Ballad In Plain D by Bob Dylan

From 'Another Side Of Bob Dylan' 1964.

Intro: E
E               D                     E
I once loved a girl, her skin it was bronze.
E                                                   D
With the innocence of a lamb, she was gentle like a fawn.
E                                      D
I courted her proudly but now she is gone,
                      E
Gone as the season she's taken.



E              D
Through young summer's breeze, I stole her away
E                                                   D
From her mother and sister, though close did they stay.
E                                                     D
Each one of them suffering from the failures of their day,
                               E
With strings of guilt they tried hard to guide us.



E                  D 
Of the two sisters, I loved the young.
E                                                D
With sensitive instincts, she was the creative one.
E                                        D
The constant scapegoat, she was easily undone
                            E
By the jealousy of others around her.



E                        D
For her parasite sister, I had no respect,
E                                    D
Bound by her boredom, her pride to protect.
E                                     D
Countless visions of the other she'd reflect
                                E
As a crutch for her scenes and her society.



E                         D
Myself, for what I did, I cannot be excused,
E                                               D
The changes I was going through can't even be used,
E                                               D
For the lies that I told her in hopes not to lose
                             E
The could-be dream-lover of my lifetime. 



E                         D
With unknown consciousness, I possessed in my grip
E                                                  D
A magnificent mantelpiece, though its heart being chipped,
E                               D
Noticing not that I'd already slipped
                     E
To a sin of love's false security.



E                            D
From silhouetted anger to manufactured peace,
E                        D
Answers of emptiness, voice vacancies,
E                                                          D
Till the tombstones of damage read me no questions but, "Please,
                        E
What's wrong and what's exactly the matter?"



E                                             D
And so it did happen like it could have been foreseen,
E                           D
The timeless explosion of fantasy's dream.
E                                          D
At the peak of the night, the king and the queen
                       E
Tumbled all down into pieces.



E                         D
"The tragic figure!" her sister did shout,
E                                D
"Leave her alone, God damn you, get out!"
E                        D
And I in my armor, turning about
                                   E
And nailing her to the ruins of her pettiness.



E                              D
Beneath a bare light bulb the plaster did pound
E                                 D
Her sister and I in a screaming battleground.
E                         D
And she in between, the victim of sound,
                                     E
Soon shattered as a child 'neath her shadows.



E                                    D
All is gone, all is gone, admit it, take flight.
E                                D
I gagged twice, doubled, tears blinding my sight.
E                                  D
My mind it was mangled, I ran into the night
                          E
Leaving all of love's ashes behind me.



E                            D
The wind knocks my window, the room it is wet.
E                                D
The words to say I'm sorry, I haven't found yet.
E                             D
I think of her often and hope whoever she's met
                                E
Will be fully aware of how precious she is.



E                                  D
Ah, my friends from the prison, they ask unto me,
E                                     D
"How good, how good does it feel to be free?"
E                      D
And I answer them most mysteriously,
                           E
"Are birds free from the chains of the skyway?"
 
 

 
Enjoy!

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