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Hurricane Party

James Mcmurtry

Text File

This is not actually a tab of James's original version of this song from "Just Us Kids",
a tab of my own, slower, bluesy version that you can hear on my ultimate-guitar site -
This particular version mainly uses a Baritone guitar tuned to Open A# (A#-F-A#-D-F-A#), 
with a slide.

I've actually modified the words slightly in places, since I play it in a band called
Going Out" and couldn't resist replacing the original references to "when the lines go
with "when the lights are going out". I sent a note to James on his MySpace site, and he 
say "how dare you!" or anything else, so I'm assuming it must be sort of OK.

Having said all that, the chords still play OK but are not in the same key as the
which is in A (so the intro would be A-D-A-D-A-D-E). An Open G tuning would give the 
sort
slide sound as on my recording.

Enjoy.

Intro: C - F - C - F - C - F - G

C                             F
The hurricane party's winding down
                              C
And we're all waitin' for the end
C
And I don't want another drink
  F                        C
I only want that last one again
           G                 F
It gave me such a fine glow, smoky and slow
             C                    G
Now I should probably be homeward bound
            C                 F
But there's no one to talk to
                          C
When the lights are going out

I guess in the morning I'll go looking for my grey striped cat
My old house can take the weather
So I'm not too concerned about that
It was built to take the wind back in nineteen ten
When this was one damn fine town
But now there's no one to talk to
When the lights are going out

Candles flickered on the back bar
The building was shakin' with the wind
I bought a whiskey for the gypsy
And she turned my leather back into skin
Just a fleeting sense
Of that rare suspense
I used to think made the world go round
But now there's no one to talk to
When the lights are going out

(Bridge)

G            F                G
Open up your back screen door
G               F              G
Let me see your face once more
G                        F
My hands are cold and my feet so sore
       C                G (hold, or slide back down to C)
That I can't go on this way

And the thoughts come too fast and too many to keep count
Best just let 'em on through
Now I'm breaking those old glass insulators
With my old twenty-two
Off the telegraph poles
As a half dollar rolls across the knuckles of a rodeo clown
There's just no one to talk to
When the lights are going out

My one great love
My God I can feel her still
She ran off to California
Now she's livin' in those Hollywood Hills
With some bullfrog prince
I've not seen her since
Though she calls when he's out of town
And there's no one to talk to
When the lights are going out

(Bridge)
Open up your back screen door
Let me in your space once more
I was lookin' for an easy score
But it just don't work that way

Some insurance man biker is yelling out for one more beer
But a part-time pirate just don't get much respect around here
We got our problems too man
We'll get to you in just a minute
Sit your drunk ass down
Yeah there's no one to talk to
When the lights are going out

(Instrumental to melody of bridge)

Now there's water up past the wheel wells of my Ford
And I don't guess it'll run
But I left a pack of Winstons on the dash
Could you get 'em for me son
The morning's first cigarette, that's as good as it gets all day
I should know by now
That there's no one to talk to
When the lights are going out

(Coda)
           C
No there's no one to talk to
F                 C
When the lights are going out

             C                 F (hold)
There's just no one to talk to
(no chord)                C (three bars then let 4th bar ring)
When the lights are goin' out

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Hurricane Party

James Mcmurtry