The Late, Great Johnny Ace (from a live video performance that starts with a picture of J.F.K)
Music and words by Paul Simon
Transcribed by Michiel Evers ([email protected])
Tuned down 2 semitones, it's in D (the chords notated are not tuned down to make it easy to read)
Bbmaj7 E7 Bbmaj7 E7
3x
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I was reading a..
Bbmaj7 E7 A A7
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year was.. hadn't been.. when a
D G/D D D7 G Am G/B Cadd9 Bm7 Em F#
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man.. and this.. sai- -aid I hate.. his fans
Bm7 Gmaj7 Bm Em A
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Johnny.. dead.. yeah well I
Bbmaj7 E7 Bbmaj7 E7
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really.. felt.. same So I
Bbmaj7 E7 A A7
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sent away.. waited.. it came
D G/D D D7 G Am G/B Cadd9 Bm7 Em F#
|-2---3---|-2----------|--------|---------|---------|---------|----------|
|-3---0---|-3---5------|-0--1-3-|-------3-|-------3-|-------0-|-------2--|
|-2---0---|-2---7------|------0-|-----3---|-----2---|-----0---|-----3----|
|---0---0-|---0-6------|-0--2---|---2-----|---4-----|---2-----|---4------|
|---------|------------|----0-2-|-3-------|-2-------|---------|----------|
|---------|------------|-3------|---------|---------|-0-------|-2--------|
all the.. Texas sad .. fa- -ace signed.. bottom..
Bm7 Gmaj7 Bm Em A
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late.. Ace.. yeah
D
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|---|-0---------|-0----0----|-0---------|-0----0-----|
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|---|-----------|-----------|-----------|------------|
7x
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||o----0----0-|----0----0-o||----0----0-|----0----0-|-------|--------|
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year of.. Beatles.. living.. London.. girl.. summer be-
year of.. Stones..
nineteen.. four..
G#o7 A7
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fore
D 5x
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year of.. Beatles..
year of.. Stones..
G
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staying.. all night.. giving.. a- way
Cadd9 Fmaj7 Bbmaj7 F C7b9
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the music was flowing amazing and blowing my
Bbmaj7 E7 Bbmaj7 E7
3x
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way
cold.. evening.. walking.. tide
Bbmaj7 E7 A A7
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stranger.. asked.. heard.. died and the
D G/D D D7 G Am G/B Cadd9 Bm7 Em F#
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|-2--0--|-2--7------|------0-|-----3---|-----2---|-----0---|-----3------|
|-0--0--|-0--6------|-0--2---|---2-----|---4-----|---2-----|---4--------|
|-------|-----------|----0-2-|-3-------|-2-------|---------|------------|
|-------|-----------|-3------|---------|---------|-0-------|-2----------|
two.. to this.. stayed.. pla- -ace.. every.. played..
Bm7 Gmaj7 Bm Em A
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late.. Ace.. yeah
D G/DD G/D C F C C13 G Am7G/BA D G/DD
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|-2--0--2--^0----|-0--2--0--!5----|----0--0--^2----|-2--0--2----|
|-0--0--0--^0----|-2--3--2--!5----|-0--------^2----|-0--0--0----|
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oeh hoe hoe hoe ooh ho ho hoo oh ho ho hoo oh oh oooh
I was reading a magazine
And thinking of a rock and roll song
The year was nineteen fiftyfour
And I hadn't been playing that long
When a man came on the radio
And this is what he said
He said I hate to break it to his fans
But Johnny Ace is dead, yeah, yeah, yeah
Well, I really wasn't
Such a Johnny Ace fan
But I felt bad alI the same
So I sent away for his photograph
And I waited till it came
It came all the way from Texas
With a sad and sim-ple face
And they signed it on the bottom
From the Late Great Johnny Ace, yeah, yeah, yeah
It was the year of The Beatles
It was the year of The Stones
It was nineteen sixtyfour
I was living in London
With the girl from the summer be-fore
It was the year of The Beatles
It was the year of The Stones
A year after J.F.K.
We were staying up all night
And giving the days away
And the music was flowing amazing
And blowing my way
On a cold December evening
I was walking through the Christmas tide
When a stranger came up and asked me
If I'd heard John Lennon had died
And the two of us went to this bar
And we stayed to close the place
And every song we played
Was for The Late Great Johnny Ace, yeah, yeah, yeah
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