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High Noon – Tex Ritter
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Tabbed by: maguri
Tuning: Standard
Tex Ritter
High Noon (1952)
(Dimitri Tiomkin/Ned Washington)
Now on: "My Rifle, My Pony and Me - Movie and TV Soundtracks "
A great Western song. The arrangement is special, too: sparse in an unusual
way. Tex Ritter's voice is very dominant while a dampened drum beats out a
haunting rhythm pattern throughout (see below: "perc"). An accordion plays
accompanying chords or tracks the vocal line and sometimes there are
strummed guitar chords. As the chords are not always made explicit I
sometimes "reconstructed" them from the vocal line or the chords that go
before and follow afterwards.
INTRO
perc |x-xxx-xxx-xxxxxx|x-xxx-xxx-xxxxxx|x-xxx-xxx-xxxxxx|x-xxx-xxx-xxxxxx|
(no chord) C C C
e|----------------|----------------|0-----------0---|0---------------|
B|----------------|----------------|1-----------1---|1---------------|
G|----------------|----------------|0-----------0---|0---------------|
D|----------------|----------------|2-----------2---|2---------------|
A|----------------|----------------|3-----------3---|3---------------|
E|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
Intro
| (no chord) | (no chord) | C | C |
C
Do not forsake me, oh my darling
C *F C/E Dm *F 1-1-2-3-x-x
On this our wedd'n' day-----ay C/E x-1-0-2-x-x
C Am Dm 1-3-2-0-x-x
Do not forsake me, oh my darling
E G
Wait, wait along
C
I do not know what fate awaits me
C F A
I only know I must be brave
(Dm) C C7
And I must face a man who hates me
F C F C
Or lie a coward, a craven coward
F C Am F G C
Or lie a coward in my grave
F
Oh, to be torn twixt love and duty
C
S'pposin' I lose my fair haired beauty
F
Look at that big hand move along
C G
Nearin' high noon
F
He made a vow while in state's prison
C
Said it would be my life or hisn'
Fm
I'm not afraid of death but oh
C Dm G
What will I do if you leave me?
C
Do not forsake me, oh my darling
C F A
You made that promise as a bride
(Dm) C C7
Do not forsake me, oh my darling
F C F C
Although you're grievin', I can't be leavin'
F C Am F G C
Now that I need you by my side
F C
Wait along, wait along
F C
Wait along, wait along
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Movie version
The version played over the opening credits of the movie is in a different
key (capo 1 st fret: C# instead of C) and there are slightly different
chords in the middle 8 as well as in the final verse. The lyrics are
different, too. In order to make the song more accessible to people who
didn't watch the movie, the version released as a single is stripped of any
direct reference to the character "Frank Miller" and the explicit statement
that the singer has to "kill" someone is replaced by the confession that the
singer needs his wife to stand by him.
Capo 1st fret
(Chords as above except as indicated)
Do not forsake me, oh my darling
On this our wedd'n' day
Do not forsake me, oh my darling
Wait, wait along
The noon day [?] train will bring Frank Miller
If I'm a man I must be brave
And I must face that deadly killer
Or lie a coward, a craven coward
Or lie a coward in my grave
Oh, to be torn twixt love and duty
S'pposin' I lose my fair haired beauty
Look at that big hand move along
C Em
Nearin' high noon
He made a vow while in state's prison
Said it would be my life or hisn'
I'm not afraid of death but oh
What will I do if you leave me?
Do not forsake me, oh my darling
You made that promise when we wed
Do not forsake me, oh my darling
F C F Em
Although you're grievin', I can't be leavin'
Until I shoot Frank Miller dead
Wait along, wait along
Wait along, wait along
