High-Flying Bird
by Elton John & Bernie Taupin
Taken from "Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player"

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Note: This song was originally played in Ab. I have shifted it down one key to make it
easier to play and sing. If you want it back in its original key, you can always use a
capo or transpose back up.
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[G   Fmaj7 C  Fmaj7 C] x 2

           G                                C
You wore a little cross of gold around your neck,

  G                             D
I saw it as you flew between my reasons,

       Am                               C
Like a raven in the night time when you left.

         G                                 C
I wear a chain upon my wrist that bears no name,

G                      D
You touched it and you wore it,

        Am                             C
And you kept it in your pillow all the same.

               G                          C
My high-flying bird has flown from out my arms,

                     Am
I thought myself her keeper,

                        D
She thought I meant her harm,

                      G
She thought I was the archer,

                 C
A weather man of words,

                  Fmaj7        C
But I could never shoot down,

               G     Fmaj7 C  Fmaj7 C
My high-flying bird.

    G                                     C
The white walls of your dressing room are stained in scarlet red.

    G                               D
You bled upon the cold stone like a young man,

Am                      C
In the foreign field of death.

G                           C
Wouldn't it be wonderful is all I heard you say,

          G                                             D
You never closed your eyes at night and learned to love daylight,

Am                C
Instead you moved away.

               G                          C
My high-flying bird has flown from out my arms,

                     Am
I thought myself her keeper,

                        D
She thought I meant her harm,

                      G
She thought I was the archer,

                 C
A weather man of words,

                  Fmaj7       C
But I could never shoot down,

               G                          C
My high-flying bird has flown from out my arms,

                     Am
I thought myself her keeper,

                        D
She thought I meant her harm,

                      G
She thought I was the archer,

                 C
A weather man of words,

                  Fmaj7       C
But I could never shoot down,

               G     Fmaj7 C  Fmaj7 C
My high-flying bird.

   G                        C
My high-flying, high-flying bird.

   G                        C
My high-flying, high-flying bird.

   G                        C         G
My high-flying, high-flying bird.

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This is probably my favorite song on the "Don't Shoot Me" album.
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
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Tabbed by He-Man Dan, the proud founder of the Anti-Cat Society and He-Man's Cat Exterminators.