Ballad In Plain D
Bob DylanVersion1
90
Chords in this song
Strum
D-DU-UDU
I once loved a girl, her skin it was bronze
With the innocence of a lamb, she was gentle like a fawn
I courted her proudly, but now she is gone
Gone as the season she's ta--ken.
In a young summer's youth, I stole her away
From her mother and sister, though close did they stay
Each one of them suffering from the failures of their day
With strings of guilt they tried hard to guide us.
Of the two sisters, I loved the young
With sensitive instincts, she was the creative one
The constant scrapegoat, she was easily undone
By the jealousy of others around her.
For her parasite sister, I had no respect
Bound by her boredom, her pride to protect
Countless visions of the other she'd reflect
As a crutch for her scenes and her society.
Myself, for what I did, I cannot be excused
The changes I was going through can't even be used
For the lies that I told her in hopes not to lose
The could-be dream-lover of my lifetime.
With unseen consciousness, I possessed in my grip
A magnificent mantelpiece, though its heart being chipped
Noticing not that I'd already slipped
To a sin of love's false security.
From silhouetted anger to manufactured peace
Answers of emptiness, voice vacancies
Till the tombstones of damage read me no question but, "Please
What's wrong and what's exactly the matter?"
And so it did happen, like it could have been foreseen
The timeless explosion of fantasy's dream
At the peak of the night, the king and the queen
Tumbled all down into pieces.
"The tragic figure" her sister did shout
"Leave her alone, God damn you, get out"
And I in my armor, turning about
And nailing her in the ruins of her pettiness.
Beneath a bare light bulb the plaster did pound
Her sister and I in a screaming battleground
And she in between, the victim of sound
Soon shattered as a child to the shadows.
All is gone, all is gone, admit it, take flight
I gagged in contradiction, tears blinding my sight
My mind it was mangled, I ran into the night
Leaving all of love's ashes behind me.
The wind knocks my window, the room it is wet
The words to say I'm sorry, I haven't found yet
I think of her often and hope whoever she's met
Will be fully aware of how precious she is.
]
Ah, my friends from the prison, they ask unto me
"How good, how good does it feel to be free"?
And I answer them most mysteriously
"Are birds free from the chains of the skyway"?
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Readable chord sheet for Ballad In Plain D by Bob Dylan
[G]I [G7] [C]once loved a gi[Am]rl, her sk[F]in it was bronze[C] With the [C]innocence of a lamb, she w[Am]as gentle like a fa[Bb]wn [F] I [C]courted her [Am]proudly, but now she [F]is gone [C] Gone as the [C]season she's ta--ken. [G] [C] [G] [G6] [G7] In a young summer's youth, I stole her away From her mother and sister, though close did they stay Each one of them suffering from the failures of their day With strings of guilt they tried hard to guide us. Of the two sisters, I loved the young Wit[C]h sensitive instin[Am]cts, she was the creative one [Bb] [F] The constant scrapegoat, she was easily undone By the jealousy of others around her. For her parasite sister, I had no respect [C]Bound by her boredom[Am], her pride to pro[Bb]tect [F] Countless visions of the other she'd reflect As a crutch for her scenes and her society. Myself, for what I did, I cannot be excused The changes I was going through can't even be used For the lies that I told her in hopes not to lose The could-be dream-lover of my lifetime. With [C]unseen consciousness,[Am] I possessed in[F] my grip [C] A magnificent mantelpiece, though its heart being chipped Noticing not that I'd already slipped To a sin of love's false security. From silh[C]ouetted anger to [Am]manufacture[F]d peace [C] Answers of emptiness, voice vacancies Till the tombstones of damage read me no question but, "Please What's wrong and what's exactly the matter?" And so it did happen, like it could have been foreseen The [C]timeless explos[Am]ion of fantasy's [Bb]dream [F] At the peak of the night, the king and the queen Tumbled all down into pieces. "The [C]tragic figur[Am]e" her sister [F]did shout [C] "Leave her alone, God damn you, get out" And [C]I in my armor[Am], turnin[F]g about [C] And nailing her in the ruins of her pettiness. Beneath a bare light bulb the plaster did pound Her sister and I in a screaming battleground And she in between, the victim of sound Soon shattered as a child to the shadows. All is [C]gone, all is [Am]gone, admit it[F], take flight [C] I gagged in contradiction, tears blinding my sight My mind it was mangled, I ran into the night Leaving all of love's ashes behind me. The [C]wind knocks my window, the[Am] room it is wet [F] [C] The words to say I'm sorry, I haven't found yet I [C]think of her often[Am] and hope whoever sh[F]e's met [C] Will be fully aware of how precious she is. ] [C] [Am] [F] [C] [C] [Am] [Bb/d] [F] [C] [Am] [C/g] [F] [C] [C] [G] [G6] [G7] [C] [G] [G6] [G7] Ah, my friends from the prison, they ask unto me "How [C]good, how good does it fee[Am]l to be free"? [F] And I answer them most mysteriously "Are birds free from the chains of the skyway"? [Harmonica:] [Am] [C/g] [F] [F] [C] [C] [G] [G6] [G7] [G7] [C]