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- This song is in the key of E, but Mary Chapin plays it in G with acapo at the 9th fret, in open D tuning (DADF#AD). But the higheststring is never used, so you don't have to tune that one down; since
- high E's often break, you may as well tune to DADF#AE.The guitar part repeats one pattern through the entire song, with some
- slight variations. This tablature is for the first four measures ofthe song, and it shows two ways to play the end of the pattern; throughmost of the song, she uses the second way, especially while she's
- singing. (Note that the "131" in the tab is a hammer-on followed by apull-off, and the "13" is a hammer-on from 1 to 3, not thirteen!)
- D ----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|A ------0---------|----------------|------0---------|----------------|F# 1-------1-----1-|------1-131---0-|1-------1-----1-|------1-13----0-|
- D ----0-------0---|----0-------0---|----0-------0---|----0-------0---|A --2-------3-----|--3-------------|--2-------3-----|--3-------0-----|D 0-------2-------|0-------0-------|0-------2-------|0-------0-------|
- MCC doesn't use her thumb to fret the low E (she uses her middle finger),but you can use your thumb if it's easier that way. Notice that I didn't
- put chord names; that's because they don't really matter. I guess youcould say the chords are: G(9), C(9)/E, Gsus4/D, D(4).
- LYRICS (each line is two measures):I was standing on the sidewalk in 1945
- In Jacksonville, IllinoisWhen asked what my name was there came no replyThey said I was a deaf and sightless half-wit boy
- But Louis was my name, though I could not say itI was born and raised in New OrleansMy spirit was wild, so I let the river take it
- On a barge and a prayer upstreamWell they searched for a mother and they searched for a father
- And they searched till they searched no moreThe doctors put to rest their scientific testsAnd they named me "John Doe No. 24"
- And they all shook their heads in pityFor a world so silent and darkWell there's no doubt that life's a mystery
- But so too is the human heartAnd it was my heart's own perfume when the crepe jasmine bloomed
- On St. Charles AvenueThough I couldn't hear the bells of the streetcars comingBy toeing the track I knew
- And if I were an old man returningWith my satchel and porkpie hatI'd hit every jazz joint on Bourbon
- And I'd hit everyone on Basin after that[sixteen-bar saxophone solo]
- The years kept passing as they passed me aroundFrom one state ward to another
- Like I was an orphan shoe from the lost and foundAlways missing the otherAnd they gave me a harp last Christmas
- And all the nurses took a danceBut lately I've been growing listlessI've been dreaming again of the past
- I'm wandering down to the banks of the great Big MuddyWhere the shotgun houses stand
- I am seven years old and I feel my dadReach out for my handWhile I drew breath no one missed me
- So they won't on the day that I ceasePut a sprig of crepe jasmine with meTo remind me of New Orleans
- I was standing on the sidewalk in 1945In Jacksonville, Illinois
- [pause on A note (open 2nd string)][repeat and fade with saxophone solo]
- PLAY TOO ..
Tabs guitar - CARPENTER MARY CHAPIN John Doe No 24 Chordsound to play your music, study scales, positions for guitar, search, manage, request and send chords, lyrics and sheet music
CARPENTER MARY CHAPIN
