Ballad In Plain D

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---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ballad in Plain D – Bob Dylan
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Written by: Bob Dylan
From: “Another Side of Bob Dylan” (1964)
Tabbed by: maguri
Tuning: Standard
Not easy to transcribe: Dylan is still working out the chord structure as
he's going along (notice the many irregularities here and there).
C or C/G: I guess he plays 3-3-2-0-1(0) for all the C-chords; the difference
is due to which string he picks as the root note (A-string: C, E-string: C/G).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Capo: 2nd fret
Play: C
Key: D (not so "plain", after all ...)
Time signature: 3/4
Tempo: 125 bpm
CHORDS
E-A-D-G-B-e
C x-3-2-0-1-x
C/G 3(3)2-0-1-x
G 3-x-0-0-0-x
G6 3-x-2-0-0-x
G7 3-x-3-0-0-x
Bb x-x-0-3-3-x or x-x-3-3-3-x (for example in Verse 6)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Verse 1]
2/4
G G7 C Am C/G C C/GC C/G
| | | | | | | |
I once loved a girl, her skin it was bronze
C/G Am Bb F
| | % |
With the innocence of a lamb, she was gentle like a fawn
C/G Am C/G C C/G
| | |
I courted her proudly but now she is gone
C G6 G7 C/G C G
| | % | | |
Gone as the season she’s ta- ken
[Verse 2]
G7 C/G Am C/G C C/G
| | |
In a young summer’s youth, I stole her away
C/G Am Bb F
| | % | % |
From her mother and sister, though close did they stay
C/G Am C/G C C/G
| | |
Each one of them suffering from the failures of their day
C/G G G7 C C/GC G G6 G7
| | | | | | |
With strings of guilt they tried hard to guide us
[Verse 3]
G7 C Am C/G C C/GC/G
| | | | | |
O - o - of the two sisters, I loved the young
Am C/G G7 F
| | % |
With sensitive instincts, she was the creative one
C/G Am C/G C C/G
| | |
The constant sc(r?)apegoat, she was easily undone
C/G G G7 C/G G
| | % | |
By the jealousy of others around her
[Verse 4]
G G7 C/G Am C/G C
| | | | | % |
For her parasite sister, I had no respect
C/G Am G7 F
| | % |
Bound by her boredom, her pride to protect
C/G Am C/G F C C/G
()| | |
Countless visions of the other she’d reflect
C G G7 C/G G G6
| | % | % | | |
As a crutch for her scenes and her socie- ty
[Verse 5]
2/4
G7 C Am C/G C C/G
| | | | |
My- self, for what I did, I cannot be excused
C/G Am C/G F
| | % | % |
The changes I was going through can’t even be used
C/G Am C/G C C/G
| | |
For the lies that I told her in hopes not to lose
C/G G G7 C/G C G
| | % | | |
The could-be dream-lover of my life- time
[Verse 5]
G7 C Am C/GF C C/G
| | | | |
With unseen consciousness, I possessed in my grip
C/G Am Bb F
| | % |
A magnificent mantelpiece, though its heart being chipped
(bum note:x-0-3-3-3-x)
C/G Am C/G C C/G
| | |
Noticing not that I’d already slipped
C/G G7 C C/GC G
| | | | |
To a sin of love’s false securi- ty
[Verse 6]
G7 C Am F C C/G
| | | | |
From silhouetted anger to manufactured peace
C/G Am Bb F
| | % |
Answers of emptiness, voice vacancies
C/G Am C/G C/GC/G
| | |
Till the tombstones of damage read no questions but, “Please
C/G G7 C C/GG G7
| | | | % | | % |
What’s wrong and what’s exactly the mat-ter?”
[Verse 7]
C/G Am C/G C C/G
| | |
And so it did happen like it could have been foreseen
C/G Am Bb F
| | % |
The timeless explosion of fantasy’s dream
C/G Am C/G C/G
| | % |
At the peak of the night, the king and the queen
C/G G7 C C/G G G6 G7
| | | % | | | |
Tumbled all down into pie-ces
[Verse 8]
G7 C/G Am F C C/G
| | | | |
“The tragic figure!” her sister did shout
C/G Am Bb F
| | % |
“Leave her alone, God damn you, get out!”
C/G Am C/G C C/G
| | |
And I in my armor, turning about
C/G G7 C/G G G6 G7
| | % | | | |
And nailing her in the ruins of her pettiness
[Verse 9]
G7 C/G Am C/G C C/G
| | | | |
Be- neath a bare lightbulb the plaster did pound
C/G Am Bb F
| | % |
Her sister and I in a screaming battleground
C/G Am C/G C
| | % |
And she in between, the victim of sound
C/G G G7 C C/G G G6 G7
| | | % | | | |
Soon shattered as a child to the sha- dows
[Verse 10]
G7 C/G Am Am C/G
| | | | % |
All is gone, all is gone, admit it, take flight
C/G Am Bb F
| | % |
I gagged in contradiction, tears blinding my sight
C/G Am C/G C/G
| | % |
My mind it was mangled, I ran into the night
C/G G G7 C/G G G6 G7
| | % | | | |
Leaving all of love’s ashes behind me
[Verse 11]
G7 C/G Am F C C/G
| | | | |
The wind knocks my window, the room it is wet
C/G Am Bb F
| | % |
The words to say I’m sorry, I haven’t found yet
C/G Am F C C/G
| | |
I think of her often and hope whoever she’s met
C/G G7 C/G G
| | % | | % |
Will be fully aware of how precious she is
[Solo]
C/GAm F C/G
| | | | | % |
C/GAm Bb F
| | | | | % |
C/GAm G7 F C/G
| | | | | | % |
C/GG7 C/GG
| | | % | | | % |
[Verse 12]
2/4
G7 C Am C/G C
| | | | % |
Ah, my friends from the prison, they ask unto me
C Am F F F/C
| | |
“How good, how good does it feel to be free?”
C/G Am C/G C
| | % |
And I answer them most mysteriously 2/4
C/G G G7 C C/G
| | % | | |
“Are birds free from the chains of the sky- way?”
[Coda]
Am C/GF C/G G7 C/G
| | | | % | | % | |
(timing is fuzzy in the last few bars)

