Debris Tab by Billy Bragg #----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE---------------------------------# #This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the # #song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. # #------------------------------------------------------------------------------## Debris I left you on the debris of the sunday morning market searching through odds and ends i was looking for a bargain. Heard your footsteps at the front door and that old familiar love song I knew you'd find me waiting there at the top of the stairs. I've been there and back just to see how far it is you, you tried to tell me but i had to learn for myself Trouble at the depot with the general workers union said it'll never change a thing they wont fight but they're not working Oh you were my hero now you're just my good friend I've been there and back now i know how far it is. I left you on the debris now we both know you've got no money and i wonder what you would have done without me hanging around. ----------------------------------------- Greetings To The New Brunette ----------------------------- Shirley, it's quite exciting to be sleeping here in this new room Shirley, you're my reason to get out of bed before noon Shirley, you know when we sat out on the fire escape talking Shirley, what did you say about running before we were walking Sometimes when we are as close as this It's like we're in a dream How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team Shirley, your sexual politics have left me all of a muddle Shirley, we are joined in the ideological cuddle I'm celebrating my love to you With a pint of beer and a new tattoo And if you haven't noticed yet I'm more impressionable when my cement is wet Politics and pregnancy Are debated as we empty our glasses And how I love those evening classes Shirley, you really know how to make a young man angry Shirley, could we get through the night without mentioning family The people from your church agree It's not much of a career Trying the handles of parked cars Whoops,there goes another year Whoops,there goes another pint of beer Here we are in our summer years Living on ice-cream and chocolate kisses Would the leaves fall from the trees If I was your old man and you were my missus Shirley, give my greetings to the new brunette Greetings to the new brunette... ----------------------------------- Life With The Lions (Billy Bragg) intro: D Bm D Bm A D Bm D Bm D G A I hate the arsehole I become G Everytime I'm with you D G A You know you've got me on the run G But let me make it clear to you Bm G It's taken two fools such as we A G To make love deaf, dumb and blind D G A G Now you're upset 'cos I can't read your mind love D G D Bm D Bm D Bm A D Bm D Bm You're upset 'cos I can't read your mind D G A I hate the arsehole I become G Everytime I'm with you D G A I get the feeling looking in your eyes G That somehow I should forgive you Bm G A G I know that I'm guilty but I don't know what I've done D G D G You're not about to let me join in the fun are you D G D Bm D Bm D Bm A D Bm D Bm You're not about to let me join in the fun D G A I hate the arsehole I become G Everytime I'm with you D G A I hate the way you try to give me back G All the things I give to you Bm G I know when I leave the room A G They say what's up with him D G D G But love is not a game you play to win girl D G D Bm D Bm D Bm A D Bm D Bm Love is not a game you play to win D G A G D G A G Bm G If that face of yours could only talk A G The stories it could tell D G D G The chase is always better than the kill, love D G D D Bm... The chase is always better than the kill ------------------------------------- Little Time Bomb (Billy Bragg) G One's of them off her food C G And the other's off his head Em G D And both of them are off down the boozer C G To drink a toast C G To the one that he hates most Em G D G And she says there are no winner, only losers G Em Well if there are no winners C G Then what is this he thinks Em G D As he watches her complete a lap of honour C G And he sits in the stands C G With his head in his hands Em G And he thinks of all the things D G He'd like to bring down upon her G Em C G Revenge will bring cold comfort in this darkest hour G C D G As the jukebox says 'It's All Over Now' Em G And he stands and he screams C G What have I done wrong D Em C G I've fallen in love with a little time bomb D Em C G I've fallen in love with a little time bomb C G Am G In public he's such a man C G Am G He's punching at the walls with his bare ad bloody hands C G Am G He's screaming and shouting and acting crazy C D But at home he sits alone and he cries like a baby G Em C G Oh he holds your letters but he can't read them G C D G As he fights this loneliness that you call freedom Em G C G You said this would happen and you were not wrong D Em C G I've fallen in love with a little time bomb D Em C G I've fallen in love with a little time bomb ------------------------------------ Must I paint you a picture (Billy Bragg) intro: C - G - Am C G F It's bad timeing and me G C We find a lot of things out this way G And there's you F G A little black cloud in a dress C G The temptation Am F To take the precious things we have a part C G C To see how they work G Am F C Must be resisted for they never fit together again G Am If this is rain let it fall on me and drown me G Am G If these are tears let them fall C G Am Must I paint you a picture C G Am About the way that I feel C Am G You know that my love for you is strong girl C Am G You know that my love for you is real C G F It took a short walk and a talk G C To change the rules of engagement G F G While you searched