Dignity Cifras

Written by: Bob Dylan
March–April 1989 (original recording); 1994 (mixing and overdubbing)
From: “Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3” and “Dignity" (Maxi-CD) (1994)
 
Album version: 5:59
Edit: 4:41
The Album Version repeats the Verse-Verse-Bridge-Verse segment four times.
The Edit version omits 2 bars from the Intro and the second of the
Verse-Verse-Bridge-Verse segments (= Verses 4-6 and Bridge 2).
 
Capo: 1st fret
Play: D
Key: Eb
For chords in original key transpose +1 (and "use flats")
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
CHORDS
          E-A-D-G-B-e
G/D       x-x-0-0-0-3
G/A       x-0-5-4-0-x or x-0-5-4-3-x
D/F#      2-x-0-2-3-x
Em7       0-2-2-0-3-x
Asus4     x-0-2-2-3-0
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
[Intro]
| D | % | % | % |
 
 
[Verse 1]
D                                   G/D
 Fat man lookin’ in a blade of steel
D
 Thin man lookin’ at his last meal
G                        D
 Hollow man lookin’ in a cottonfield
    D       | G/A D |
For dignity
 
 
[Verse 2]
D                                     G/D
 Wise man lookin’ in a blade of grass
D
 Young man lookin’ in the shadows that pass
G                                 D
 Poor man lookin’ through painted glass
    D       | G/A D |
For dignity
 
 
[Bridge 1]
A
 Somebody got murdered on New Year’s Eve
G                              D
 Somebody said dignity was the first to leave
G                     D/F#
 I went into the city, went into the town
              Em7                  | Asus4 | % |
Went into the land of the midnight sun
 
 
[Verse 3]
D                              G/D
 Searchin’ high, searchin’ low
D                     G/D D
 Searchin’ everywhere I know
G                   D
 Askin’ the cops wherever I go
D              G/D  D    | D | % |
 Have you seen dignity?
 
 
[Verse 4]
D                              G/D
 Blind man breakin’ out of a trance
D
 Puts both his hands in the pockets of chance
G                         D
 Hopin’ to find one circumstance
   D       | G/A D |
Of dignity
 
 
[Verse 5]
D                                  G/D
 I went to the wedding of Mary Lou
D
 She said, “I don’t want nobody see me talkin’ to you”
G                                 D
 Said she could get killed if she told me what she knew
      D       | G/A D |
About dignity
 
 
[Bridge 2]
A
 I went down where the vultures feed
G                                         D
 I would’ve gone deeper, but there wasn’t any need
G                     D/F#
 Heard the tongues of angels and the tongues of men
Em7                    | Asus4 A | Asus2 A |
 Wasn’t any difference to me
 
 
[Verse 6]
D                                    G/D
 Chilly wind sharp as a razor blade
D
 House on fire, debts unpaid
G                          D
 Gonna stand at the window, gonna ask the maid
D              G/A  D
 Have you seen dignity?
 
 
[Interlude]
| D | % | % | % |
 
 
[Verse 7]
D                                            G/D
 Drinkin’ man listens to the voice he hears
D
 In a crowded room full of covered-up mirrors
G                                D
 Lookin’ into the lost forgotten years
    D       | G/A D |
For dignity
 
 
[Verse 8]
D                                            G/D
 Met Prince Phillip at the home of the blues
D                                                D7
Said he’d give me information if his name wasn’t used
          G               D
He wanted money up front, said he was abused
   D       | G/A D |
By dignity
 
 
[Bridge 3]
A
 Footprints runnin’ ’cross the silver sand
G                      D
 Steps goin’ down into tattoo land
          G                        D/F#
I met the sons of darkness and the sons of light
       Em7             | Asus4 A | Asus4 |
In the bordertowns of despair
 
 
[Verse 9]
D                                     G/D
Got no place to fade, got no coat
    D
I’m on the rollin’ river in a jerkin’ boat
G                     D
 Tryin’ to read a note somebody wrote
      D       | G/A D |
About dignity
 
 
[Interlude]
| D | % | % | % |
| G | D | % | G/A D |
 
 
[Verse 10]
D                                     G/D
 Sick man lookin’ for the doctor’s cure
D
Lookin’ at his hands for the lines that were
G                              D
 And into every masterpiece of literature
    D       | G D |
For dignity
 
 
[Verse 11]
D
 Englishman stranded in the blackheart wind
D
Combin’ his hair back, his future looks thin
G                        D
 Bites the bullet and he looks within
    D       | G/A D |
For dignity
 
 
[Bridge 4]
A
 Someone showed me a picture and I just laughed
G                        D
 Dignity never been photographed
       G                  D/F#
I went into the red, went into the black
         Em7                | Asus4 | % |
Into the valley of dry bone dreams
 
 
[Verse 12]
D
So many roads, so much at stake
   D
So many dead ends, I’m at the edge of the lake
G                   D
 Sometimes I wonder what it’s gonna take
        D       | G/A D |
To find dignity
 
 
[Outro]
| D | % | % | D D7 |
| G | D | % | G/A D |
 
| D | % | % | D |
| G | D | % | G/A D |
(fade out)
X