't touch the ground
F#m G
I lose my mind and dance forever
F#m G
Lose my mind and dance forever
C D
Turn my world around
C D
Turn my world around

E(m) C D A7sus

Oh, this night is like no other
And this room is ringing in my ears
And these friends will never leave me
And these tears are like no other tears

Dancing till my feet don't touch the ground
I lose my mind and dance forever
Lose my mind and dance forever
Turn my world around
Turn my world around

KILLING JAR
Chord Shapes:
DADGBE
Dm 0*0231 (You can just about get away with playing the 5th string)
F 333***
G 555***

INTRO: Dm........F-Dm-F

F
My father was a judge, A solitary man,
Dm
He beat me to cry, With the back of his hand.
F
I played with my sisters, He said I played too rough,
Dm
It seems to me son, I didn't beat you enough.

G
No good________
Dm
They said i'm no good
G
No good________
Dm
They said son your no good

I went for my schooling, and I faced the wall,
"Tommy Burns" said the Teacher, can you hear me at all.
I sweep out the hallways, and I sweep out the grounds,
And the boss he tells me, that I'm late on my rounds.

No good________
They say i'm no good
No good________
They say i'm no good

GUITAR SOLO 1

I once had a songbird, with a broken wing,
I cried and cried, oh it never would sing
I once had a songbird, the apple of my eye,
I put it in the Killing Jar, Just to watch it die.

I once had a sweetheart, caught her running around,
I hit her with a log chain, and I put her in the ground.
I once had a sweetheart, Oh a pretty little thing,
I knelt in her cold grave, and I took back my ring.

|No good________
|They say i'm no good x4

No good________ I'm no good

GUITAR SOLO 2/OUTRO

SHE CUT OFF HER LONG SILKEN HAIR
(From the album "You? Me? Us?")

D
Midnight in her room
D/F# G D
There was music and incense and mirrors all around.
Bm Bm/A
By the light of the moon
Em G A
Her silver dress slipped to the ground.
D
And she knelt like Saint Joan
D/F# G D
And invisible armies attended her there
Bm Bm/A
And her knife brightly shone
Em A D G D
As she cut off her long silken hair.

F#m D
Trapped, I suppose
F#m E
Lied for my sake
Em F# F#7
Crushed like the rose
Bm Em G A
That somebody picked by mistake

Oh, I knew it would come
I knew she would leave me for some better start.
I knew it would come
She was too well-rehearsed in her part
And I measured my life
And my heart fairly broke with the sorrow and care
As she took down the knife
And cut off her long silken hair

Oh there's some who believe
Oh, there's some who believe there are reasons to lie
And there's some who deceive
And the truth is right there in their eyes
Oh but I don't see why
In all of my life I've seen nothing so fair
I don't see why
She cut off her long silken hair

Bb G D
I don't see why
Bb G D
I don't see why.

READ ABOUT LOVE
(From the Album "Rumor and Sigh")

PLAYING NOTES: The Song has two fills which are played in the
verse

FILL 1: FILL 2:
E -------------------------- E ------------------
B -------------------------- B -1p0--------------
G -------------------------- G -----2p0---2------
D 5-5-5-5-5-4-2-0-2-0-0-0-0- D ---------4---0----
A -------------------------- A ------------------
E -------------------------- E ------------------

Notes on Chord Voicings:

G This can be played with an F shape at the 3rd fret to
allow easy access to FILL 1.
THE SONG IN FULL:

G
Asked my Daddy when I was thirteen
(FILL 1----------------------) D
"Daddy can you tell me what a lover really means?"
G
His eyes went glassy, not a word was said
(FILL 1----------------------) D (FILL 2-)
He poured another beer and his face turned red
G C
Asked my mother, she acted the same
G D
She never looked up, she seemed so ashamed
G C
Asked my teacher, he reached for the cane
G D
He said "don't mention that subject again"

CHORUS:
Em C
So I read about love, I read it in a magazine
Em C
Read about love, cosmo and seventeen
Em C
Read about love, in the back of a hustler, hustler, hustler
G G/F G/E G/Eb G G/F G/E G/Eb
So I know what makes girls sigh
G G/F G/E G/Eb G G/F G/E G/Eb
And I know why girls cry
G Em C D
So don't tell me I don't understand
G Em C D
What makes a woman and what makes a man
G Em C D Fm
I've never been to heaven but at least I've read about love

