The Short Answer

Billy Bragg - The Short Answer -------------------------------- From the album: Workers Playtime Posted by Matt Quinn on ultimateGuitar.com - all corrections & improvements welcome Capo on the second fret on the album version. C   x32010 G/B x20010 Am  x02210 G   320003 Em  022000 F   113211 F/E 013211 Dm  xx0231 Bass runs in the verse: Run 1: Leading into the first C chord of each of the first two lines run up from the G on the bottom string. Run 2: Leading into the first F chord of the third line run up from the C on fifth string.     Run 1     Run 2 E-|-3-------|---------| A-|---0-2-0-|-3-------| D-|---------|---0-2-0-| -|---------|---------| -|---------|---------| -|---------|---------| In the long F bit (3rd and 4th line of the verse) you can play around with alternatively removing and replacing your finger on the 6th string - that is He certainly seems to do that live; can’t really tell on the album version. Be-tween Marx and marzi-pan in the dictiona-ry there was Mary Be-tween the deep blue sea and the devil    that was me   If ever anyone could help me with my obsession with The young Susannah York it was Ma-a-ry              In my pink pyjamas she asked me for something I gave her the short answer She read our stars out loud and I knew then that we should have gone sailing But we stayed home instead fighting on the waterbed Like the honeymoon couple on drugs - me and Mary    What happened in the past remained a mystery of natural history She should have been the last but she was just the latest If she wanted to be a farmer’s wife I would endure that muddy life I would dig for victory                             And the sound of happy couples Coupling happily in the dark While you and I sat down to tea I remember you said to me That no amount of poetry Would mend this broken heart But you can put the Hoover round If you want to make a st-art chord riff basically: [- - ] x 4 {listen to the record for the rhythm & variations} (verses again) All my friends from school introduce me to their spouses While I’m left standing here with my hands down the front of my trousers I just don’t know what’s to be done; I wonder sometimes how did Dad meet Mum? And how did they conceive of me? Tell me Mary The boys who came to the shop always made her laugh much more than I did When I told her this must stop she didn’t bat an eyelid She said you know honey it’s such a shame you’ll never be any good at this game You bruise too easily - so said Mary                Her two brothers took me out of circulation for the duration So we went our separate ways but does she still love me? She still has my door key Like a bully boy in a Benetton shop you’re never happy with what you’ve got Till what you’ve got has gone - sorry Mary*         Outro: *Riff starts on second syllable of ’Mary’ in last verse and is played a couple of times before outro lyrics start. For the tall girl         For the barefoot girl      For the girl with the soap in her mouth and the stars in her hair For the brown-eyed girl      [repeat chord riff to fade]