The Band
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Album: Northern Lights - Southern Cross
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Tracks
1. Forbidden Fruit
2. Hobo Jungle
3. Ophelia (166K)
4. Acadian Driftwood
5. Ring Your Bell
6. It Makes No Difference
7. Jupiter Hollow
8. Rags And Bones
9.* Twilight
10.* Christmas Must Be Tonight
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Track 1.Forbidden Fruit
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A A7 D A
High and lonesome out on Times Square
A7 D A
Haven't got a dime, ain't got a prayer
A7 D A
Deliver us, Lord, from this golden calf
A7 D A
People only want what they cannot have
D#o7
Forbidden fruit
D E A D
That's the fruit that you'd better not taste
A D#o7
Forbidden fruit
D E A D
You've got one life that you'd better not waste
A A7 D A
How can I walk with this ball and chain?
A7 D A
How can I land in this hurricane?
A7 D A
Or is this part of man's evolution
A7 D A
To be torn between truth and illusion?
D#o7
Forbidden fruit
D E A D
That's the route that you'd better not take
A D#o7
Forbidden fruit
D E A
Just watch out for the sign of the snake
Little brother got caught in the web
He ran off to join the living dead
Been through the mill, seen the cross on the hill
He sold his soul just for a thrill
Forbidden fruit
In hot pursuit out on a limb
Forbidden fruit
Your whole world is closing in
You got the picture but missed the drift
About me workin' the graveyard shift
I never went in for no burglary
But there's a stranger inside of me
Forbidden fruit
Don't you shoot the whole works away
Forbidden fruit
It's too high of a price to pay
How can you hear with a bad connection?
You can't see when there's no reception
Keep your distance, don't fool with taboo
'Cause it'll overtake and undertake you
Forbidden fruit
That's the fruit that you'd better not taste
Forbidden fruit
You've got one life that you'd better not waste
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Track 2. Hobo Jungle
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by J.R.Robertson. Album: Northern Lights - Southern Cross
© 1975, 1976 Medicine Hat Music
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C G F Fm6
There was a chill that night in the hobo jungle
Am Em7 Ebm7 Dm7 G7
Over the train yard lay a smooth coat of frost
C G F Fm6
And although nobody here really knows where they're goin'
Am Em7 Dm7 F G7 C
At the very same time nobody's lost
C G/C F Fm6/Ab
Then the fire went out and the night grew still
Am Em Em7 Ebm7 Dm7
G7
This old man lay frozen on the cold, cold ground
C G/C F Fm6/Ab
He was a stray bird and the road was his callin'
Am Em7 Dm7
Ridin' the rods
G7 F C
Sleepin' under the stars
Am Em7 Dm7 F G7 C
Playin' the odds from a rollin' box car
C G/C F Fm6/Ab
She attended the fun'ral in the hobo jungle
Am Em Em7 Ebm7 Dm7
G7
Long were they lovers though never could they wed
C G/C F Fm6/Ab
Drifters and rounders and distant friends
Am Em7 Dm7
Here I lie without anger or regret
F G7 C
I'm in no one's debt
D A/D
Man goes nowhere
G Gm6/Bb
Ev'rything comes like tomorrow
Bm F#m F#m7 Fm7 Em7
A7
But she took that last ride there by his side
D A/D G Gm6/Bb
He spent his whole life pursuing the horizon
Bm F#m7 Em7
Ridin' the rods
A7 G D
Sleepin' under the stars
Bm F#m7 Em7 G A7 D
Playin' the odds from a rollin' box car
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Track 3.Ophelia
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by J.R.Robertson. Album: Northern Lights - Southern Cross
© 1975, 1976 Medicine Hat Music
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C
Boards on the window
E7
Mail by the door
A7 D7
What would anybody leave so quickly for?
F
Ophelia
G7 C A7 D7 G7
Where have you gone?
The old neighborhood just ain't the same
Nobody knows just what became of
Ophelia
Tell me, what went wrong
F C
Was it somethin' that somebody said?
G7 C
Mama, I know we broke the rules
F C
Was somebody up against the law?