SECOND VERSE: (See first verse for chords and fills)
My big brother told me when I was fourteen
"It's time I showed you what love really means
Girls like kissing and romance too
But a boy's got to know what a man's got to do"
He gave me a book, the cover was plain
Written by a doctor with a German name
It had glossy pictures, serious stuff
I read it seven time then I knew it well enough

SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT CHORUS:
Read about love, now I've got you
Read about love, where I want you
Read about love, I got you on the test-bed, test-bed, test-bed
So why, don't you moan and sigh?
And why do you sit there and cry?
I do everything I'm supposed to do
If something's wrong than it must be you
I know the ways of a woman I've read about love

Well well well, when I touch you there it's supposed to feel nice
That's what it said in reader's advice
I've never been to heaven but at least I've read about love

THE POOR BOY IS TAKEN AWAY
C
Gold-haired poor boy, you took him for fun
F G C
He dressed for the tinkering trade
F G C
He dressed for the tinkering trade
F C/E Dm C
Now the poor boy is taken a-way

No use waiting like a ghost in a dream
The world has no comfort to bring
The world has no comfort to bring
He left you to get everything

No use standing, waving adieu
The penny won't drop in your mind
The penny won't drop in your mind
The old flame's left you behind

No use crying in a room full of memories
You never will find yesterday
You never will find yesterday
And the poor boy is taken away

DON'T RENEGE ON OUR LOVE
(written by Richard Thompson & Lucy Kaplansky.)

Chords/Lyrics

A G D A
Remember when we were hand in hand
A G D A
Remember, we sealed it with a golden band
A G D
Now your eyes don't meet mine
A G D
You've got a pulse like fever
A G D
Do I take you for a lover
A
Or just a deceiver
E D A
Simple is simple, Plain is plain
E D A
If you leave me now, You won't come back again
D E
Don't give up
A G D
Don't renege on our love
A G D
Don't renege on our love
A G D A
Give me just an ounce of sympathy
A G D A
Give me my chains of liberty
A G D
There's a rope that binds us
A G D
And I don't want to break it
A G D
If love is a healing
A
Why should we forsake it
E D A
Hunger is hunger, Need is need
E D A
Am I just another mouth to feed
D E
When the game is up
E A G D
Don't renege on our love
A G D
Don't renege on our love

SOLO

A G D A
Remember when we were hand in hand
A G D A
Remember, we sealed it with a golden band
A G D
Now your eyes don't meet mine
A G D
You've got a pulse like fever
A G D
Do I take you for a lover
A
Or just a deceiver
E
When my heart breaks
D A
It breaks like the weather
E
If you leave me now
D A
It'll thunder forever
D E
Oh don't give it up
A G D
Don't renege on our love.
A G D
Don't renege on our love.
A G D A
Don't renege on our love.

A HEART NEEDS A HOME
Richard Thompson

(guitar capo 3rd fret to play with "Hokey Pokey" recording)
(I sometimes use alternate chords in parentheses)

D C G Em G
I know the way that I feel about you
Em
(C/G) (G)
I'm never gonna run away
C/G G
I'm never gonna run away
D C G Em G
I never knew the way when I lived without you
Em
(C/G) (G)
I'm never gonna run away
C/G G
I'm never gonna run away

D C G
I came to you when no one could hear me
C G Am D
(C) (G) (Em) (D) (D/C) (D/B) (D/A)
I'm sick and weary of being alone
D C G
Empty streets and hungry faces
C G Am G
(C) (G) (Em) (C) (C/B)
The world's no place when you're on your own
G Em
(Am) (D)
A heart needs a home

D

Some people say that I should forget you
I'm never gonna be a fool
I'm never gonna be a fool
A better life, they say, if I'd never met you
I'm never gonna be a fool
I'm never gonna be a fool

Tongues talk fire and eyes cry rivers
Indian givers, hearts of stone
Paper ships and painted faces
The world's no place when you're on your own
A heart needs a home

CALVARY CROSS
Richard Thompson - from "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight"

There is a low D drone throughout the intro; you can tune down
the low E string to D if you wish to play this.
Notes close together with hammerons and pulloffs
are played in one phrase. vvv=vibrato.
Notes in parantheses are fingered
but either not played or played quickly as grace notes.

