Love Minus Zero/No Limit
Words and music Bob Dylan
Released on Bringing It All Back
Home (1965) and on
Budokan (1978), and in a live version on Live
1975 (2002)
Tabbed by Eyolf Østrem
Album Version
Dylan’s guitar is in dropped C tuning (C-A-d-g-b-e’) with a capo on the 4th fret (sounding key E major) and with the following chords:
C 032010
G(7) 220001
F 003211 or 033211
Dm x00231
Since Dylan’s guitar isn’t the most prominent one, I’ve given the plain chords (without the G7), played by the other main guitar.
The main accompaniment goes something like this, with a strong
separation between bass downstrokes and treble upstrokes, and an
emphasis on the middle string for the G F part (the downstroke on the
G on the last beat of the second measure is somewhat undetermined: could
be a hint of the bass strings, could be the middle strings):
C G F C G F
: . . . : . . . : . . . : . . .
|-------0---0---0-|-------0---------|-----------------|-------0---------|
|-------1---1---1-|-------1---0---1-|-------1---1---1-|-------1---0---1-|
|-------0---0---0-|-------0---0---2-|-------2---2---0-|-------0---0---2-| etc.
|-2---2-----------|-----------0---3-|-------3---3---2-|-----------0---3-|
|-3---3---3---3---|-3---3---3-------|-3---3---3---3---|-3---3---3-------|
|-0---0---0---0---|-0---0---0-------|-0---0---0---0---|-0---0---0-------|
C
My love she speaks like silence,
G F C
Without ideals or violence,
G F C
She doesn't have to say she's faithful,
Dm F G
Yet she's true, like ice, like fire.
C
People carry roses,
G F C
And make promises by the hours,
G F C
My love she laughs like the flowers,
Dm G C
Valentines can't buy her.
In the dime stores and bus stations,
People talk of situations,
Read books, repeat quotations,
Draw conclusions on the wall.
Some speak of the future,
My love she speaks softly,
She knows there's no success like failure
And that failure's no success at all.
The cloak and dagger dangles,
Madams light the candles.
In ceremonies of the horsemen,
Even the pawn must hold a grudge.
Statues made of match sticks,
Crumble into one another,
My love winks, she does not bother,
She knows too much to argue or to judge.
The bridge at midnight trembles,
The country doctor rambles,
Bankers' nieces seek perfection,
Expecting all the gifts that wise men bring.
The wind howls like a hammer,
The night blows cold and rainy,
My love she's like some raven
At my window with a broken wing.
*Don't Look Back* version
Below is the interlude between the verses, as played in Don’t Look Back (the “Donovan” scene).
C Csus4 C Csus2 C G F
: . . . : . . . : . . . : . . .
|-------0---0-----|-------0---0-----|-3-3---3---0-----|-------1---1---0-|
|-------1---1-----|-------1---1-----|-1-1---1---0---1-|-------1---1---0h|
|-------0---0-----|-------0---0-----|-0-0---0---0---2-|-------2---2---0-|
|-2---2-----3---2-|-0h2-------3---2-|-2-------------3-|-3---3-3---3---2-|
|-3---3---3---3---|-3---3---3---3---|-3---3---3---2---|-3---3---3---3---|
|-0---0---0---0---|-0---0---0---0---|-0---0---0---2---|-0---0---0---0---|
.. buy her.
C G F C Dm G F G C
: . . . : . . . : . . . : . . .
|-------0---0-----|-------1---1---0-|---0---0---0---0-|-1-1---1---0---0-|
|h1-----1---0---1-|-------1---1---0-|h1-1---1---1---1-|-3-0---1---0---1-|
|-------0---0---2-|-------2---2---0-|---0---0---0---0-|-2-0---2---0---0-|
|-2---2---------3-|-3---3-3---3---2-|-2-2-------------|---0---3---0-----|
|-3---3---3---2---|-3---3---3---3---|-3---3---3---3---|---------3---2---|
|-0---0---0---2---|-0---0---0---0---|-0---0---0---0---|---------0---2---|
: . . . : . . .
|-------0---0---0-|-------0---------|
|-------1---1---1-|-------1---------|
|-------0---0---0-|-------0---------|
|-2---2---2-3---2-|-2---2---2---2---|
|-3---3---3---3---|-3---3---3---3---|
|-0---0---0---0---|-0---0---0---0---|
In the ...
Budokan version
Same as above, but in standard tuning, and in the key of D:
D
My love she speaks like silence,
A G D
Without ideals or violence,
A G D
She doesn't have to say she's faithful,
Em G A Asus4 A
Yet she's true, like ice, like fire.
D
People carry roses,
A G D
And make promises by the hours,
A G D
My love she laughs like the flowers,
Em A D
Valentines can't buy her.
Live 1975 version
Played quite squarely, with a constant emphasis on the up-beats
C
My love she speaks like silence,
G F C
Without ideals or violence,
G F C
She doesn't have to say she's faithful,
Dm G C/g G
Yet she's true, like ice, like fire.
C
People carry roses,
G F C
And make promises by the hours,
G F C
My love she laughs like the flowers,
Dm G F C
Valentines can't buy her
[Unplugged](Unplugged) version
Standard tuning
Dm = standard or xx3230
G11 = 3x3211
At least in the intro the F is rather a F9 133213 (or, more playable: 13x213).
“C-G-F”-figure:
C G F
: . . . :
|-0-----000-333-11|-1---
|-1-----111-000-11|-1---
|-0-----000-000-22|-2---
|-2-----222-000-33|-3---
|-3-----333-222-33|-3---
|-----------333-11|-1---
C
My love she speaks like silence,
G F C
Without ideals or violence,
G F C
doesn't have to say she's faithful,
Dm G11
Yet she's true, like ice, like fire.
C
People carry roses,
G F C
make promises by the hours,
G F C
My love she laughs like the flowers,
Dm G11 C
Valentines can't buy her.