The Last Chance Texaco

Words & Music:

Rickie Lee Jones

 

It is hard to get the chords to line up exactly, due to the free nature of the words.  However, the guitar changes chords nearly every three-beat measure.  This was transcribed by Sam Young.  His notes:  "There seems to be a lot of chords, but most of them are actually variations of the same chords, e.g., the opening chords F# and Bmaj7 involve only shifting your ring and pinky; C and C+ a shift of your index finger."

 

Chord voicings:

AM7   xx2120            BM7   xx4342            C       x32010

C'      x30010          Cadd9   x3203x          CM7   x32000

D       xx0232          Dsus2   xx0230          Em      022000

Em7     022030          F#      244322          G#m     466444

C+      x32002 (May be called CM7add11 or Cadd11+, but who cares)

 

INTRO:  F#  BM7 [vamp]

 

F#                 BM7        F#        BM7

A long stretch of headlights bends into I-9.

F#          BM7      F# BM7  E    AM7           E  AM7

Tiptoe into truck stops------ and sleepy, diesel eyes.

F#                      BM7      F#          BM7

Volcanoes rumble in the taxi and glow in the dark.

F#          BM7      F# BM7  E    AM7           E  AM7  F#  (BM7)

Camels in the driver's seat - a slow, easy mark.

 

PRE-CHORUS:

B                  C#

But you ran out of gas down the road a piece.

G#m                   B                Bm               D

Then the battery went dead and now the cable won't reach...

 

CHORUS:

          C+   C     Em7                 Em

It's your last chance to check under the hood.

C+  C   Cadd9  C            Em              Em/F#  Em/G#

Last chance-----, she ain't soundin' too good,

     Am   D      Bm           Em           C+  CM7  Em [E-F#-E D-E-D]

Your last chance to trust the man with the star.

C                   C' C Dsus2 D      Em    C   C' C  D

You've found the Last--- Chance-- Texaco.

Well, he tried to be Standard, he tried to be Mobil.

He tried living in a World and in a Shell.

There was this block-busted blonde, he loved her - free parts and labor.

But she broke down and died.  She threw all the rods he gave her.

Ah, but this one ain't fuel-injected, her plug's disconnected.

She gets scared and she stalls, she just needs a man, that's all.

 

CHORUS:  [new words]

It's her last chance, her timing's all wrong.

Her last chance, she can't idle this long.

Her first chance, turn her over and go.

Pullin' out of the Last Chance Texaco.  The Last Chance...

 

OUTRO:

F#  BM7  [4x]  |  D  [4 measures]

F#  BM7  [4x]  |  D  [4 measures]

F#  BM7  F#