David Bowie

David Bowie - The Cygnet Committee guitar tab

From: winston campbell

Subject: THE CYGNET COMMITTEE by David Bowie

This song took me two hours to figure out. It is probably, in my opinion,

one of the greatest David Bowie songs. It is off of -Space Oddity- and

quite a track coming in at over nine minutes. It is quite a piece moving

through so many key changes and other things. Those are things

characteristic of -Space Oddity-, figuring out songs off that album is

quite difficult. I was quite frustrated trying to get some of it but now

that I got all of it, I am quite proud and happy I did it. I am typing

this on a word processor program that does not show any quotation or

apostrophe marks. So to not cause any confusion on the lyrics, I will

use a ~ for an apostrophe and ~~ for both open and closed quotation marks.

I took the lyrics right off of the album and even capitalized a lot of

things that were capitalized on the album sleeve. I hope you enjoy this,

(it took me a really strenuous long time to do but I did enjoy doing it

anyway):

THE CYGNET COMMITTEE

by David Bowie

D D/C

I bless you madly

Bm Bb D

Sadly as I tie my shoe

D/C

I love you badly

Bm Bb D D/C

Just in time, at times, I guess

Bm Bb D D/C

Because of you I need to rest

Bm Bb D

Because it~s you that sets the test

Eb Bbm

So much has gone and little is new

Bbm A

And as the sparrow sings

F#

Dawn chorus for

Bbm

Someone else to hear

Bbm A

The thinker sits alone

F# Bbm

Growing older

And so bitter

F Bbm

~~I gave Them life, I gave Them all

C Fm

They drained my very soul...dry

F Bbm

I crushed my heart to ease Their pains

C Fm Ab

No thought for me remains there

Bbm Db

Nothing can they spare

C

What of me?

Am F

Who praised Their efforts to be free?

G C

Words of strength and care and sympathy

Am F

I open doors that would have blocked their way

G C

I braved Their cause to guide for little pay

Am F

I ravaged at my finanace just for Those

G C

Those whose claims were steeped in peace, tranquility

Am F

Those who said a new world, new ways ever free

G C

Those whose promises stretched in hope and grace for me.~~

Am F G

D D/C

I bless you madly

Bm Bb D

Sadly as I tie my shoe

D/C

I love you badly

Bm Bb D D/C

Just in time, at times, I guess

Bm Bb D D/C

Because of you I need to rest

Bm Bb D

Because it~s you that sets the test

Eb Bbm

So much has gone and little is new

Bbm A

And as the sunrise stream

F# Bbm

Flickers on me

Bbm A

My friends talk of glory, untold dream

F# Bbm

Where all is God and God is just a word

F Bbm

~~We had a friend, a talking man

C Fm

Who spoke of many powers that he had

F Bbm

Not of the best of men but Ours

C Fm Ab

We used him, We let him use his powers

Bbm Db

We let him fill our needs

C

Now we are strong.

Am F

And the road is coming to its end

G C

Now the damned have not time to make amends

Am F

No purse of token fortunes stands in Our way

G C

The silent guns of love will blast the sky

Am F

We broke the ruptured structure build of age

G C

Our weapons were tongues of crying rage

Am F

Where money stood we planted seeds of rebirth

G C

And stabbed the backs of fathers, sons of dirt

Am

Infiltrated business cesspools

F

Hating through Our sleeves

G

Yea, and We slit the Catholic throat

C

Stoned the poor on slogans as:

-Wish You Could Hear-

Am

-Love Is All We Need-

-Kick Out The Jams-

-Kick Out Your Mother-

F

-Cut Up Your Friend-

G

-Screw Up Your Brother or He~ll Get You In the End-

C Am

And We Know the Flag of Love is from Above

F

And We Can Force You to Be Free

G C

And We Can Force You to Believe.~~

Am

And I close my eyes and tighten up my brain

F

For I once read a book in which the lovers were slain

G

For they Knew not the words of the Free States~ refrain,

It said:

C

~~I Believe in the Power of Good

Am

I Believe in the State of Love

F

I Will Fight For the Right to be Right

G

C

I Will Kill for the Good of the Fight for the Right to be Right.~~

Am F

And I open my eyes to look around

G

And I see a child laid slain on the ground

C Am

As a love machine lumbers through desolation rows

F G

Ploughing down man, woman, listening to its command

C

But not hearing anymore-

Am F

Not hearing anymore

G

Just the shrieks from the old rich

C

And I Want to Believe

G

In the madness that calls ~Now~

C

And I Want to Believe

G

That a light is shining through somehow

Bb

And I Want to Believe

F

And You Want to Believe

C

And We Want to Believe

G

And We Want to Live

Ab

Oh, We Want to Live

Bb

We Want to Live

C

We Want to Live

(marching-type beat configuration appears)

G

We Want to Live

Ab

We Want to Live

Bb

We Want To Live

C

I Want to Live

G

I Want to Live

Ab

I Want to Live

Bb

I Want to Live

C

I Want to Live

G

I Want to Live

Ab

Live

Bb

Live

C

Live

(it continues with the G-Ab-Bb-C chords until it fades)

The Chords Used Are:

E A D G B E

-----------

D x x 0 2 3 x

D/C x 3 x 2 3 x

Bm x 2 4 4 3 2

Bb x 1 3 3 3 x

Eb x 6 5 3 4 3

Bbm x 1 3 3 2 1

A x 0 2 2 2 0

F# 2 4 4 3 2 2

F 1 3 3 2 1 1

C x 3 2 0 1 0

Fm 1 3 3 1 1 1

Ab 4 6 6 5 4 4

Db x 4 6 6 6 x

Am x 0 2 2 1 0

G 3 2 0 0 0 3

Make sure to play the marching chords at the end in barre form.

And that is pretty much it. Please send my email and comment if you find

any errors or anything else not of that nature. Bye-bye.

(This thing came out a bit screwed up, especially with the chords above the

words, but I hope you get the idea)

Get this song at:  amazon.com sheetmusicplus.com

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