[Verse 1]
G F C
You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last
G F C
But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast
Dm F C
Yonder stands your orphan with his gun
Dm F C
Crying like a fire in the sun
E7 F G
Look out the saints are coming through
Dm F C
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.
[Verse 2]
G F C
Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you.
G F C
Forget the dead you've left, they will not follow you.
Dm F C
The vagabond who's rapping at your door
Dm F C
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore.
E7 F G
Strike another match, go start anew
Dm F C
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.
[Verse 3]
C Cmaj7
They sat together in the park as the evening sky grew dark
C7 F
She looked at him and he felt a spark tingle to his bones
Fm C G F
It was then he felt alone and wished that he'd gone straight
C G C
And watched out for a simple twist of fate
[Verse 4]
C Cmaj7
A saxophone someplace far off played as she was walking on by the arcade
C7 F
As the light bust through a beat-up shade where he was waking up,
Fm C G F
She dropped a coin into the cup of a blind man at the gate
C G C
And forgot about his simple twist of fate
[Verse 5]
C Cmaj7
He woke up, the room was bare, he didn't see her anywhere
C7 F
He told himself he didn't care, pushed the window open wide,
Fm C G F
Felt an emptiness inside to which he just could not relate
C G C
Brought on by a simple twist of fate
[Verse 6]
C Cmaj7
People tell me its a sin to know and feel too much within
C7 F
I still believe she was my twin, but I lost the ring
Fm C G F
She was born in spring, but I was born too late
C G C
Blame it on a simple twist of fate
[Verse 7]
C Am Em
William Zanzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll
C Am Em
With a cane that he twirled 'round his diamond ring finger
C Am Em
At a Baltimore hotel society gatherin'
C Am Em
And the cops was called in and his weapon took from him
C Am Em
As they rode him in custody down to the station
C Am Em
And booked William Zanzinger for first degree murder
[Chorus]
F G C Am
But you who philosophise disgrace
F G C
And criticise all fears
F G C Am
Take the rag away from your face
F G C
Now ain't the time for your tears
[Verse 8]
C Am Em
In the courtroom of honour the judge pounded his gavel
C Am Em
To show that all's equal and that the courts are on the level
C Am Em
And that the strings in the books ain't pulled and persuaded
C Am Em
And that even the nobles get properly handled
C Am Em
Once that the cops have chased after and caught 'em
C Am Em
And that the ladder of law has no top and no bottom
C Am Em
Stared at the person who killed for no reason
C Am Em
Who just happened to be feelin' that way without warnin'
C Am Em
And he spoke through his cloak most deep and distinguished
C Am Em
And handed out strongly for penalty and repentance
C Am Em
William Zanzinger with a six-month sentence
[Chorus]
F G C Am
Ah but you who philosophise disgrace
F G C
And criticise all fears
F G C Am
Bury the rag deep in your face
F G C
For now's the time for your tears
[Verse 9]
C Am
Oh, the ragman draws circles
C Am
Up and down the block
C Am
I’d ask him what the matter was
F G(7)
But I know that he don’t talk
F C
And the ladies treat me kindly
Am C
And they furnish me with tape
Am C
But deep inside my heart
Em
Oh Mama, can this really be the end?
C G/B Am
To be stuck inside of Mobile,
C/G F/G C
With the Memphis blues again?
[Verse 10]
C Am
Well, Shakespeare, he’s in the alley
C Am
With his pointed shoes and his bells
C Am
Speaking to some French girl
F G
Who says she knows me well
F C
And I would send a message
Am C
To find out if she’s talked
Am C
But the post office has been stolen
F C
And the mailbox is locked
Em
Oh Mama, can this really be the end?
C G/B Am
To be stuck inside of Mobile,
C/G F F/G C
With the Memphis blues again?
[Verse 11]
C Am
Grandpa died last week
C Am
And now he’s buried in the rocks
C Am
But everybody still talks about
F G
How badly they were shocked
F C
But me, I expected it to happen
Am C
I knew he’d lost control
Am C
When he built a fire on Main Street
F C
And shot it full of holes
Em
Oh Mama, can this really be the end?
C G/B Am
To be stuck inside of Mobile,
C/G F F/G C
With the Memphis blues again?
[Verse 12]
C Cmaj7
I've seen love go by my door
F
It's never been this close before
C Cmaj7 G7
Never been so easy or so slow
C Cmaj7
Been shootin' in the dark too long
F
If something's not right it's wrong
C G C
You're gonna make me lonesome when you go
[Verse 13]
C Cmaj7
Purple clover Queen Anne lace
F
Crimson hair across your face
C Cmaj7 G7
You can make me cry if you don't know
C Cmaj7
Can't remember what I was thinking of
F
You might be spoiling me too much love
C G C
You're gonna make me lonesome when you go
[Chorus]
G C
Flowers on the hillside blooming crazy
G C
Crickets talking back and forth in rhyme
D7
Blue river running slow and lazy
F G
I could spend forever with you and never realise the time
[Verse 14]
C Cmaj7
Situations have ended sad
F
Relationships have all been bad
C Cmaj7 G7
Mine have been like Verlaine's and Rimbaud
C Cmaj7
But there’s no way I can compare
F
All those scenes to this affair
C G C
You're gonna make me lonesome when you go