Robyn Raymond Hitchcock (born 3rd March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and psych folk guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. Many of Hitchcock's album covers bear his paintings or drawings, and his albums' liner notes sometimes include a printed short story. His live concerts usually include a considerable amount of story-telling, imaginative and surreal ad-libbed monologues in his lyrical style.
Four years of hard work!This month of May we celebrated four years on the air. We continue working on the dissemination of this wonderful instrument, thank you for participating in our story!
#----------------------------------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. # #------------------------------------------------------------------------------## Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 17:41:14 -0500 (EST) From: Terry Marks Subject: h/robyn_hitchcock/Black_Snake_album.crd
Today I returned from lunch to find a "thank you" from him -- a mug with a picture of Syd screened on one side! The other side has some guy (unrecognizable, at least to me) screaming, with the words "The Anderson Council" circling his head... Chris (the student aide) has no clue what this is all about -- a house he lived in in British Columbia had a big crate of these mugs in the basement! My guess is, a floyd cover band??? Anyone know? @ALBUM: Black Snake Diamond Role
BLACK SNAKE DIAMOND ROLE by Robyn Hitchcock
@The Man Who Invented Himself
I met this man called Mr Barrett or something in the South Kensington Subway playing this tune on an old guitar. Anyway I gave him 50p and he showed me how to play it.
{This tune is played on the joannah on CD so it sounds natuarally enough a little different on guitar. These are the chords but it's worth hunting around to get those inversions right.
Lyrics from Mr Mellotron, Chords from Tin-Ear.
Intro
FGminBbC FGminBbCF
FBbF He came bursting out of nowhere BbF like a sphere into the sky BbF And he cast his light on everything GminBb it was like he never died
BbF And he landed right on target BbF But the target rolled away BbF And it left fim pointing nowhere GminBb You could here the children say BbCF G#min He's the fellow, the man who invented himself BbCFF He's the fellow the man who invented himself
And it continues in the same way for the next verse, and then, BbF Nobody knows where he's from BbF Nobody knows where he's gone gone gone F2C But he's not here
The F2 chord looks like this (it's still an F chord, just an inversion) (X03311)
@SONG: BRENDA'S IRON SLEDGE Intro: D:-----2-2-2-0---0-------0-0-0-------| A:-0-3---------3-----2-3-------3-2-0-|
A We head downhill, my hands fly back Our fingers freeze, our hair falls out, our hair falls out Our fingers freeze, our hair falls out The iron piston pumps and spouts D The steaming air as hot as sprouts EAE All aboard, Brenda's iron sledge
No one's on top, they're comfortable They're sitting on a human chain, a human chain They're sitting on a human chain Their limbs compressed in icy slush Of freezing in a raw meat groove All aboard, Brenda's iron sledge DAE Please don't call me Reg, it's not my name The body's rear, a bucking sled Which hits a tree and falls asleep, and falls asleep Which hits a tree and that is that The grasshoppers curl up and burst And Brenda shovels on the wurst All aboard, Brenda's iron sledge Please don't call me Reg, it's not my name
@SONG: DO POLICEMEN SING?
The opening riff isn't really a chord, but tabbed out I guess it would look like:
Bass plays low E... Gtr. slides down from XXX9-11-X on beat 2, Then X12XXX, and pull off on the A string to X02XXX.
The chord would be Em, and in both cases the two notes are E and Bb, so let's just refer to them as Hi and Lo, shall we?
Between couplets in the verse, the Asus2 is just X02200, picked, with the bass going up to B on beat 4.
Hi Lo Hi Lo "O do policemen sing?" I heard a person cry...
Hi Lo Hi Lo Asus2 "We can do anything!" I heard the force re- ply...
And so on until...the chorus:
B: X24442 E: X79997 (bass plays A) D: X57775 (bass plays G) C#: X46664 C#maj7: X46564 F#: 244322 D#m: X68876
Bsus2ED It's true becauzza... Never argue with a rozzer... DC#C#maj7 Never show him insolence... F#D#m Confidence...