frantically for reverse C G And then claiming Am F C A That virtue never tested is no virtue at all C G Am And so I lost my ignorance F-G Am And now the bells across the river chime out your name G Am G I look across to them again (chorus) Em C All your friends sais come down It will never fly F And on that imperfect day G We threw it all away Em Am Crisis after crisis, with such intensity F G This would never happen if we lived by the sea C G F Most important decisions in life G C Are made between two people in bed G F G I found that at my own expense C G And when I see you Am F C G C You juts turn around and walk away like we never met G Am F Oh we used to be so brave G Am G I dreamt the wolrd stopped turning as we climbed the hill Am G I dreamt impossible dreams that we were lovers still (chorus) ------------------------------------------- Ontario, Quebec and me (Billy Bragg) G D G You don't need my Christmas card, Em D C You already have my heart. G D G This has been an holiday romance, Am C D Try from the very start. chorus: C G For we know how to spend the time, Em C Who cares about the weather. G D G We'll dance in the town 'till the sun goes down, Em D C And push our bed together. G D G From the land of the midnight sunglasses, Em D C To the mountain of the moon. G D G You could never stay in bed too long, Am C D I'll never come back too soon. (chorus) G Em D G You know how a fool I am, C D G With my short attention span. C D Em Flying in the really season too, C D G Nothing could keep me away from you. BREAK (same chords than a verse) (chorus) ----------------------------------------------- Rotting On Remand (Billy Bragg) C I stood before the judge that day F C As he refused my bail And I knew that I would spend my time G Awaiting trial in jail C I said there is no justice F C As they led me out of the door F C And the judge said, "This isn't a court of justice son G C This is a court of law". C They first sent me to Windsor F C And then to Stoke on Trent In a holding cell in Liverpool G Three days and nights I spent C My solicitor can't find me F C And my family don't know F C I keep telling them that I'm innocent G C C7 They (just) say, "Come on son, in you go." F C I was picked up on suspicion of something I haven't done C B/C A/C G/C c G Here I sit in 'F' wing waiting for my trial to come F C F It's a cruel unusual punishment that society demands C G C Innocent till proven guilty, rotting on remand F C G C A7 D I ended up in this jail G D Built in 18-82 When one man to one prison cell A Was a Victorian value D Now three of us are squeezed in here G D And you can't escape the smell G D Of that bucket in the corner A D And we eat in here as well They let me out of this cage G D To slop that bucket out To get my food and bring it back A And if I'm lucky, get a shower D Apart from one hours exercise G D I'm locked in here all day G D You don't turn criminals into citizens A D D7 By treating them this way G D Is the prize of law and order the stench of Wormwood Scrubs D C#/D B/D A/D A With judges quick to sentence sending more down from above G D g It's a cruel unusual punishment that society demands D A D Innocent till proven guilty, rotting on remand G D A D ... -------------------------------------- She's got a new spell (Billy Bragg) (Capo 5e fret) intro: D G A D G A D What is that sound G A Where is it coming from D All around G A What are you running from Bm A D Something you don't understand G Em Something you cannot command D That's how I know G A She's got a new spell D Yes, that's how I know G A That she's got a new spell D What's going down G A Who's moved this room from round me D Where has it gone G A I fear this night will drown me Bm A D So I lie awake all night G Em D 'Cos I can't sleep with something I can't fight Bm A D G A Bm A D The laws of gravity are very, very strict G A Bm A D And you're just bending them for your won benefit D G A D G A Bm A D D G A D G A D G A Bm A D G A Bm A D The laws of gravity are very, very strict G A Bm A D And you're just bending them for your won benefit One minute she says G A She's gone to get the cat in D The next thing I know G A She's mumbling in Latin bm A D She cut the starts out of the sky G Em And baked them in a pie D That's how I know G A She's got a new spell D Yes, that's how I know G A That she's got a new spell Bm A D She stole the scene and the scenery G Em The script and the machinery D That's how I know G A She's got a new spell D Yes, that's how I know G A Bm A D That she's got a new spell ------------------------------ Sin City Intro: G D G C G D C G G D This old town 's filled with sin G C It'll swallow you in G D If you got some money to burn G D Take it home right away G C You've got three years to pay G D G G7 The city is waiting his turn (chorus) C D G G7 This old earthquake 's gonna leave me in the poor house C G D It seems like this old town 's insane C D G C On the thirty-first floor, a gold plated door G D G G D G C G D C G Won't keep out the lord's burning rain G D G C The scientist say, it will all wash away G D But we don't, believe anymore G D So we got our recruit G C And a green mohair suit G D G G7 So please show your I.D. at the door (chorus) G D G C A friend came around, tried to clean up this town G D His ideas made some people mad G D G C But he thrusted his crowd, so he spoke right out loud G D G G7 And they lost the best friend they had (chorus) ------------------------------- The Price I Pay (Billy Bragg) intro: G Em C G D G Em My friend said she could see no way ahead A C And I was probably better off without you G Em She said to face up to the fact that you weren't coming back A C And she could make me