Mr. MacManus fingerpicks this song. I pick the bass string on each beat and occasionally
the off-beat to add some color, but the bass guitar takes care of this in the recording
and Elvis audibly only really hits the bass once before the first chord of the song.
He uses four different diminished chords (as he is wont to do) in a couple different
positions. All the chords are tabbed at the bottom of the page. The song also has a very
jazzy rhythm which tends to stray from 4/4 from time to time because the song is so
lyric-based. It also makes it nearly impossible to play without having the recording as
A reference.
One last note, even though the chord seems to want to change from F#m to C#dim7 at the end
of the first few verses, it does not, and this keeps the song from becoming too
predictable as it would be with a consistently rising bass line. Probably a result of
T-Bone Burnett's masterful production. Or Elvis's songwriting for that matter. Not a bad pair.
*Lyrics from SongMeanings.com
C#m
Verse 1:
C#m C#dim7
Third-class ticket in his pocket
D#m D#dim7
Punching out the shadows underneath the sockets
C#m G# C#m
Tweed coat turned up against the fog
(C#m) Ddim
Slow coaches rolling o'er the moor
F#m G#
Between the very memory and approaches of war
Pre-chorus 1:
C#m F#m
Stale bread curling on a luncheon counter
C#m F#m
Loose change lonely, not the right amount
Chorus 1:
C#m F#m
Forgotten man of an indifferent nation
C#m F#m
Waiting on a platform at a Lancashire station
C#m C#dim7
Somebody's calling you again
D#m D#dim7
The sky is falling
F#m C#m F#m C#m
Jimmie's standing in the rain
Verse 2:
C#m C#dim7
Nobody wants to buy
D#m D#dim7
a counterfeited prairie lullaby
C#m G# C#m
In a colliery town
(C#m) Ddim
The hip flask and fumbled skein
F#m G#
Of some stage door Josephine is all he'll get now
Pre-chorus 2:
C#m F#m
Eyes going in and out of focus
C#m F#m
Mild and bitter from tuberculosis
Chorus 2:
C#m F#m
Forgotten man, indifferent nation
C#m F#m
Waiting on a platform at a Lancashire station
C#m C#dim7
Somebody's calling you again
D#m D#dim7
The sky is falling
F#m C#m F#m C#m
Jimmie's standing in the rain
F#m C#m F#m C#m
Bridge:
E
Her soft breath was gentle on his neck
C#m G# C#m
If he could choose the time to die
G#
Then he would come and go like this
C#m F#m(2) C#m
Underneath a painted sky
E G#7/D# C#m
She woke up and called him "Charlie" by mistake
(C#m) F#m(2) C#m
And then in shame began to cry
E
Tarnished silver band peels off a phrase
G#7/D#
And then warms their hands around the brazier
Chorus 3:
C#m F#m
Forgotten man, indifferent nation
C#m F#m
Waiting on a platform at a Lancashire station
C#m C#dim7
Somebody's calling you again
D#m D#dim7
It's finally dawning
F#m C#m F#m C#m
Jimmie's standing in the rain
F#m C#m F#m C#m
Verse 4: (played sparsely)
C#m C#dim7
Brilliantine glistening
D#m D#dim7
Your soft plaintive whistling
C#m G# C#m
And your wan wandering smile
(C#m) Ddim
Died down at The Hippodrome
F#m
Now you're walking off to jeers,
E Bdim7
the lonely sound of jingling spurs,
F#m B G#
The "toodle-oos" and "Oh, my dears" down at The Argyle
Pre-chorus 3:
C#m F#m
Vile vaudevillians applaud sobriety
C#m F#m
There's no place for a half-cut cowboy in polite society
Chorus 4:
C#m F#m
Forgotten man, indifferent nation
C#m F#m
Waiting on a platform at a Lancashire station
C#m C#dim7
Somebody's calling you again
D#m D#dim7
It's finally dawning
F#m C#m F#m
Jimmie's standing in the rain
C#m C#dim7
Somebody's calling you again
D#m D#dim7
It's finally dawning
F#m C#m F#m
Jimmie's standing in the rain
C#m F#m C#m
Chords:
Verse/Chorus
C#m X46654
C#dim7 XX5656
D#m X68876
D#dim7 XX7878
G# 466544
Ddim X5676X
F#m 244222
Bridge
E X79997
F#m(2) X9(11)(11)(10)9
G#7/D# (11)X(10)(11)9X
Verse 4
E XX2100
Bdim7 XX3434
B X24442