G7 G7+5
Honey, you know I'd die for you
C
Ashes of laughter
E7
The ghost is clear
A7 D7
Why do the best things always disappear
F
Like Ophelia
G7 C A7 D7 G7
Please darken my door
Was it somethin' that somebody said?
Honey, you know we broke the rules
Wu somebody up against the law?
Honey, you know I'd die for you
They got your number
Scared and runnin'
But I'm still waitin' for the second comin'
Of Ophelia
Come back home
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Track 4. Acadian Driftwood
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by J.R. Robertson. Album: Northern Lights - Southern Cross
© 1975, 1976 Medicine Hat Music
For more about this song, see Peter Viney's article.
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F C9
The war was over and the spirit was broken
Dm9 Ebmaj9 Gm7
The hills were smokin' as the men withdrew
F
We stood on the cliffs
C/G A9
Oh, and watched the ships
Bb Gm7
Slowly sinking to their rendezvous
F C9
They signed a treaty and our homes were taken
Dm9 Ebmaj9
Loved ones forsaken
Gm7
They didn't give a damn
F
Try'n' to raise a family
C/G A9
End up the enemy
Bb Gm7
Over what went down on the plains of Abraham (*)
F Bb
Acadian driftwood
Gm7 C7
Gypsy tail wind
Bb/D F/C Bb Gm7
They call my home the land of snow
F Bb Gm7 C7
Canadian cold front movin' in
Bb/D F/C
What a way to ride
Bb Dm7/A Gm7 C7 F
Oh, what a way to go
Then some returned to the motherland
The high command had them cast away
And some stayed on to finish what they started
They never parted
They're just built that way
We had kin livin' south of the border
They're a little older and they've been around
They wrote a letter life is a whole lot better
So pull up your stakes, children and come on down
Fifteen under zero when the day became a threat
My clothes were wet and I was drenched to the bone
Been out ice fishing, too much repetition
Make a man wanna leave the only home he's known
Sailing out of the gulf headin' for Saint Pierre
Nothin' to declare
All we had was gone
Broke down along the coast
But what hurt the most
When the people there said
"You better keep movin' on"
Everlasting summer filled with ill-content
This government had us walkin' in chains
This isn't my turf
This ain't my season
Can't think of one good reason to remain
I've worked in the sugar fields up from New Orleans
It was ever green up until the floods
You could call it an omen
Points ya where you're goin'
Set my compass north
I got winter in my blood
Acadian driftwood
Gypsy tail wind
They call my home the land of snow
Canadian cold front movin' in
What a way to ride
Ah, what a way to go
F C7sus4 C7 Bb/D Gm7
Sais tu, A-ca-di-e j'ai le mal du pays
[You know, Acadia, I long for the country (I am homesick)]
F C7sus4 C7 Bb/D Gm7
Ta neige, Acadie, fait des larmes au soleil
[Your snow, Acadia, makes tears in the sun (or for the sun)]
F C7sus4 C7 Bb/D Gm7
J'arrive Acadie, teedle um, teedle um, teedle ooh
[I am arriving Acadia (or I am coming Acadia)]
(*): "The Plains of Abraham" refer to farm land owned by Abraham Martin just west of the
Citadel in Quebec City and the site of the battle between the French and the English.
is now a park (also overlooks the St.Lawrence) and is a wonderful place to visit if you
get the chance.