happy like you used to G B7 But I'm sorry to say I turned her away C Ab Maj7 Knowing everything she said was true G Em C G D And that's the price I pay for loving you the way that I do G Em There's something inside that hurts my foolish pride A C To visit the places we used to go together G Em Not a day goes by that I don't sit and wonder why A C Your feelings for me didn't last forever G B7 Girl I love you so much that sometimes it's such C Ab Maj7 I'd walk a mile with a stone in my shoe G Em C G D And that's that price I pay for loving you the way that I do (2x) G Em A C G Em A C G B7 So keep that phone out of my way for the things I must say C Ab Maj7 Are empty if you don't believe they're true G Em C G D And that's that price I pay for loving you the way that I do G Em C G D That's the price I pay for loving you the way that I do G Em I love you so much that baby it's such A C I'd walk a mile with a stone in my shoe ... ---------------------------------- Billy Bragg's "The Man in the Iron Mask". pretty correct as far as I can tell but I'm sitting here in the dark with my 12-string, which is no fun to pick on, and no cd player... so. intro/verses: (much easier to play this C| in position I but you lose the slide) Am7 F C G C Em7 Em Am ----------0-1-0---0--------------------------------------| ----------------1---------0---------------0--------------| -------0----2-0--------------------5-----------------0---| ----2-----------------------------------0---------2------| -0----------------------2---2----7---\2--------2-------0-| --------------------3-3-------\8------------0------------| when....off...I will not say who..that Am Em Am Am7 -------------------------------| -1-1p0-----------0-----0h1p0---| -2-1p0-------------2-2-------0-| -------h2-------2--2-2---------| --------------2----------------| -----------0-------------------| who so quickly... When he drops you off I will not say Who was that who so quickly drove away The things you've done and the places you've been When I open the door for you I will not let them in As long as you come back to me I will never ask For you I will be the man in the iron mask then this bridge part: (octaves optional-not sure if they belong or not but I like them) C G Em C G Em E7 ----------------------------------------------0-------| ----0--1---1------0--------------1----0-------0-------| -2---------0------0--------------0----0-------1-------| ---------2-----------2-----------2-------2----0-------| -0--2--3--------2----2-2.......2----2----2----2-----2-| --------------3------0-0.......0---3-----0----0-------| ^ ^ ^ ^ Listen to the record... Hit the C, G, hard where indicated... The first Em mute E&A and go at it for an extra beat before the C. The second time let the Em ring, then strum the E7 slowly, hit the B, and back into the verse. You said you loved me and it broke my heart I was always your prisoner right from the start The nights you spend without me this house is like a dungeon And you only return to torture me more You must have your reasons, I will not ask For you I will be the man in the iron mask It ends with a variation of the verse, mostly playing an arpeggiated Em with those little Am things... the last chord is an A (major) on the B&G (or maybe B&D) strings. ----------------------------------------------------- The Only One (Billy Bragg) intro: E (7th) G#m (4th) C#m (4th) D#/B (main riff) note: play main riff throughout all the verses Sometimes when you lose your way to me I think you don't care at all If you don't get here soon I'll tear that clock down from the wall Your family and friends don't understand They treat me so strange The book you said to read Well I have read but nothings changed A B The clocks go forward the clocks go back G#m C#m A Yet here I sit as if I were the only one (main riff) And oh you cannot hear me Oh you cannot hear me Can anybody hear me out there (main riff) He's up on high horse again You're down in the park I'm left to fight my impulses alone here in the dark The chain that fell off my bike last night Is now wrapped round my heart Sometimes I think that Fate has been against us from the start A B I long to let our love run free G#m C#m A Yet here I am a victim of geography (main riff) And oh you cannot hear me Oh you cannot hear me Can anybody hear me out there A B She said kiss me or would you rather G#m C#m A Live in a land where the soap won't lather (main riff) And oh... You know you are the only one Yes you are the only one Yes you are the only one ------------------------------------ The Short Answer ---------------- Between Marx and marzipan in the dictionary there was Mary Between the deep blue sea and the devil that was me If ever anyone could help me with my obsession with The young Susannah York it was Mary If my pink pyjamas she asked me for something I gave her the short answer She read our stars out load And I knew then that we should have gone sailing But we stayed home instead Fighting on the waterbed Like the honeymoon couple on drugs Me and Mary What happened in the past Remained a mystery of natural history She should have been the last But she was just the latest If she wanted to be a farmer's wife I would endure that muddy life I would dig for victory And the sound of happy couples Coupling happily in the dark While you and I sat down to tea I remember you said to me That no amount of poetry Would mend this broken heart But you can put the Hoover round If you want to make a start All my friends from school Introduce me to their spouses While I'm left standing here With my hands down the front of my trousers I just don't know what's to be done I wonder sometimes how did Dad meet Mum And how did they conceive