(D Drone throughout intro)
-|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|----0-h2vvv--(4)b5--2-h4-p2-p0-----0--h2vvv----0-h2--h4--b5vvv-----|

-|-4-----------------------------4-----------------------------------|

-|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|----------3vvv---3-b4-r3-s4-s5vvv---5--3-h5-p3-p0-----------------|

-|-2-----2-------------------------------------------4-b5vvv--------|

-|----0-------------------------------------------------------------|

-|------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|----------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|-------3---------------------------------------------------------3vvv-|

-|-(4)b5---4-h5-p4-p2------0-h2vvv--4--2-h4-p2----0-h2---p0----0--------|

-|----------------------4-----------------------4-----------4-----------|

-|----------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|----------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|--3-----------------------------------------------------------3--5--s10--|

-|--------(0)-h2---4---4-b5-r4----2-h4-p2-p0------0-h2-------2-------------|

-|-----4---------------------------------------4----------0----------------|

-|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|--10-b12-r10--8-h10-p8-s7--b8----7--7-h8-p7-p5---5-h7-(p5)-s3------|

-|---------------------------------------------------------------2---|

-|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|------------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|----------------------------------------------3-----3-------------------|

-|-------------------------0--0-h2-p0--------------------0--h2--b4-r2 p0-|

-|--0--h4--s5----0--h4--5--------------4---s5-----------------------------|

-|------------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|------------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|------------------------------------------------3-------3-----3----|

-|---------------------------------------------3-----3----3-----3----|

-|------------(0)-h2-b4-r3-r2---------------0-------------0-----4----|

-|-0--(2)s4----------------------(4)-b5-r4----------------0-----5----|

-|--------------------------------------------------------------5----|

-|--------------------------------------------------------------3----|

with tremelo effect
F Am (F) G (slide an F barre form up two frets to play the G
chord)
F Am
G F Am
I was under the Calvary Cross
G F Am
The pale-face lady she said to me
G F Am
I've watched you with my one green eye.
G F Am
And I'll hurt you 'till you need me.
G F Am
You scuff your heels and you spit on your shoes.
G F Am
You do nothing with reason
G F Am
One day you catch a train
G F Am
Never leaves the station.

CHORUS
C
Everything you do
F (8th fret)
Everything you do
C G
You do for me

Now you can make believe on your tin whistle
You can be my broom boy
Scrub me 'till I shine in the dark
I'll be your light 'till doomsday
Black cat cross your path.
Why don't you follow
My claw's in you and my light's in you
This is your first day of sorrow

CHORUS

CAN'T WIN
Richard Thompson

Bm11 E Dmaj7/E Esus4
I started to cry, they put gin in my cup
Dmaj7/E E Dmaj7 Esus4
I started to crawl and they swaddled me up
Dmaj7/E E Asus2/E E
I got up and run, they said, easy son
Asus2/E E
Play up, play the game

Dmaj7/E E Dmaj7/E Esus4
They told me to think and forget what I'd heard
Dmaj7/E E Dmaj7 Esus4
They told me to lie and then questioned my word
Dmaj7/E E Asus2/E E
They taught me to fail, better sink than sail
Asus2/E E
Just play the game

Em7 A/E Em7 A/E
Oh towers will tumble and locusts will visit the land
Em7 A/E Em7
F#m7b5
B9sus4
Oh a curse on your house and your children and the fruit of your hand

Em G
They said you can't win, you can't win
F#m7b5 Fmaj7b5
You sweat blood, you give in
Em G
You can't win, you can't win
F#m7b5 Fmaj7b5
Turn the cheek, take it on the chin
Em Em/D
Don't you dare do this don't you dare do that
C A7sus2
We shoot down dreams, we stiletto in the back
Em Em/D
The nerve of some people, the nerve of some people
C
The nerve of some people
A7sus E Bm7
E Esus4
Bm11
I don't know who you think you are, who you think you are

Oh what kind of mother would hamstring her sons
Throw sand in their eyes and put ice on their tongues
Better to leave than stay here and grieve
And play the game

