SWORDFISHTROMBONE TOM WAITS
Am
Well he came home from the war
E
with a party in his head
E Am
and modified Brougham DeVille
Am
and a pair of legs that opened up
E
like butterfly wings
E Am
and a mad dog that wouldn't sit still
Dm Am
he went and took up with a Salvation Army Band girl
Dm Am
who played dirty water on a swordfishtrombone
Dm Am
he went to sleep at the bottom of Tenkiller lake
B E7
and he said "gee, but it's great to be home."
Well he came home from the war
with a party in his head
and an idea for a fireworks display
and he knew that he'd be ready with
a stainless steel machete
and a half a pint of Ballentine's each day
and he holed up in room above a hardware store
cryin' nothing there but Hollywood tears
and he put a spell on some poor little Crutchfield girl
and stayed like that for 27 years
Well he packed up all his
expectations he lit out for California
with a flyswatter banjo on his knee
with a lucky tiger in his angel hair
and benzedrine for getting there
they found him in a eucalyptus tree
lieutenant got him a canary bird and shaked her head with every word
and Chesterfielded moonbeams in a song
and he got 20 years for lovin' her from some Oklahoma governor
said everything this Doughboy does is wrong
Now some say he's doing
the obituary mambo
and some say he's hanging on the wall
perhaps this yarn's the only thing
that holds this man together
some say he was never here at all
Some say they saw him down in Birmingham,
sleeping in a boxcar going by
and if you think that you can tell a bigger tale
I swear to God you'd have to tell a lie...
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The above is solely MY INTERPRETATION of this great song, in a format aimed at learning guitarists.
No attempt has been made to copy or reproduce the artist's or publisher's sheet music for the song,
if such exists.
It can be used for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. To play the song as it should be played, you should
purchase the official sheetmusic for the song. You should also purchase and listen to the song to learn
the rhythm and timing of the song - this is essential if you wish to play the song with any degree of accuracy
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