Marlene Cifras

The whole song revolves around the main repeated pattern in e-minor:
 
                          v         M                  v
e |----------------------------|----------------------------||
B |--0-------------------------|----------------------------||
G |--0--------------------0----|-----------------------0----||
D |--2-----2p-0--2p-0-----0h---|--2-----2p-0--2p-0-----2h---||
A |--2-----------------2--0h---|--2-----------------2--2h---||
E |--0--------------------0----|-----------------------0----||
 
 
v - stroke up (with flesh of index finger)
 
After the hammer-on following the down-stroke use your palm to mute the strings and get the feel from the
recording.
 
Listening to the song I am pretty sure that JCF is playing without a pick but I could not find any live
footage to confirm. Whenever he is playing e-minor he uses the pattern above - all the other chords are
just strummed freely (listen to song to figure out the rythm).
 
The full lyrics go like this. I agree with the comments of emilfogh from pajarita33's tab that the correct
lyrics are slightly different than the version found on google.
 
 
Chords:
Em 022000
Am x02210
Am/G 302013
D/F# 2x0230
C/G 330210
G 320003
G/F# 2x0003
 
 
 
[Verse 1]
Em
The ghost of her hair, 
Am          Am/G
floats over there
        D/F#
and her smile, her smile 
           Em
it seems so lonely
 
Em
She gave me her hand, 
Am                    Am/G
as they struck up the band 
        D/F#
and she seemed to say, 
she seemed to say
            Em
"you're the only"
 
C/G                     D/F#
Then we danced like two snowflakes,
G      G/F#    Em
in the falling wind, 
in the wind...
Em          Am            Am/G
Oh, do me a favour god...
          D/F#             Em
won't you let Marlene come in?
 
[Verse 2]
Em
The gymnasium floor, 
Am             Am/G
the brassbound door,
    D/F#
the jungle bird, the jungle bird 
          Em
that she showed me
 
Em
Her love was so clean, 
Am            Am/G
to tell the truth Marlene,
     D/F#                           Em
the sound of your tambourine still haunts me
 
C/G         D/F#
We were so young then, 
G    G/F#    Em
now that I'm old, I know, oh I know
Em          Am          Am/G
I loved her right then, 
       D/F#            Em
but I made Marlene let go
 
[Verse 3]
Em
My friends in the bars, 
Am                       Am/G
hell, they only see the scars
         D/F#
and they do not give a damn, they do not give a damn, 
       Em
that I loved you
 
Em
I don't know why, 
Am               Am/G        D/F#
but once you've seen the sky -
                                 Em
you think, you know all birds are lovely
 
C/G                     D/F#
but there's snow on the ground, 
G      G/F#    Em
in Woodstock tonight,
           Am                 Am/G
it's been twentytwo years dear, 
D/F#           Em
since I saw the light
 
[Verse 4]
Em
The world did explode, 
Am            Am/G
in such a high powered load
    D/F#
to run, to run to run, 
            Em
was all that left me
 
Em
Up heres theres breeze, 
Am                 Am/G
high in the clouds we freeze... 
   D/F#                      Em
to fly, to fly away was the lesson
 
C/G                        D/F#
Though the fire burned her life out, 
G          G/F#     Em
and left me little more
                Am     Am/G
I am a crippled singer, 
       D/F#         Em
and it evens up the score.
 
[Verse 1]
Em
The ghost of her hair, 
Am          Am/G
floats over there
        D/F#
and her smile, her smile 
           Em
it seems so lonely
 
Em
She gave me her hand, 
Am                    Am/G
as they struck up the band 
        D/F#
and she seemed to say, 
she seemed to say
            Em
"you're the only"
 
C/G                     D/F#
Then we danced like two snowflakes,
G      G/F#    Em
in the falling wind, 
in the wind...
Em          Am            Am/G
Oh, do me a favour god...
          D/F#             Em
won't you let Marlene come in?
Em          Am            Am/G
Oh, do me a favour god...
          D/F#             Em
won't you let Marlene come in?
 
 
 
 
[Outro]
 
                           v
e ||----------------------------|----------------------------|
B ||--0-------------------------|----------------------------|
G ||--0--------------------0----|-----0-----0-----0-----0----|
D ||--2-----2h-0--2h-0-----0h---|--2-----0-----2-----4-------|
A ||--2-----------------2--0h---|----------------------------|
E ||--0--------------------0----|----------------------------|
 
 
e |----------------------------|----------------------------|
B |----------------------------|----------------------------|
G |-----0-----0-----0-----0----|-----0-----0-----0-----0----|
D |--5-----4-----5-----7-------|--5-----4-----5-----4-------|
A |----------------------------|----------------------------|
E |----------------------------|----------------------------|
 
                          v
e |-----------0----------------|----------------------------|-------------0--||
B |-----------1----------------|--0-------------------------|-------------0--||
G |-----0-----0-----------0----|--0-------------------------|-------------0--||
D |--2-----0--2-----------0h---|--2-----2h-0--2h-0----------|-------------2--||
A |-----------3-----------0h---|--2-----------------2-------|-------------2--||
E |-----------------------0----|--0-------------------------|--3--2--0----0--||
 
 
 
Legend
 
h - hammer on
p - pull off
t - trill
M - palm mute
v - brush up
X