Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
Words & Music:
Joni Mitchell &
Charles Mingus
Joni set words to many of
Mingus' jazz tunes on the 1979 album Mingus. Luckily, Charles Mingus was able to hear the results of the
collaboration before his death that same year. If you don't know Mingus' work, go discover it. Works like "Fables of
Faubus", "Better Git It In Your Soul" & "Slop" are
sublime. The noted Jeff Beck cover
of this tune earned the rare honor of a complete transcription in the November
2004 issue of Guitar Player.
Chords are courtesy of Vivek Ayer.
It is hard to map them to the words exactly, due to the free nature of
the singing, but use Vivek's map & notes below.
"This
is a blues song with cool/weird changes written by Charles Mingus famously
covered Beck, John Mclaughlin and Joni Mitchell. It's a 12 bar blues (can be read as 3 sections of 4 bars
each) These chords can be played
as a chord melody arrangement:
| Ebm* B13|
EM7+11 A7b5 | C#m9 B9|
C#9 Eb7 |
| Abm7 B13|
EM7+11 Bb7#9#5 | C7b5 F7| B7 EM7|
| A13 Ab7 | Bb7 C#7** | Ebm B7 | E A7 ||
* If you're not playing the melody I'd recommend Eb7#9
** Some versions just play B9 for 2 bars here
Eb7#9[Ebm]
B13
EM7+11
A7b5
When Charlie speaks of Lester, you know someone great has
gone.
C#m9
B9
C#9 Eb7
The sweetest, swinging music man had a Porky Pig hat on.
Abm7
B13
EM7+11
Bb7#9#5
A bright star in a dark age when the bandstands had a
thousand ways
C7b5 F7
B7
EM7 A13 Ab7
Of refusing a black man admission, black musician.
Ab7
Bb7 C#7
Ebm B7
In those days they put him in an underdog position
E
A7
Cellars and chitlins'.
When Lester took him a wife, arm and arm went black and
white.
And some saw red and drove them from their hotel bed.
Love is never easy, it's short of the hope we have for
happiness.
Bright and sweet, love is never easy street!
Now, we are black and white.
Embracing out in the lunatic New York night.
It's very unlikely we'll be driven out of town or be hung in
a tree.
That's unlikely!
Tonight these crowds are happy and loud.
Children are up dancing in the streets.
In the sticky middle of the night, summer serenade
Of taxi horns and fun arcades
Where, right or wrong, under neon every feeling goes on!
For you and me, the sidewalk is a history book and a circus.
Dangerous clowns.
Balancing, dreadful and wonderful perceptions they have been
handed
Day by day.
Generations on down.
We came up from the subway on the music midnight makes.
To Charlie's bass and Lester's saxophone in taxi horns and
brakes.
Now, Charlie's down in Mexico with the healers.
So, the sidewalk leads us with music to two little dancers
Dancing outside a black bar.
There's a sign up on the awning. It says "Pork Pie Hat Bar".
And there's black babies dancing...tonight!
Goodbye, Pork Pie Hat Tab by Rick Xavier
Durations:
The no. of
characters (digits, dashes & barlines) shows duration
Whole note: 32 Half
note: 16
Quarter note: 8 Eighth
note: 4 Sixteenth
note: 2
Directions:
Section Section Begin
Repeat Repeat Begin
End Section
End 2) Repeat
End (Play twice)
Loop Section Loop
1.
Ending 1 etc.
Coda Coda
Co To Coda
DS Dal Segno
Segno Segno CC DC al Coda
SC DS al Coda
Fi Fine CF DC al Fine
SF DS al Fine
DC Da Capo
Repeat
Fmaj
E
-------------------------------|1----4---------------1----4----|
B
------------------------1------|1----4---------------1----4----|
G -------------------------------|2------------------------------|
D
-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
A
-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
E
-------------------------------|1------------------------------|
Db13
Gbmaj7
6----4-------------------------|1-------4-------1--------------|
6----4---------------6----4----|2-----------------------4------|
4------------------------------|3------------------------------|
-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
4------------------------------|-------------------------------|
-------------------------------|2------------------------------|
B9b5
Eb11
1------------------------------|-------------------------------|
2-----------------------1------|6----9---------------6----9----|
2------------------------------|6------------------------------|
-------------------------------|6------------------------------|
2------------------------------|6------------------------------|
-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
D13 Db13
Eb11
7----6-------------------------|-------------------------------|
5----4---------------6----4----|6-------9-------6--------------|
5----4-------------------------|6-----------------------8------|
-------------------------------|6------------------------------|
5----4-------------------------|6------------------------------|
-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
Fmaj
Bb9
1------------------------------|-------------------------------|
1------------------------------|1----4-------------------------|
2------------------------------|1-------------------------1----|
------------------------3------|3--------------------3---------|
-------------------------------|1------------------------------|
1------------------------------|-------------------------------|
Db13
Gm11
6----4-------------------------|-----1-------------------------|
4------------------------------|1------------------------------|
4-------------------------1----|3-------------------------3----|
---------------------3---------|3--------------------3---------|
4------------------------------|-------------------------------|
-------------------------------|3------------------------------|
C7#9 Db9 D13
D7#9
-------------------------------|4----7-------------------------|
4-------1----------------------|4----7------------------6------|
3---------------1--------------|4----5------------------5------|
2--------------------2---------|------------------------4------|
3-------------------------4----|4----5------------------5------|
-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
G13
Db9
----------------7-------3------|4------------------------------|
5---------------7-------3------|4------------------------------|
4------------------------------|4------------------------------|
3------------------------------|-------------------------------|
-------------------------------|4------------------------------|
3------------------------------|-------------------------------|
Gbmaj7
B13
1--------------------7----6----|-------------------------------|
2--------------------7----6----|9------------------------------|
3------------------------------|8------------------------------|
-------------------------------|7------------------------------|
-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
2------------------------------|7------------------------------|
Bb7
C7
-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
6------------------------------|11------9----------------------|
7------------------------------|9---------------10------8------|
6------------------------------|8------------------------------|
-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
6------------------------------|8------------------------------|
Ebm7#5
F7#9
7-------6-------4--------------|4------------------------------|
7-------6-------4-------6------|4------------------------------|
6-----------------------5------|2------------------------------|
-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
6------------------------------|-------------------------------|
-------------------------------|1------------------------------|
Db7
Gbmaj7b5
-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
6------------------------------|1------------------------------|
4------------------------------|3-------3-------1--------------|
3------------------------------|3-----------------------3------|
4------------------------------|-------------------------------|
-------------------------------|2------------------------------|
B7
-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
4---------------1--------------|-------------------------------|
2------------------------------|-------------------------------|
1------------------------------|-------------------------------|
2------------------------------|-------------------------------|
-------------------------------|1------------------------------|