The next 5 measures are picked, but if they were chords they'd be C#: 9-11-11-10-9-9, B: 799877, and B7: 797877. Some might choose to play these all as 7ths if they were playing them as chords.
C#B 'Cuz who supplies the evidence?
C#B It's not your mother, or your lover,
B7 Or your best friend's dog...
...And back to Em and the Hi-Lo verse part.
The end section:
--------------------| --------------------| --------------------| --------------------| ---2---1---2---1----| 0-----------------3-| D (XX0232) ...Our law and or-der's never-never-never-never-never gonna break down
Repeat 3 times, and on the last repeat (remember there's an extra "never"), end (on "Down") with a chord which might be described as E5 (add Bb): 022300.
As for the outro, it starts with the same E5 (addBb) chord, then switches to XX4442, and up to XXX775, XXX997, XXX9-12-10, and XXX-9-11-9, as the song fades out.
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@SONG: THE LIZARD AEmD7CG You wear the lizard's shoes and afterwards you get confused You wear the lizard's coat and afterwards you fail to float You take the lizard's path but look who's lying in the bath You wear the lizard's skin no man can be a god and win at all You take the lizard's mask but look who's lying in the cask And the clocks have stopped you'll find out what the lizard dropped You know the lizard's won but you can't work out how it's done The lizard is your friend and will be to the very end of time You lie beneath the stars the lizard knows how high they are The stars are out of reach the lizard lingers on a beach The stars are out of date the lizard had them on a plate You vomit in the shed the lizard got there first he's dead now
@SONG: MEAT
E is played as [listen for rhythm] a sort of switch between E and A. or as just a plain E, if you're into simplifying things.
E It don't feel much like a home without a dog It don't feel much like a pool without a frog AE It don't feel much like a world without a girl AB It don't feel much like a girl without a human being It don't feel much like a fish without a pond It don't feel much like a fence with no beyond It don't feel much like a church without a god inside It don't feel much like a bank without a lot of money BE Oh come on baby (doo-doo-doot) give me your meat It don't feel much like a foot without a shoe It don't feel much like a me without a you It don't feel much like a train without a buffet car It don't feel much like a bed when there's nobody on it
Ah swallow it It don't feel much like a bath without a plug It don't feel much like a hole without a drug It don't feel much like a drug without a side effect It don't feel much like an effect if you don't love nobody Come on baby gimme your meat
D Sucking on a tap that never dries A Could you take it right between your eyes GD Bending blood, bending blood A The father stood, the father's hood DADA Like shadow on an acid bird that etched her way across a field DEA So long ago
Walking through the fields in summer heat Look at all the creatures 'round your feet Pumping blood, pumping blood The mother's gaze, the mother gave White ointment of an acid kiss that burned upon the lips she gave you So long ago, so long ago
G Fun in the sun, luck in the bloodstream AG Shallow bodies writhing on the grass G Fun in the sun, hair in the slipstream AG Tadpoles shooting through a hollow glass
Cutting out a silhouette in dreams Everything is older than it seems Son of blood, son of blood The baby shakes, the baby snakes That crawl across the acid rings that flicker from your corpuscles One sunny day, one sunny day Fun in the sun everyone knows it They could be as mellow as the hay Fun in the sun everyone blows it They grow up and instantly turn grey Like shadow of an acid bird that etched its way across a field So long ago, so long ago
@SONG: I WATCH THE CARS * E:-0-0h3-0-3-5-3----------
E * I watch the cars go back and forth I watch the cars go back and forth I watch the cars go back and forth A(5) Sometimes south and sometimes north E * I watch the cars I hear them stopping down the street I hear them stopping down the street I hear the sound of stocking feet A(5) I wonder who they're going to meet E * I'm getting drunk inside my house I see the men inside their shells I see the men inside their shells A(5) They go to prostitutes as well Who never mind the way the smell E * The prostitutes are paid for it Alright! I hear you're gonna try that too I hear you're gonna try that too I hear you're gonna try that too A(5) I wouldn't pay to go to you I'm getting drunk inside my house again I watch the cars go back and forth I watch the cars go back and forth I watch the cars go back and forth A(5) Sometimes south and sometimes north E * I watch the cars