Ballad In Plain D chords and lyrics

Free chords for Ballad In Plain D by Bob Dylan. Scroll the interactive sheet above or read the chord names inline below.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Ballad in Plain D – Bob Dylan
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Written by: Bob Dylan
From: “Another Side of Bob Dylan” (1964)
Tabbed by: maguri
Tuning: Standard
Not easy to transcribe: Dylan is still working out the chord structure as
he's going along (notice the many irregularities here and there). 
C or C/G: I guess he plays 3-3-2-0-1(0) for all the C-chords; the difference 
is due to which string he picks as the root note (A-string: C, E-string: C/G).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Capo: 2nd fret
Play: C
Key: D (not so "plain", after all ...)
Time signature: 3/4
Tempo: 125 bpm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Verse 1]
     2/4
[Verse 2]
[Verse 3]
[Verse 4]
[Verse 5]
 2/4
[Verse 5]
[Verse 6]
[Verse 7]
[Verse 8]
[Verse 9]
[Verse 10]
[Verse 11]
[Solo]
| C/G | Am | F | C/G | % |
| C/G | Am | Bb | F | % |
| C/G | Am | G7 | F | C/G | % |
| C/G | G7 | % | C/G | G | % |
[Verse 12]
 2/4
[Coda]

Ballad In Plain D Chords by Bob Dylan

Learn how to play Ballad In Plain D by Bob Dylan with free guitar chords, lyrics, and interactive chord diagrams. Search for “Ballad In Plain D chords”, “Ballad In Plain D guitar chords”, or “Bob Dylan Ballad In Plain D chords” and you will find this page — transpose to any key, tap chords for diagrams, and use auto-scroll while you play. Perfect for beginners looking for easy Ballad In Plain D chords and for experienced players who want accurate Ballad In Plain D lyrics and chords in one place. Common chords in this song include D, C, C/G, A, E, G.

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Ballad In Plain D Chords · Bob Dylan