of me Tell me Mary The boys who came to the shop Always made her laugh much more than I did When I told her this must stop She didn't bat an eyelid She said you know honey it's such a shame You'll never be any good at this game You bruise too easily So said Mary Her two brothers took me out Of circulation for the duration So we went our separate ways but does she still love me She still has my door key Like a bully boy in a Benetton shop You're never happy with what you've got Till what you've got has gone Sorry Mary ------------------------------------ Valentine's Day Is Over (Billy Bragg) intro: C F C F C F G F C C F C Some day boy you'll reap what you've down F C F G You'll catch a cold and you'll be on your own F C F C And you will see that what's wrong with me F C Is wrong with everyone that Dm G F C You want to play your little games on C F C Poetry and flowers pretty words and threats F C F G You've gone to the dogs again and I'm not placing bets F C F C On you coming home tonight anything but blind F C Dm G If you take me for granted then you must expect to find F C C Em Am Surprise, surprise Am F C F G C Em Am Valentine's Day is over, it's over Am F C F C Valentine's Day is over G F C G If you want to talk about it well you know where the phone is E F Fm C Don't come round reminding me again how brittle bone is G F G God didn't make you angel the Devil made you a man C E F Fm That brutality and the economy are related now I understand C E F Fm F C When will you realize that as above so below there is no love C Em Am Am F C F G C Em Am Valentine's Day is over, it's over Am F C F C Valentine's Day is over G F C G E F Fm C G For the girl with hour glass figure F G Time runs out very fast C E We used to want the same things F Fm But that's all in the past C E And lately it seems that as it all gets tougher F Fm F C Your ideal of justice just becomes rougher and rougher C Em Am Am F C F G C Em Am Valentine's Day is over, it's over Am F C F C Valentine's Day is over C F C Thank you for the things you bought me thank you for the card F C F G Thank you for the things you taught me when you hit me hard F C F C That love between two people must be based on understanding F C Until that's true you'll find your things Dm G F C C Em Am All stacked out on the landing surprise, surprise Am F C F G C Em Am Valentine's Day is over, it's over Am F C G C F C G C Valentine's Day is over, it's o-ver, it's o-ver, it's o-ver --------------------------------- Waiting For the Great Leap Forwards ----------------------------------- It may have been Camelot for Jack and Jacqueline But on the Che Guevara highway filling up with gasoline Fidel Castro's brother spies a rich lady who's crying Over luxury's disappointment So he walks over and he's trying To sympathize with her but thinks that he should warn her That the Third World is just around the corner In the Soviet Union a scientist is blinded By the resumption of nuclear testing and he is reminded That Dr Robert Oppenheimer's optimism fell At the first hurdle In the Cheese Pavilion and the only noise I hear Is the sound of people stacking chairs And mopping up spilt beer And someone asking questions and basking in the light Of the fifteen fame filled minutes of the fanzine writer Mixing Pop and Politics he asks me what the use is I offer him embarrassment and my usual excuses While looking down the corridor Out to where the van is waiting I'm looking for the Great Leap Forwards Jumble sales are organized and pamphlets have been posted Even after closing time there's still parties to be hosted You can be active with the activists Or sleep in with the sleepers While you're waiting for the Great Leap Forwards One leap forwards, two leaps back Will politics get me the sack? Here comes the future and you can't run from it If you've got a blacklist I want to be on it It's a mighty long way down rock 'n roll >From Top of the Pops to drawing the dole If no one seems to understands Start your own revolution, cut out the middleman In a perfect world we'd all sing in tune But this is reality so give me some room So join the struggle while you may The Revolution is just a t-shirt away Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards ------------------------------------------- "Walk Away Renee" She said it was just a figment of speech And I said you mean 'figure' And she said no 'figment' because she could never imagine it happening But it did When we first met, I played the shy-boy When she spoke to me for the first time, my nose began to bleed She guessed the rest The next day we went on a bus ride to the ferry And when nobody came to collect our fares, why I knew then this was something special I couldn't stop thinking about her And everytime I switched on the radio, there was somebody else singing a song about the two of us It was just like being on a fast ride at Fun Fair- the sort you want to get off because it's scary and then, as soon as you're off again, you want to get straight back on again But oh love is strange And you have to learn to take the crunchy with the smooth I suppose She began going out with Mr. Potato Head It was when I saw her in the car park with his coat around her shoulders I realized I went home and thought about the two of them together until the bath water went cold around me I thought about her eyes and the curve of her breasts and about the point where their bodies met I confronted her about it I said 'I'm the most illegible bachelor in town' And she said 'Yea, that's why I can never understand any of those silly letters you send me' And then one day it happened She cut her hair And I stopped loving her. Have fun, francois... Universite de Montreal