Mr. MacManus "fingerpicks" this song, though it can hardly be described this way since all the strings are picked at once. I pick the bass string on each beat and occasionally the off-beat to add some color, but the bass guitar does takes care of this in the recording and Elvis audibly only really hits the bass once before the first chord of the song. He uses four different diminished chords (as he is wont to do) in a couple different positions. All the chords are tabbed at the bottom of the page. The song also has a very jazzy rhythm which tends to stray from 4/4 from time to time because the song is so lyric-based. It also makes it nearly impossible to play without having the recording as A reference. One last note, even though the chord seems to want to change from F#m to Gdim at the end of the first few verses, it does not, and this keeps the song from becoming too predictable as it would be with a consistently rising bass line. Probably a result of T-Bone Burnett's masterful production. Or Elvis's songwriting for that matter. Not a bad pair. *Lyrics from SongMeanings.com C#m Verse 1: C#m Gdim Third-class ticket in his pocket D#m Adim Punching out the shadows underneath the sockets C#m G# C#m Tweed coat turned up against the fog ... Ddim Slow coaches rolling o'er the moor F#m G# Between the very memory and approaches of war Prehorus 1: C#m F#m Stale bread curling on a luncheon counter C#m F#m Loose change lonely, not the right amount Chorus1: C#m F#m Forgotten man of an indifferent nation C#m F#m Waiting on a platform at a Lancashire station C#m Gdim Somebody's calling you again D#m Adim The sky is falling ... C#m F#m Jimmie's standing in the rain C#m Verse 2: C#m Gdim Nobody wants to buy D#m Adim a counterfeited prairie lullaby C#m G# C#m In a colliery town ... Ddim The hip flask and fumbled skein F#m G# Of some stage door Josephine is all he'll get now Prechorus 2: C#m F#m Eyes going in and out of focus C#m F#m Mild and bitter from tuberculosis Chorus 2: C#m F#m Forgotten man, indifferent nation C#m F#m Waiting on a platform at a Lancashire station C#m Gdim Somebody's calling you again D#m Adim The sky is falling ... C#m F#m Jimmie's standing in the rain C#m F#m C#m Bridge: E Her soft breath was gentle on his neck ... C#m G# C#m If he could choose the time to die ... G# Then he would come and go like this C#m F#m C#m Underneath a painted sky E G#7/D# C#m She woke up and called him "Charlie" by mistake ... F#m C#m And then in shame began to cry E Tarnished silver band peels off a phrase G#7/D# And then warms their hands around the brazier Chorus 3: C#m F#m Forgotten man, indifferent nation C#m F#m Waiting on a platform at a Lancashire station C#m Gdim Somebody's calling you again D#m Adim It's finally dawning ... C#m F#m Jimmie's standing in the rain C#m F#m C#m F#m C#m Verse 4: (played sparsely) C#m Gdim Brilliantine glistening D#m Adim Your soft plaintive whistling C#m G# C#m And your wan wandering smile Ddim Died down at The Hippodrome F#m Now you're walking off to jeers, E Fdim the lonely sound of jingling spurs, F#m B G# The "toodle-oos" and "Oh, my dears" down at The Argyle Prechorus 3: C#m F#m Vile vaudevillians applaud sobriety C#m F#m There's no place for a half-cut cowboy in polite society Chorus 4: C#m F#m Forgotten man, indifferent nation C#m F#m Waiting on a platform at a Lancashire station C#m Gdim Somebody's calling you again D#m Adim It's finally dawning ... C#m F#m Jimmie's standing in the rain C#m Gdim Somebody's calling you again D#m Adim It's finally dawning ... C#m F#m Jimmie's standing in the rain C#m F#m C#m
