Longing for the day ...

12 Good Bars and True

Just yesterday I was listening to ZZTop and thinking about how over-complicated music can get - as opposed to their predominantly simple but effective take on it. Today I am going down to the local club to jam with the boys and we will probably play a lot of basic stuff, so I was thinking about how great the basic 12-bar blues is and how much I miss it when I get to playing too much complicated pop stuff. So I wondered how the blues would feel about people leaving them all the time and then returning. The idea of being put on trial by the blues popped into my head and the expression "12 good men and true" referring to the jury arrived ... this song followed. This is the first draft - the morning after. Midi file here. Of course, the joke is that this is not a 12-bar ...

Update: If you feel generous you can now buy the version of this song released on The Genre Benders' debut CD "I am leaving! I am leaving!" from iTunes, or GroupieTunes, or Payplay.FM. If you have a different favourite online store, search for it there and if it's not there, let me know so I can put it there.

Update: Youtube now makes standard video of songs release through CDBaby. Here's this one:

12 good bars and true

A7
Please Lord, hear my confession. My heart is on parole
D7
I been stuck for days where the devil plays
And the music ain't got no soul
A7
Well I bled to earn.
So I could return.
Back to the sound so blue.
E7 D7 A7 E7
Now my soul's on trial before 12 good bars and true.

Now I am just a poor minstrel I got to make ends meet.
But they put me down some hole in the ground
With an unrelenting beat.
Well the ladies looked fine.
I drank fancy moonshine.
I played the best I could do.
But I couldn't wait to get back again to those 12 good bars and true.

Well my friend got fancy axes. They make some pretty tones.
They got horns and strings and mighty strange things.
Make your blood chill to your bones.
Well he takes out his toys when he plays with the boys.
But I say "No, No. Here's what you do.
"Just give those three trusty chords, man. Play those 12 good bars and true".

********************************

Please note: This song is APRA registered: Work Id GW35065819; ISWC T-060895776-1. You can copy, reproduce and distribute any part of these lyrics and chords for any non-commercial purpose as long as you acknowledge its source. I'm interested in your feedback, comments, suggestions. If you make something good out of it, let me know and I'll consider adding it to the site.

If you perform it or broadcast it for any purpose, please let APRA know.







This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License