The Ballad of the Shape of Things The Kingston Trio

 
 - The numbers are the notes of the diatonic scale (do-re-me-fa-so-la-ti-do)

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The Ballad of the Shape o

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{t:The Ballad of the Shape of Things}
 {st:The Kingston Trio}
 
 THE BALLAD OF THE SHAPE OF THINGS Time: 2/4 Tenor: D Bass: C
 
 1 * 4 * * * 57 *
 Com-pletely round is the perfect pearl, the oyster manu-factures
 1 * 4 * * * 57 *
 Com-pletely round is the steering wheel that leads to compound fractures
 4 * 1 * 4 * 1 *
 Com-pletely round is the golden fruit that hangs in the orange tree
 Yes, the [1]circle [57]shape is [1]quite re-[57]nowned
 And [1]sad to [57]say, it [1]can be [57]found
 In the [1]dirty, [4]low-down [57]run-a-[1]round
 1 4 1 57 1 57 1 *
 My true love gave to me - ee, yes, my true love gave to me
 
 Completely square is the velvet box, he said my ring would be in
 Completely square is the envelope, he wrote farewell to me in
 Completely square is the handkerchief I flourish constantly
 As it dries my eyes of the tears I've shed
 And blows my nose 'til it turns bright red
 For a perfect square is my true love's head
 He will not marry me; no he will not marry me
 
 Rectangular is the hotel door my true love tried to sneak through
 Rectangular is the transom hole which I had to peek through
 Rectangular is the hotel room I entered angrily
 Now, rectangular is the wooden box
 Where lies my love 'neath the grazing flocks
 They say he died of the chickenpox
 In part I must agree; one chick too many had he
 
 Triangular is the piece of pie I eat to hide my sorrow
 Triangular is the hatchet blade I plan to hide tomorrow
 Triangular the relationship that now has ceased to be
 And the self-same shape is a garment thin
 That fastens on with a safety pin
 To a prize I had no wish to win
 It's a lasting memory: that my true love gave to me
 
 NOTES:
 - Sung in madrigal style
 - V3L2: "over" for "hole"
 - V3L5: "golden flox" for "grazing flocks" (Kingston Trio)
 - V4L4: "triangular" for "the self-same" (Kingston Trio)
 
 SYMBOLS:
 - Asterisk (*) = new measure, play same chord
 - Period (.) = 1/8 note rest at start of a measure
 - Underline(_) = sustain note into next measure
 
 CHORDS (Nashville Number System):
 - This system permits you to play a song in any key
 - It uses the numeric relationships between chords in a given key
 
 {sot}
 - The numbers are the notes of the diatonic scale (do-re-me-fa-so-la-ti-do)
 {eot}
 
 Common Keys 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
 Key of C: C D E F G A B
 Key of D D E F# G A B C#
 Key of E E F# Ab A B C# Eb
 Key of F F G A Bb C D E
 Key of G G A B C D E F#
 Key of A A B C# D E F# Ab
 Key of Bb Bb C D Eb F G A
 
 - Use the "replace" feature of any text editor
 - Most songs use four chords or less ( 1 > 5 > 4 > 6 )
 - Beware: the number 7 could be the seventh scale note or a 7th chord

The Ballad of the Shape of Things The Kingston Trio

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