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Track 5. Ring Your Bell
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by J.R.Robertson. Album: Northern Lights - Southern Cross
© 1975, 1976 Medicine Hat Music
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F#-5 F C/E
Ring your bell
Ebm Dm C
Change your number
F#-5 F C/E
Run like hell
Ebm Dm C
You can't hide from thunder
Oh, no
F#-5 F C/E
Ring your bell
Ebm Dm C
Get in the wind
F#-5 F C/E Ebo7 Dm7 C
You and me gonna make some medicine
[ Tab from: https://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/t/the_band/northern_lights_southern_cross_crd.html ]
C7/Bb F/A C/G
Run that rebel across the tracks
C7/E Dm7 C
With the Mounties on his trail
Eb6 Dm7
He was taught:
C F
Don't get caught at the mercy of the man
G
Land in jail
C7/Bb F/A C/G
Meet me, madam, on the high road
C7/E Dm7 C
We gonna blow the man down
Eb6 Dm7 C
I've been totin' a heavy load
F
And I'm rarin' to clown
G
Mess around
Ring your bell
Shake your tower
Pump your well
Turn on your power
I'm gonna ring your bell
Glide on in
You and me gonna make some medicine
Smoky bars and souped-up cars
Where we drowned all sorrow
Renegade woman
Love me like there's no tomorrow
Left to borrow
Bloodhounds comb the back streets
With the ramrod close behind
Asphalt justice you gonna find
My ass across
That border line
Ring your bell
Sound the chime
Open up your shell
Get on the line
Come on, ring your bell
Gimme some skin
You and me gonna make some medicine
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Track 6. It Makes No Difference
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by J.R.Robertson. Album: Northern Lights - Southern Cross
© 1975, 1976 Medicine Hat Music
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intro
/ / | Bb Gm | Eb F | Bb
| Bb |
Eb Dm
It makes no diff'rence where I turn
Gm Gm7/F Cm7
I can't get over you and the flame still burns
Eb Dm
It makes no diff'rence, night or day
Gm Gm7/F Eb
F
The shadow never seems to fade away
Bb Gm Eb F Bb Eb Bb
And the sun don't shine anymore
Bb Gm Eb F
Bb Eb Bb
And the rains fall down on my door
Bb
Now there's no love
Fm7
As true as the love
Eb C7
That dies untold
Bb Gm Eb
F
Bb Eb Bb
But the clouds never hung so low before
Eb Dm
It makes no diff'rence how far I go
Gm Gm7/F Cm7
Like a scar the hurt will always show
Eb Dm
It makes no diff'rence who I meet
Gm Gm7/F
They're just a face in the crowd
Cm7 F
On a dead-end street
Bb Gm Eb F
Bb Eb Bb
And the sun don't shine anymore
Bb Gm Eb F Bb Eb Bb
And the rains fall down on my door
Bb
These old love letters
Fm7
Well, I just can't keep
Eb
'Cause like the gambler says
C7
Read 'em and weep
Bb Gm Eb
Bb
Eb Bb
And the dawn don't rescue me no more
F Dm
Without your love I'm nothing at all
Eb Cm 7
Like an empty hall it's a lonely fall
F Dm
Since you've gone it's a losing battle
Eb
Stampeding cattle
Cm7 F
They rattle the walls
Bb Gm Eb F Bb Eb Bb
And the sun don't shine anymore
Bb Gm Eb F
Bb Eb Bb
And the rains fall down on my door
Bb
Well, I love you so much
Fm7
It's all I can do
Eb C7
Just to keep myself from telling you
Bb Gm Eb F
Bb Eb Bb
That I never felt so alone before
| Eb | Dm | Gm Gm7/F | Cm7
| Eb | Dm | Gm Gm7/F |
F
| Bb Gm | Eb F | Bb
| Bb |
Bb Gm | Eb F | Bb
| Bb |
Bb | Fm7 | Eb | C7 |
Bb Gm | Eb F | Bb
| Eb Bb....
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Track 7. Jupiter Hollow
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by J.R.Robertson. Album: Northern Lights - Southern Cross
© 1975, 1976 Medicine Hat Music
See Peter Viney's article on "Jupiter Hollow" for more about this song.