Don't waken the dead as you sleepwalk around
If you have a dream, brother, hush, not a sound
Stand there and rust, and die if you must
But play the game

Oh if we can't have it, why should a wretch like you?
Oh it was drilled in our heads, now we drill it into your head too

You can't win, you can't win
You sweat blood, you give in
You can't win, you can't win
Turn the cheek, take it on the chin
Don't you dare do this don't you dare do that
We harpoon dreams, we stiletto in the back
The nerve of some people, the nerve of some people
The nerve of some people, the nerve of some people

DEVONSIDE
by: Richard Thompson
album: Hand of Kindness

G C G
By Devonside, she was a-marchin'

G C G
It was a gang of no great size

G Bm C G
and "Surrender" was the banner that she carried

G D C G
and hungry was the shiver in her eyes.

(same for the rest of the song)

She met a boy, whose health was failing
She threw down her banner, and took her prize,
And the only food she had was bread and morphine
He fed on the shiver in her eyes

(solo over same chords - 1 verse long)

By Devonside, his love was drifting,
He looked for comfort, otherwise
And there never was a rope or chain about him
She held him with the shiver in her eyes

And she said, "My John, I'll be your pillow."
"I'll be your lover, mother, whore and wife."
And he knew that he had loved and never seen her,
When the light fell from the shiver in her eyes.

DID SHE JUMP OR WAS SHE PUSHED?
Richard Thompson

Dm7sus4 (X 5 3 0 1 X)
Bm Add #5 (X 2 4 0 3 X)

Intro (2 times)

Dm7sus4 Bm (add#5)

Dm7sus4
She was there one minute,
Dm7sus4 Bm(add#5)
And then she was gone the next
Dm7sus4
Lying in a pool of herself
Dm7sus4 Bm(add#5)
with a twisted neck
G
Oh she fell from the roof to the ground
C???
There was glass lying all around
Dm C Bb A
She was broken in a hundred pieces when her body was found

Dm7sus4
She used to live life
Dm7sus4 Bm(add#5)
She used to live life with a vengeance
Dm7sus4
And the chosen would dance
Dm7sus4 Bm(add#5)
The chosen would dance in attendance
C G F
She crossed a lot of people
G F
Some she called friends
G
She thought she'd live forever
F
But forever always ends

Dm G
Did She Jump or Was She Pushed?

Did She Jump or Was She Pushed?

Did She Jump or Was She Pushed?

(Chorus riff)
D|-3-2-0-------0-------------|
A|-------3-0-3---------------|

(guitar solo)

She used to have style
She used to have stlye and she used it
And they say it turned bad
When the truth came round she refused it
They found some fingerprints
Right around her throat
They didn't find no killer and
They didn't find no note

Did She Jump or Was She Pushed?
Did She Jump or Was She Pushed?
Did She Jump or Was She Pushed?

DIMMING OF THE DAY
Richard Thompson - from the album "Pour Down like Silver"

(Capo to whatever fret suits your vocal range)

VERSE 1
C G
This old house is falling down around my ears
F C G
I'm drowning in a river of my tears
C G
When all my will is gone, you hold me sway
F C G C
I need you at the dimming of the day.

Bridge
G D
Come the night you're only what I want
G D
Come the night you could be my confidant
G C F
Ah ah ah ah ah ant ah ah ant

VERSE 2
C G
I see you on the streets in company
F C G
Why don't you come and ease your mind with me
C G
Now all the morning birds have wheeled away
F C G C
I need you at the dimming of the day

Bridge 2
G D
You pull me like the moon pulls on the tide
G D
You know just where I keep my better side
G C F
i i i i i i ide

VERSE 3
C G
What days have come to keep us far apart?
F C G
A broken promise or a broken heart
C G
I'm ready for the night we steal away
F C G C
I need you at the dimming of the day
F C G C
I need you at the dimming of the day

DON'T TEMPT ME
Richard Thompson

A5 B5 A5 B5 A5 B5
B5
That gorilla you're dancing with

May not have too long to live

He's putting his hands in the wrong places

Time to rearrange his face

He's gonna dance with me instead

I'm gonna tap dance on his head

A5 B5
Don't tempt me
A5 B5
Don't tempt me
A5 B5
Don't tempt me
E5
I'm half-way out of my seat

B5
He's got the looks, he's got the lolly
Driving me clean off my trolley
Doing the jitterbug, doing the jive
Doing the shimmy, snakes alive
That's not a dance, that's S-E-X
Ban that couple, certificate X!

