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
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 scr*pegoat, 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.
Answers o[C]f emptiness, voic[Am]e vacancies[F] [C]
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] [Am] [Bb/D] [F]
[C] [Am] [C/G] [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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