@SONG: OUT OF THE PICTURE [I'm a bit unsure about the verse] ADE Don't you ever wonder 'bout the nowhere girl Don't you feel sad or feel strange DAE There is no escaping from the nowhere girl ADE She's never really truly out of range D And I'm walking out of the picture EAED Leaving everything behind except my mind Don't you feel temptation for the nowhere girl She can burn your hands and sting your heart She knows it's too late for you to save the world And you believe that there's still time to start And I'm walking out of the picture Leaving everything behind except your mind
D She's not just a pretty face E She's a big black hole as well AD She swallows everything she sees
She's not of the human race She's a creature out of hell She's's a disease You are just in time to see the nowhere girl Settling her fingers 'round your brain Saw away the taps and you're a brand new world You'll never ever pass this way again Walking out of the picture Leaving everything behind except your mind
@SONG: CITY OF SHAME
ED It was in the city of shame ED That I found I wasn't to blame A(5)B(7) I was looking for a weird thing or two A(5)B(7) I discovered that it had to be you It was in the city of fear That I shouted 'Is there nobody here?' Though the echo had the name on a ring Still the echo wasn't called anything
DA La, la, la, la, la, la, la EA La, la, la, la, la, la, la AE La, la, la, la, la, la, la AD La, la, la, la, la, la, la
It was in the city of love All the flesh I ate was never enough Though I knew it wasn't good for my soul My body hungered for the ultimate goal It was in the city of spies That I spoke with nothing but lies When they set a trap for all you could feel It's important that your mind is concealed La, la, la, la, la, la, la It was in the city of shapes That she made love to several apes She felt weird for a couple of days Pretty soon she got used to their ways It was in the city of fools That she sold her beautiful jewels Someone bought them and sold them again Now they've been bought by several men EA La, la, la, la, la, la, la ED La, la, la, la [repeat as needed]
@SONG: LOVE
DG The sun is shining on the ground CD I see that nothing makes a sound DC I move invisible as air GD And choose the time to disappear DCD Ah, ah, ah - I'm in love with you
The spirit started long ago They've found somewhere they couldn't go They spend their time just looking out For those who never share a doubt Ah, ah, ah, ah - they're in love with you The seagull on the seeping sand Can die but never understand The oil that festers on our shore Will cast a stain for evermore Ah, ah, ah, ah - who's in love with that? The gnomes are moving through the night The sing and fiddle with delight And we eat Weetabix and sing About the joys that love can bring Ah, ah, ah, ah - if they ever come The sun is shining very hard It melts both margarine and lard But me I only dream of you I hope that you are dreaming too Ah, ah, ah, ah - I'm in love with you
Dancing On God's Thumb (3:40) ----------------------
Intro: [Soft Boys version] e:-0----0-1-2-3----0-1-2-7-5-??-3-0- [the ?? is either a 5 or a 3. Kimberly plays it very fast and very distorted, so I can't properly tell. If you can, let me know]
B(7)A(5) I don't mind walking through the wind and the rain I don't mind waiting where they cancel the train But when I don't have love I stand and complain ED I hate everything that I see
I don't mind waiting 'til the end of the world 'Cause in the Universe a womb I am curled But Armageddon when the flag is unfurled You know the first to fall out will be me
B(7)A(5)G(3)B(7) We are all dancing on God's thumb We are all dancing on God's thumb
I don't mind eating off the side of the plate I don't mind jumping off the top of the gate There's a solution if you're willing to wait and Believe that it's worth waiting for
'Cause if you try to look for nobody else You find it gets too much to live for yourself You'll still be empty though you're crawling with wealth And you're too fat to squeeze through the door
We are all dancing on God's thumb We are all dancing on God's thumb
We are all dancing on God's thumb
There's no use preaching like you're gonna be saved You cannot argue with a cross and a grave It's just a question of the way you behave If you wanna survive on your feet
We got a bunch of crippled looners in power Who wanna treat us to a nuclear shower I'd give my life for just a gun and an hour You know I'd murder them out in the street We are all dancing on God's thumb. It's humming disco