A5 B5
Don't tempt me
A5 B5
Don't tempt me
A5 B5
Don't tempt me
E5
I'm half-way out of my seat

F#5 A5 G#5
Ooh I'm a patient man
F#5 A5 G#5
Ooh But its out of hand
F#5 A5 G#5 C#5
If there's one thing I can't stand

B5
Get yer mittens off my gal
Or you'll end up as mincemeat pal
I've got friends, mean sons
They've got knives, chains, guns
Gas, grenades, knuckle-dusters,
Lazy Susans, Blockbusters

Guitar Solo
B5 B5 D5 D5 G5 G5 E5 E5 B5 B5 B5 B5
A5 B5 A5 B5 A5 B5

B5
I'm sitting here, calm as I can
While you polish the floor with another man
I'm not mad, I'm a cuddly toy
Just keep me away from laughing boy
You say he's a relative, some hope
If he's your uncle, I'm the Pope!

DOWN WHERE THE DRUNKARDS ROLL
Richard Thompson

(capo 3rd fret to play with record. Song is recorded in Bb,
but written here in G)

G
See the boys out walking
C G
The boys who look so fine
C G
Dressed up in green velvet
C G
Their silver buckles shine
G
Soon they'll be bleary-eyed
D C
Under a keg of wine

CHORUS
C/G D
Down where the drunkards roll
C/G D
Down where the drunkards roll

See that lover standing
Staring at the ground
He's looking for the real thing
Lies were all he found
You can get the real thing
It will only cost a pound

There goes a troubled woman
She dreams a troubled dream
She lives out on the highway
She keeps her money clean
Soon she'll be returning
To the place where she's the queen

You can be a gambler
Who never drew a hand
You can be a sailor
Who never left dry land
You can be lord Jesus
All the world will understand

THE END OF THE RAINBOW
Richard Thompson

(Capo 3rd fret, recorded in Cm, transcribed in Am)

Am F
I feel for you, you little horror
Dm G
Safe at your mother's breast
Dm Am F G
No lucky break for you around the corner
Am F
'Cause your father is a bully
Dm G
And he thinks that you're a pest
C(?) F C Am
And your sister she's no better than a whore.

Dm Am F G
Life seems so rosy in the cradle,
Am G F G
But I'll be a friend I'll tell you what's in store
Dm Am F G
There's nothing at the end of the rainbow.
Am G F G
There's nothing to grow up for anymore

Tycoons and barrow boys will rob you
And throw you on the side
And all because they love themselves sincerely
And the man hold a bread knife
Up to you throat it's four feet wide
And he's anxious just to show you what it's for.

Your mother works so hard to make you happy
But take a look outside your nursery door
There's nothing at the end of the rainbow.
There's nothing to grow up for anymore

All the sad and empty faces
That pass you in the street
All running in their sleep, all in a dream
Every loving handshake
Is just another man to beat
How your heart aches just to cut him to the core

Life seems so rosy in the cradle,
But I'll be a friend I'll tell you what's in store
There's nothing at the end of the rainbow.
There's nothing to grow up for anymore

FIRST LIGHT
Richard Thompson

Intro Chords (4 times): D C Bm

-|------------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|-----------------------------------12-10--------------------------------|

-|-(b11)-9-p7-9-p7-9-(b11)-(b11)-----------(b11)-9-7----------7-----------|

-|---------------------------------------------------7--(7)/9---------7-9-|

-|--------------------------------------------------------------(7)/9-----|

-|------------------------------------------------------------------------|

-|-------------------|
-|-------------------|
-|-7-----------------|
-|---9-7-------------|
-|-------9-5---------|
-|-------------------|

D C Bm
Give me what I ask for
D C Bm
Give me what I long for
G D G G D G
First light, first light
D C Bm
I came to you for refuge
D C Bm
Don't leave me to the thieves
D C Bm
Don't leave me to my own
D C Bm G
You're my disease

