Chords:
G 320033 D2/c x30230 G/b x20030
The Bootleg Series version is the same as below, only played at the piano, and with pianistic instead of guitaristic chords in the descent at the end.
The Unplugged version is also the same as below, only with a capo on the 2nd fret.
Capo 4th fret (sounding key E major). Live 1975: no capo
In most live renditions, he ends each phrase of the verse with a G chord.
The place marked with *) is often embellished with the following figure:
C /b Am /g F C/e Dm C F/g C
Ring them bells, ye heathen From the city that dreams,
C /b Am /g F C/e Dm C G
Ring them bells from the sanctuaries Cross the valleys and streams,
F C
For they're deep and they're wide
F
And the world's on its side
C /b Am /g F C/e Dm C F/g C
And time is running backwards And so is the bride.
C G/b Am
Am G/b C
Ring them bells St. Peter Where the four winds blow,[Harmonica intro: first four lines]
C F
I pity the poor immigrant
G C
Who wishes he would've stayed home,
C F
Who uses all his power to do evil
G C
But in the end is always left so alone.
Am Em
That man whom with his fingers cheats
F C
And who lies with ev'ry breath,
C F[Intro:] : . . . C Csus4 C |-0-----0---0-----0-------| |-1-----1---1-----1-------| |-0-----0---0-----0-------| 4 times |-2-----3---3-----2-------| |-3-----3---3-----3-------| |-------------------------|
C
Dear landlord,
E7
Please don't put a price on my soul.
Am Am/g
My burden is heavy,
F Em Dm
My dreams are beyond control.
F F7
When that steamboat whistle blows,
Bb
I'm gonna give you all I got to give,
B
Down along the cove,
E B
I spied my true love comin' my way.
E
Down along the cove,
B
I spied my true love comin' my way.
F#
I say, "Lord, have mercy, mama,
E B
It sure is good to see you comin' today."
Down along the cove,
I spied my little bundle of joy.
Down along the cove,
I spied my little bundle of joy.
Intro: Gm7 F C G
G
I am a lonesome hobo
Without family or friends,
Where another man's life might begin,
That's exactly where mine ends.
I have tried my hand at bribery,
Blackmail and deceit,
D C G
And I've served time for ev'rything
C D G
'Cept beggin' on the street.
Well, once I was rather prosperous,
There was nothing I did lack.
I had fourteen-karat gold in my mouth
G *
"Oh, help me in my weakness,"
C/g G *
I heard the drifter say,
G
As they carried him from the courtroom
C/g G *
And were taking him away.
G
"My trip hasn't been a pleasant one
C/g *
And my time it isn't long,
And I still do not know
C/g G
What it was that I've done wrong."
Well, the judge, he cast his robe aside,
G Bm
Well, Frankie Lee and Judas Priest,
Am G
They were the best of friends.
Bm
So when Frankie Lee needed money one day,
Am G
Judas quickly pulled out a roll of tens
Bm
And placed them on a footstool
Am G
Just above the plotted plain,
G Bm
Sayin', "Take your pick, Frankie Boy,Am G F G Am G F G "There must be some way out of here," said the joker to the thief, "There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief. Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth, None of them along the line know what any of it is worth." "No reason to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke, "There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.
