The Late Great Johnny Ace
Paul Simon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Late Great Johnny Ace - Paul Simon --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Written by: Paul Simon From: "Hearts and Bones" (1983) Tabbed by: maguri Tuning: standard This is a chords version of the song for strumming along. It looks much more complicated than it actually is ... The guitar on Simon’s recording seems to be tuned down 2 steps. Another option to play this song would be to tune down your guitar and transpose this chord sheet +2 to match the original key. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHORDS Abmaj7 4-x-5-5-4-x F/C x-3-x-2-1-1 A7sus2 x-0-2-0-0-0 Gsus4 3-x-0-0-1-x G * 3-x-0-0-0-x Gadd9 3-x-0-2-x-x C/G 3-x-2-0-1-x G7 * 3-x-3-0-3-x F/G 3-x-3-2-1-x Bb/G 3-x-0-3-3-1 Cm/G 3-x-5-5-4-x C*/G 3-x-5-5-5-x Cb/G 3-x-4-4-4-x Bb/G 3-x-3-3-3-x Gbdim7 2-x-1-2-1-x Bb9 x-1-0-1-1-1 Ebmaj7 x-x-1-3-3-3 Bb7-9 x-1-0-1-0-x --------------------------------------------------------------------------- INTRO | Abmaj | D | Abmaj | D | | Abmaj | D | Abmaj | D | VERSE I was reading a magazine Thinking of a rock and roll song The year was nineteen fifty-six And I hadn’t been playing that long When a man came on the radio And this is what he said He said I hate to break it to his fans A7sus2 Fmaj7 [ Am7 ] But Johnny Ace is dead yeah yeah yeah INTERLUDE | | | Gsus4 * Gadd9 *| VERSE Well I really wasn’t such a Johnny Ace fan But I felt bad alI the same So I sent away for his photograph And I waited till it came It came all the way from Texas With a sad and simple face And they signed it on the bottom A7sus2 Fmaj7 [ Am7 ] From the Late Great Johnny Ace yeah yeah yeah INTERLUDE | | | Gsus4 * Gadd9 *| MIDDLE 8 | / *| / / | / *| / / | | / *| / / | / *| / / | | / *| / / | / *| / / | | / *| / / | / *| / / | It was the year of The Beatles It was the year of The Stones It was nineteen sixty - four I was li - ving in London With the girl from the summer before It was the year of The Beatles It was the year of The Stones A year after J. F. K. We were staying up all night And giving the days a-way And the music was flowing amazingly blowing my way INTERLUDE | Abmaj | D | Abmaj | D | | Abmaj | D | Abmaj | D | VERSE On a cold December evening I was walking through the Christmas tide When a stranger came up and asked me If I’d heard John Lennon had died And the two of us went to this bar And we stayed to close the place And every song we played A7sus2 Fmaj7 [ Am7 ] Was for The Late Great Johnny Ace yeah yeah yeah INTERLUDE | | | Gsus4 * Gadd9 *| CODA composed by by Philip Glass (strings)