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G
Jupiter Hollow
C G
Northern Lights
C G/D G
Cast a glow through the window late last night
Gsus4 G C G
I went to follow through the sycamore
C C/D
When I found myself in a place
G
I'd never been before
C G/B
There was a unicorn and a dragon queen
D G
Beneath the burgundy sky
C G/B
I saw an old soldier singin' a love song
C/D
He had the distance in his eye
G
Livin' in another world
C C/D G
Livin' in another time
C G
Like a comet I was hurled
C C/D G
Oh, livin' in another world
Jupiter Hollow
So far, so near
Like a time machine take you out to a different year
Phoebus Apollo played on his lyre
While we danced to the music of the sphere
And as the moon went down and the sun came up
With the mercury risin' too
'Twas then the prophet said the secret of the dead
I'll whisper it to you
Livin' in another world
Livin' in another time
Like a comet I was hurled
Oh, livin' in another world
Jupiter Hollow
In the midnight sun
Well, no man of dreams was ever more outdone
Where the swallows circle over head
And muses gather by the river of the tears we shed
Just like a pioneer in the new frontier
I don't know where to begin
Because nobody cares when a man goes mad
And tries to free the ghost within
Livin' in another world
Livin' in another time
Like a comet I was hurled
Oh, livin' in another world
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Track 8. Rags And Bones
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by J.R.Robertson. Album: Northern Lights - Southern Cross
© 1975, 1976 Medicine Hat Music
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F#m
Catch a taxi to the fountainhead
C#sus4/G#
Blinking neon penny arcade
A
A young Caruso on the fire escape
Bm Bm/C# D D/E
Painted face ladies on parade
F#m
The newsboy on the corner
C#sus4/G#
Singing out headlines
A
And a fiddler selling pencils
Bm Bm/C# D
The sign reads: Help the blind
F#m F#m/E Dmaj7
Comin' up the lane callin'
Bm7 C#m7 F#m
Workin' while the rain's fallin'
Dmaj7 C# A/E D#m7-5
Ragman, your song of the street
Dmaj7 E7sus4
Keeps haunting my memory
F#m F#m/E Dmaj7
Music in the air
Bm7 C#m7 F#m
I hear it ev'rywhere
Dmaj7 C# A/E D#m7-5
Rags, bones and old city songs
Dmaj7 E7sus4 A
Hear them, how they talk to me
Trolley car rings out the morning
Whistle blows at noon
A cat fight breaks open the night
While watch dogs bay at the moon
A preacher on an orange crate
With a Salvation Army Band
And clicking along the cobbled stones
That's the sound of the ice-cream man
Comin' up the lane callin'
Workin' while the rain's fallin'
Ragman, your song of the street
Keeps haunting my memory
Music in the air
I hear it ev'rywhere
Rags, bones and old city songs
Hear them, how they talk to me
The organ grinder and his monkey
Still walkin' the same old beat
The shoe-shine boy slappin' leather
He puts the rhythm in your feet
Strollin' by the churchyard
List'nin' to the Sunday choir
With voices rising to the heavens
Like sirens screaming to a fire
Comin' up to the lane callin'
Workin' while the rain's fallin'
Ragman, your song of the street
Keeps haunting my memory
Music in the air
I hear it ev'rywhere
Rags, bones and old city songs
Play them one more time for me
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Track 9. * Twilight
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by J.R.Robertson. Album: The Best of The Band
© 1976 Medicine Hat Music
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F Bb F
Over by the wildwood
Dm
Hot summer night
Gm
We lay in the tall grass
C
til the mornin' light
If I had my way I'd never
get the urge to roam
A young man serves his country
and an old man guards the home
Never gave a second thought
Never crossed my mind
What's right and what's not
I'm not the judgin' kind
I could take the darkness oh
Storms in the skies
But we all got certain trials
burnin' up inside
Don't send me no distant salutations
or silly souvenirs from far away
Don't leave me alone in the twilight
Twilight is the loneliest time a day
F Bb F
Don't put me in a frame upon the mantel
F Bb C Gm
'Fore memories turn dusty old and grey
C C7
Don't leave me alone in the twilight
Bb-C F
Twilight is the loneliest time a day
Bb C Gm Dm
Bb C Gm F
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Track 10. * Christmas Must Be Tonight
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by J.R.Robertson. Album: Islands
© 1977 Medicine Hat Music
See Peter Viney's article for more about this song.
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G Em G Em
G Am
Come down to the manger, see the little stranger
D D G
Wrapped in swaddling clothes, the prince of peace
G Am
Wheels start turning, torches start burning
D G
And the old wise men journey from the East
CHORUS:
Em Am D G
How a little baby boy bring the people so much joy
Am Am/B C Am
C
Son of a carpenter, Mary carried the light
Am D G
This must be Christmas, must be tonight
A shepherd on a hillside, while over my flock I bide
Oh a cold winter night a band of angels sing
In a dream I heard a voice saying "fear not, come rejoice
It's the end of the beginning, praise the new born king"
CHORUS
I saw it with my own eyes, written up in the skies
But why a simple herdsmen such as I
And then it came to pass, he was born at last
Right below the star that shines on high
CHORUS
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