Ballad in Plain D Bob Dylan
G 320003
G6 322003
G7 323003
C/g 332010
Bb/d xx0331
[G-G7]I [C]once loved a gi[Am]rl, her sk[F]in it was bronze[C]
With the[(C)] innocence of a lamb, she w[Am]as gentle like a fa[Bb]wn[F]
I [C]courted her [Am]proudly, but now she [F]is gone[C]
Gone as the [C]season she's ta--ken.[G] [C] [G] [G6] [G7]
In a young summer's youth, I stole her away
From her mother and sister, though close did they stay
Each one of them suffering from the failures of their day
With strings of guilt they tried hard to guide us.
Of the two sisters, I loved the young
Wi[(C)]th sensitive instin[Am]cts, she was the creative one[Bb] [F]
The constant scrapegoat, she was easily undone
By the jealousy of others around her.
For her parasite sister, I had no respect
[C]Bound by her boredom[Am], her pride to pro[Bb]tect[F]
Countless visions of the other she'd reflect
As a crutch for her scenes and her society.
Myself, for what I did, I cannot be excused
The changes I was going through can't even be used
For the lies that I told her in hopes not to lose
The could-be dream-lover of my lifetime.
With [C]unseen consciousness,[Am] I possessed in[F] my grip[C]
A magnificent mantelpiece, though its heart being chipped
Noticing not that I'd already slipped
To a sin of love's false security.
From silh[C]ouetted anger to [Am]manufacture[F]d peace[C]
Answers of emptiness, voice vacancies
Till the tombstones of damage read me no question but, "Please
What's wrong and what's exactly the matter?"
And so it did happen, like it could have been foreseen
The [C]timeless explos[Am]ion of fantasy's [Bb]dream[F]
At the peak of the night, the king and the queen
Tumbled all down into pieces.
"The [C]tragic figur[Am]e" her sister [F]did shout[C]
"Leave her alone, God damn you, get out"
And [C]I in my armor[Am], turnin[F]g about[C]
And nailing her in the ruins of her pettiness.
Beneath a bare light bulb the plaster did pound
Her sister and I in a screaming battleground
And she in between, the victim of sound
Soon shattered as a child to the shadows.
All is [C]gone, all is [Am]gone, admit it[F], take flight[C]
I gagged in contradiction, tears blinding my sight
My mind it was mangled, I ran into the night
Leaving all of love's ashes behind me.
The [C]wind knocks my window, the[Am] room it is wet[F] [C]
The words to say I'm sorry, I haven't found yet
I [C]think of her often[Am] and hope whoever sh[F]e's met[C]
Will be fully aware of how precious she is.
(Harmonica solo verse:)
[C] [Am] [F] [C]
[C]C [Am]Am [Bb/d]C/g [F]F C
[C] [G] [G6] [G7] [C]
[G] [G6] [G7]
Ah, my friends from the prison, they ask unto me
"How [C]good, how good does it fee[Am]l to be free"?[F]
And I answer them most mysteriously
"Are birds free from the chains of the skyway"?
(Harmonica:)
Am C/g F F
[C] [C] [G] [G6] [G7] [G7]
[C]
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