G D G G D G
First light, first light
G D G G D G
First light, first light

(Guitar solo)

Take me through the mountains
Lead me from confusion
Take me by the hand
Through real and through illusion

First light, first light
First light, first light

Give me what I ask for
Give me what I long for
Give me what I ask for
Give me what I long for

First light, first light
First light, first light

Give me what I ask for
Give me what I long for
Give me what I ask for
Give me what I long for

FROM GALWAY TO GRACELAND
Richard Thompson - from the CD "Watching the Dark"

D D
Oh she dressed in the dark
A
And she whispered Amen
D G/B A D
She was pretty in pink like a young girl again

D D
Twenty years married
A
But she never thought twice
D G/B A D
She sneaked out the door and walked into the night

A G/B D
And silver wings carried her over the sea
A G/B D
From the west coast of Ireland to west Tennesee
D
To be with her sweetheart
A
She left everything
D G/B A D
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" tatooed 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

Solo

They came in the thousands
From the whole human race
To pay their respects at his last resting place

Ah but blindly she knealt 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

GOD LOVES A DRUNK
Richard Thompson

F#m
F#m A E F#m
Will there be any bartenders up there in Heaven?
D C#m A B
Will the pubs never close, will the glass never drain?
F#m A E F#m
No more D.T.s and no shakes and no horrors
E D A B
Very next morning you'll feel right as rain

G#m D#m G#m D#m
Cos God loves a drunk, the lowest of men
E B C# D#
Like the dogs in the street and the pigs in the pen
E F#m
And a drunk's only trying to get free of his body
E F#m
And soar like an eagle high up there in Heaven
E F#m
His shouts and his curses they're just hymns and praises
G#m F# E
To kick start his mind now and then
G#m C# Em
O God loves a drunk, raise up your glasses, amen

Does God really care for your life in the suburbs
A dull little life full of dull little things
And bring up the babies to be just like daddy
And maybe you'll be there when he gives out the wings

But God loves a drunk, although he's a fool
He wets in his pants and he falls off his stool
He can't hear the insults and whispers go by him
As he leans in the doorway and he sings Sally Racket
He can't feel the cold rain beat down on his body
And soak through his clothes to the skin
O God loves a drunk, come raise up your glasses, amen

Will there be any pen-pushers up there in Heaven?
Does crawling and wage-slaving win you God's love
I pity you worms with your semis and pensions
If you think that'll get you to the kingdom above

But God loves a drunk, although he's a clown
You can't help but laugh as he gags and falls down
He don't give a cuss for what people think of him
He screams at his demons alone in the darkness
He's staying alive for just one more pint bottle
Won't you throw him a few pennies, friend
God loves a drunk, for ever and ever, amen

(from "Rumour and Sigh" 1991)

GYPSY LOVE SONGS
Richard Thompson

(Drop D tuning)

A

Main riff
-|------------------|
-|------------------|
-|-2--2--0----------|
-|-0--0--0--3--0----|
-|----------3--0----|
D|-------------0----|

Dm
Tropical night, Malaria moon
Dying stars of the silver screen
She danced that famous Gypsy dance
With a hole in her tambourine

Dm
I was young enough and dumb enough
I swallowed down my Mickey Finn
She'd hijacked a few hearts all right
I went into a tailspin

Bb Dm7/A Gm7
Don't sing me, don't sing me, don't sing me
Bb/F Dm
No more gypsy love songs
Bb Dm7/A Gm7
Don't sing me, don't sing me, don't sing me
Bb/F Dm
No more gypsy love songs
Gm/D Dm
Don't stir it up again

Dm
I put my arm around her waist
Says she, young man, you're getting warm
The room was going somewhere without me
And she laughed as she read my palm

CHORUS

Am E F C Dm G
Stillborn love, passionate dreams, pitiful greed
Am E F C
And the silver tongues of the tinker girls,
Dm Em
Who throw their book of life at you
F G
But don't know how to read

Dm
She was third generation Transylvanian
I was the seventh son of a seventh son
I begged the band don't play that tune
Please don't beguine the begun

Dm
When I awoke, she'd cut and run
She stole my blueprints and my change
Just a horseshoe and a note on the bed
And all it said was--strange

CHORUS