Ballad of a Lonely Man Mike Ness
Capo 1
This is an acoustic version that Ness often played often during radio station interviews
during his ?Cheating At Solitaire? tour. My recording is from 2000, and if anyone wants
the mp3, just let me know. Capo the 1st fret, and this chord chart is 100% accurate.
The trick to playing this song acoustically is to capture Mike?s (very fast) version of
Johnny Cash?s ?boom-chicka-chicka-boom-chicka-chicka? strum.
I have an acoustic recording of Ness doing this solo, (from 1999), and if anyone wants
the mp3, just let me know.
lowell.hein@fpl.com
=============================================================
VERSE 1
[G]I'm young [C]and I'm strong[G],
I've got this[D] God forsaken [C]world by the b[G]alls.
I've got a[D] one-way [C]ticket to free[G]dom
Ain't no one n[D]ow, gonna take it from [G]me
VERSE 2
[G]I was a soldier, [C]age twenty-o[G]ne
In a [D]war not[C] sure what I was fighting f[G]or
And yet I [D]turned from a [C]boy to a man th[G]ere
Goodbye to innocence, [D]and a sweet sixte[G]en
NOTE:
To get a smooth flow entering the chorus, walk down from G to Em:
Strum the G chord, then Pick 6th String 3rd Fret, then 6th String 2nd Fret, then strum
the Em chord.)
CHORUS:
[Em]My whole [C]life, I [G]could not [D]arrange
[Em]My wicked [C]ways, [G]I could never [D]change
[Em]Don't try, don't [C]try now,[D] to understa[G]nd
This is the ballad,[D] of a lonely [G]man
VERSE 3
[G]Close to me, [C]is a photogr[G]aph
Of a [D]family left far,[C] far behi[G]nd
Ah, once I[D] had love, it s[C]lipped away f[G]rom
I searched a li[D]fetime, but I could not f[G]ind
VERSE 4
[G]In a hospital bed, I'm violently ill
Just one more drink nurse I swear to God
I've got my St. Anthony and my whiskey
Yes I'm a veteran of three foreign wars.
CHORUS
Play the chorus once, then, after ?Don?t try, don?t try now, to understand.?
repeat last line of chorus three more times:
[G]This is the ballad,[D] of a lonely m[G]an,
[G]This is ballad, [D]of a lonely [G]man,
[G]This is the ballad, [D]of a lone-ly m[G]an
G-D-G Finish with a hard strum on D.
As I said, if you want the mp3 of Ness playing this version,
e-mail me. Enjoy.
Lowell
Important: The song above is NOT stored on the Chordie server. The original song is hosted at www.guitaretab.com. Chordie works as a search engine and provides on-the-fly formatting. Chordie does not index songs against artists'/composers' will. To remove this song please click here.
