Phil Ochs – The Highwayman (Guitar)
Half-Step Down (Eb-Ab-Db-Gb-Bb-Eb)
Key
-
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Speed:
1.0x
Chords
Poem by Alfred Noyes
[1st stanza]
C Em The wind was a torrent of darkness Am Among the gusty trees Em F The moon was a ghostly galleon Dm G7 Tossed upon cloudy seas C Em And the road was a ribbon of moonlight Am Over the purple moor F C E Am And the highwayman came riding, riding, riding F C Am Yes, the highwayman came riding Dm G7 Up to the old inn door
[2nd stanza]
C Em Over the cobbles he clattered Am And clashed in the darkened yard Em F And he tapped with his whip at the window Dm G7 But all was locked and barred C Em So he whistled a tune to the window Am And who should be waiting there F C But the landlord's black eyed daughter E Am Bess the landlord's daughter F C Am Plaiting a dark red love knot Dm G7 Into her long black hair
[3rd stanza]
C Em One kiss, my bonny sweetheart Am For I'm after a prize tonight Em F But I shall be back with the yellow gold Dm G7 Before the morning light C Em Yet if they press me sharply Am Harry me through the day F C Oh, then look for me by moonlight E Am Watch for me by moonlight F C Am And I'll come to thee by moonlight Dm G7 Though Hell should bar the way
[4th stanza]
C Em He did not come at the dawning Am No, he did not come at the noon Em F And out of the tawny sunset Dm G7 Before the rise of the moon C Em When the road was a gypsy's ribbon Am Looping the purple moor F C E Am Oh a redcoat troop came marching, marching, marching F C Am King George's men came marching Dm G7 Up to the old inn door
[5th stanza]
C Em And they bound the landlord's daughter Am With many a sniggering jest Em F And they bound the musket beside her Dm G7 With the barrel beneath her breast C Em Now keep good watch and they kissed her Am She heard the dead man say F C "Oh look for me by moonlight E Am Watch for me by moonlight F C Am And I'll come to thee by moonlight Dm G7 Though Hell should bar the way"
[6th stanza]
C Em Look for me by moonlight Am Hoofbeats rining clear Em F Watch for me by moonlight Dm G7 Were they deaf that they did not hear C Em For he rode on the gypsy highway Am She breathed one final breath F C Then her finger moved in the moonlight E Am Her musket shattered the moonlight F C Am And it shattered her breast in the moonlight Dm G7 And warned him with her death
[7th stanza]
C Em Oh he turned; he spurred on to the west Am He did not know who stood Em F Out with her black hair a flowing down Dm G7 Drenched with her own red blood C Em Oh not 'til the dawn had he heard it Am And his face grew gray to hear F C How Bess the landlord's daughter E Am The landlord's black eyed daughter F C Am Had watched for her love in the moonlight Dm G7 And died in the darkness there
[8th stanza]
C Em Back he spurred like a madman Am Shrieking a curse to the sky Em F With the white road smoking behind him Dm G And his rapier brandished high C Em Blood red were his spurs in the golden noon Am Wine red his velvet coat F C When they shot him down on the highway E Am Down like a dog on the highway F C And he lay in his blood on the highway F G With a bunch of lace at his throat
[Outro]
C Em And still on a winter's night they say Am When the wind is in the trees Em F When the moon is a ghostly galleon Dm G7 Tossed upon cloudy seas C Em When the road is a ribbon of moonlight Am Over the purple moor F C E Am Oh the highwayman comes riding, riding, riding F C Am Yes the highwayman comes riding Dm G7 C Up to the old inn door