Roy Orbison Knows John Wesley Harding
Credits: Song written by John Wesley Harding
Naming convention 1)bass runs are shown in square brackets (G# A A# B)
2)only a few bass strings to be played when ...............
A line of dots is used above chords, E.G. E E F# F# Ab Ab
3)only play strings 2, 3 & 4 (B, G & D) for ,,,,,
the end B: & A: chords with commas above: B: A:
Note: This file is in 80 column format. One line's chords extend beyond 80 col
so have been put on the next line (after the lyrics and a backslash character).
ROY ORBISON KNOWS (THE BEST MAN'S SONG)
=======================================
[E] Well your voice grips me t[A]ight like [C#m]fingers[F#]
A B E (bass run: Ab A Bb B) B7
Takes hold of whatever's inside
[E] Though we try to harmonize[A] with different [C#m]singers[F#]
...............
A B E A: E E E F# F# Ab Ab
When we're out of tune at least we'll know we tried
[A] Baby its a h[B]opeless feeling
[D] Leaves Mister Logic reeling
I l[A]ove you I know, but w[E]hat does that mean
When the[C#m] only place forward is where [F#]we've just been
Its t[A]ime to think twice, its t[A]ime to decide
T[E]urn and[(Ab] keep w[A]alking [Bb]or b[B)]e m[B7]y bride
A: Asus4 A:
Or be my bride, yeah,
Or be my bride[E] [Esus4] [E]
E E7 A: C#m C#m Cm Bm F#
Well Roy Orbison, he knows that I can't forget you
Well he t[A]old me last n[B]ight at forty-f[E]iv[(Ab]e[A] [Bb] [B)] [B7]
E E7 A: C#m C#m Cm Bm F#
Hope this honesty doesn't honestly upset you
.........
A B E A: E E F# Ab A
He said to lie is death to love - I know it's still alive, yeh
[A] Baby when the m[B]ornings breakin'
[D] So many actresses 've already started fakin'
I l[A]ove you I know, but its not s[E]uch a big deal
I'm gonna[C#m] tape you this song on my r[F#]eel to reel to reel
Its t[A]ime to think twice, m[A7]ake up your mind
T[E]ake me[(Ab] to the [A]altar[Bb] or l[B)]eav[B7]e me behind
Or leave me behind, yeah,[A] or leave me beh[E]ind[Esus4] [E]
Well my m[E]emories, they lie to [A]me just because they [C#m]want to[C#m] [Cm] [Bm] [F#]
Well like a r[A]unaway train, you know, [B]I have no contr[E]ol[B7]
[E] I'm gonna tell 'em where you live[E7] [A] so that they can go and h[C#m]aunt you [C#m] \Bm[Cm/] F#
........
A B E (E7) A: E E F# G A
And take back and take back all the parts of me you stole
[A] But I no longer f[B]eel like crying,
[D] My nervous system's dying
I l[A]ove you I know, but I'm [E]anaesthetised
I was[C#m] foolishly hopeful, n[Cm]ow [F#]I've realised
A A7: (triplets)
It was time to think twice, you had to go
I h[E]ope that you blossom, I [C#m]hope that you grow
A A7: (triplets)
Write me a postcard make it some little thing
[E]If you get married, I'll [C#m]carry the ring
A: B7
If you get married introduce me to him
A: Asus4 A:
Introduce me to him
,,,,,
E A: B: A: E
Introduce me to him
===============================================================================
Notes:
======
1. Will (see credits) tells me he was told by Wes that it is played in D
usually with a capo, but this was in about 1994. On the CD, I'm sure
I can hear a bass-E in the first bar or two so I've transcribed it in
open standard tuning.
2. I'm pretty certain that the words are correct after initially being
unsure who "'ve already started fakin'" and about "Write me a postcard
make it .....", "I know it's still alive" and "Mister Logic". Whether
you sing "or be my bride" etc. or "woah be my bride" is entirely up to
you.
3. Don't worry too much about the specific chord fingerings for the most
part, nor that you have this uncontrollable urge to play an A7 of some
variety when "its time to decide" - Wes decided not too just for that
verse.
or to request tabs for songs. If you have a favourite JWH song you'd
like me to have a go at, let me know. I now have the four full albums,
"The Name Above The Title", "It Happened One Night", "Why We Fight" and
"Here Comes The Groom". If I haven't got the songs, I could only do
them if you send me an audio tape with them on. If you could work out
the lyrics, that would be a great help. The songs I've tabbed/chorded
so far are:
From "The Name Above The Title":
I Can Tell (When You're Telling Lies)
Save A Little Room For Me
The People's Drug
The Person You Are
Long Dead Gone } lyrics supplied by
Backing Out } Alan Pulliam - thanks
from "It Happened One Night":
Roy Orbison Knows (The Best Man's Song)
- thanks to Will Vaughan & "Sen"
and from "Here Comes The Groom"
The Red Rose And The Briar } thanks to Patrick Barnett
and coming soon, the version not from "Here Comes The Groom" of
When The Sun Comes Out } thanks to Patrick again
using a program such as "archie". Cal Woods & Jim Carson, the new
maintainers of the Nevada archive have kindly placed in it a file to aid
archie searches. It is called "Nevada.Guitar.Archive". You can find
the guitar directory of any nearby mirror sites using:
unix% archie -m5 -N Nevada.Guitar.Archive
Host unix.hensa.ac.uk
Location: /pub/uunet/doc/music/guitar
FILE -r--r--r-- 80 Jun 16 09:21 Nevada.Guitar.Archive
Wes's tabs are archived under ???/guitar/h/john_wesley_harding
5. The FTP archive at Trinity College Dublin (ftp.maths.tcd.ie) has also
uploaded a lot of Wes songs in the directory:
/pub/music/guitar/h/john_wesley_harding
In addition to the songs I've worked out, there is a copy of Crystal
Blue Persuasion, originally by Tommy James and the Chandelles (sp?)
which appears on "The Name Above The Title". There doesn't appear to be
a mirror site to Trinity College Dublin.
6. Enjoy!
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Parallel lines DO meet but only incognito. Ryan Harding, Applied Optics, UKC
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"Now no-one's sitting on the fence, whose garden will we end up sitting in?"
- John Wesley Harding, "The Person You Are" from "The Name Above The Title"
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