You Can Call Me Al Cifras

You Can Call Me Al
Paul Simon
Tempo: 128 bpm
 
Gm   3-x-0-3-3-x (no barre)
 
[Intro]
Keyboard cue
| F C | Gm F C   F |
full playback
| F C | Gm F C   F |
| F C | Gm F C   F |
| F C | Gm F C   F |
 
 
[Verse 1]
F
A man walks down the street
       Gm        C
he says why am I soft in the middle now
F                                Gm          C
 Why am I soft in the middle, the rest of my life is so hard
F                           Gm        C
 I need a photo-opportunity, I want a shot at redemption,
F                                   Gm       C
Don't want to end up a cartoon, in a cartoon graveyard
F                      Gm           C
Bonedigger, bonedigger, dogs in the moonlight
F                 Gm            C
 Far away from my well-lit door
    F                     Gm               C
Mr. Beerbelly, Beerbelly, get these mutts away from me
F                         Gm        C
 I don't find this stuff amusing anymore
 
 
[Chorus 1]
F               C          Gm            C             | F C | Gm F C   F |
If you’ll be my bodyguard, I can be your long lost pal
F              C          Gm             C
I can call you Betty, and Betty when you call me
        F    C  Gm  C
You can call me Al
 
 
[Verse 2]
F
A man walks down the street,
       Gm        C
he says why am I short of attention, got a ...
F                                  Gm      C
 Short little span of attention and oh, my nights are so long
F                           Gm         C
 Where’s my wife and family, what if I die here?
F                        Gm           C
 Who’ll be my role-model, now that my role-model is
F              Gm                   C
Gone, gone, He ducked back down the alley with some
F                 Gm              C
 Roly-poly little bat-faced girl,
    F                       Gm            C
All along, along there were incidents and accidents,
           F                        Gm C
There were  hints and allegations
 
 
[Chorus 2]
F               C          Gm            C             | F C | Gm F C   F |
If you’ll be my bodyguard, I can be your long lost pal
F              C          Gm             C
I can call you Betty, and Betty when you call me
        F    C  Gm  C
You can call me Al, call me Al ...
 
 
[Solo] (Penny Whistle)
| F | Gm C | F | Gm C | F | Gm C | F | Gm C |
| F | Gm C | F | Gm C | F | Gm C | F | Gm C |
 
Keyboard cue
| F C | Gm F C   F |
full playback
| F C | Gm F C   F |
| F C | Gm F C   F |
| F C | Gm F C   F |
 
 
[Verse 3]
F                            Gm                  C
 A man walks down the street, it’s a street in a strange world
F                           Gm              C
 Maybe it’s the Third World, maybe it’s his first time around
F                              Gm        C
 Doesn’t speak the language, he holds no currency
F                    Gm        C
 He is a foreign man, he is surrounded by the ...
F                 Gm            C
Sound, the sound, cattle in the marketplace,
F                           Gm C
 Scatterings and orphanages
          F                      Gm            C
He looks around, around, he sees angels in the architecture,
F                              Gm       C
 Spinning in infinity, He says Amen and Hallelujah!
 
 
[Chorus 3]
F               C          Gm            C             | F C | Gm F C   F |
If you’ll be my bodyguard, I can be your long lost pal
F              C          Gm             C
I can call you Betty, and Betty when you call me
        F    C  Gm  C
You can call me Al,  call me ...
 
 
[Verse]
F            Gm     C
 Na na na na, Na na na na
F            Gm     C
 Na na na na, Na na na na na na
F            Gm           C
 Na na na na, Na na na na na na
F            Gm     C
 Na na na na, Na na na na na na
| F | Gm C | F | Gm C | F | Gm C | F | Gm C |
 Hm, hm     hm, hm     hm, hm     hm, hm
 
[Bass Solo]
G|-3/5-------------------------------|----------------------------------5\3-|
D|-------0/3/5-----------------------|------0---------------------5\3\0-----|
A|--------------0/3/5--0-------0-----|-3/5-----x-0-------0-5-3-0------------|
E|------------------------3/5-----x--|--------------3/5---------------------|
 
 
[Outro] (repeat till fade out)
 F C | Gm F C   F | F C | Gm F C   F |
 
If you’ll be my bodyguard ...
 
I can call you Betty ...
 
If you’ll be my bodyguard ...
 
I can call you Betty ...
 
 
************************************
 
| /  Slide up
| \  Slide down
| x  Dead note
 
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X