Spirit on the Water
Words and music Bob Dylan
Released on Modern Times (2006)
Tabbed by Eyolf Østrem
Original key Bb major. Best played in A major with a capo on the first fret.
The chords in the beginning of the verses could be played like this, to emulate the guitar figures in the recording:
A E A E D A D E A D
: . . . : . . . : . . . :
|-0---0---0---0---|-2---0---2---0---|-0---------------|-2---
|-2---0---2---0---|-3---2---3---0---|h2--h2-----------|-3---
|-2---1---2---1---|-2---2---2---1---|-2-------4-2-----|-2--- etc.
|-2---2---2---2---|-0---0---0---2---|-2-----------4---|-0---
|-0---0---0---0---|-----------------|-0---------------|-----
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----
Or, in the correct position:
A E A E D A D E A D
: . . . : . . . : . . . :
|-9---7---9---7---|-5---5---5---4---|-0---------------|-2---
|-10--9---10--9---|-7---5---7---5---|h2--h2-----------|-3---
|-9---9---9---9---|-7---6---7---4---|-2-------4-2-----|-2--- etc.
|-----------------|-----------------|-------------4---|-0---
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----
Correspondingly, the full chords for the first two lines would be:
E A E A E
Spirit on the water
D A D E A
Darkness on the face of the deep
At the place marked *) in the tab below, there is thus room for any of the variants — full guitar figure, E7, or D throughout.
Chords:
A x02220 (going to E)
A x0222x (going to D; half barre)
D x04232 (alternative fingering; goes with the following F)
F x07560 (slide up from the previous); there is also a 6 in there some
F#m 244222 times, so x33230 is playable...
Bm x24432
C#7 x4342x
B9 x21222 or x21222x or plain B7: x24242
E9sus4/b x24230 or x20230, or just x20200
A E A E | D A D E | A . . . | D . F . |
A . F#m7 . | Bm7 . E . | A . F#m7 . | Bm7 .
E A
Spirit on the water
D *) A
Darkness on the face of the deep
D F A F#m7
I keep thinking 'bout you, baby,
Bm E A . F#m7 . Bm7
And I can't hardly sleep.
. E . A
I'm travelling by land
D A
Travelling through the dawn of the day
D F A F#m7
You're always on my mind
Bm7 E A D Dm A
I can't stay away
F#
I'd forgotten 'bout you
Bm
Then you turned up again
C#7 F#m
I always knew
B9 E7sus4/b E7
We were meant to be more than friends
A
When you're near,
D A
It's just as plain as it can be
D F A F#m7
I'm wild about you, gal
Bm7 E A F#m7 Bm7 E
You ought to be a fool about me
Can't explain
The sources of this hidden pain
You burned your way into my heart
You got the key to my brain
I've been trampling through mud
praying to the powers above
I'm sweating blood
You got a face that begs for love
Life without you
Doesn't mean a thing to me
If I can't have you
I'll throw my love into the deep blue sea
Sometimes I wonder
Why you can't treat me right
You do good all day
And then you do wrong all night
When you're with me
I'm a thousand times happier than I could ever say
What does it matter
What price I pay?
they brag about your sugar
Brag about it all over town
Put some sugar in my bowl
I feel like layin' down
I'm as pale as a ghost
Holding a blossom on a stem
You ever seen a ghost?
No, but you have heard of them
I see you there
I'm blinded by the colors I see
I take good care
of what belongs to me
A E A E | D A D E | A . . . | D /c# Bm7 E |
I hear your . . .
I hear your name
ringing up and down the line
I'm saying it plain:
These ties are strong enough to bind
Your sweet voice
calls out from some old familiar shrine
I got no choice,
can't believe these things would ever fade from your mind
I could live forever
with you perfectly
You don't ever
have to make a fuss over me
From east to west
ever since the world began
I only mean it for the best
I won't be with you any way I can
A E A E | D A D E | A . . . | D /c# Bm7 E |
I've been in a brawl
Now I'm feeling the wall
I'm going away, baby
I won't be back till fall
High on the hill
you can carry all my thoughts with you
You know my will
This love could tear me in two
I won't be with you in paradise
and it seems so unfair
I can't go to paradise no more,
I killed a man back there
You think I'm over the hill
Think I'm past my prime
Let me see what you got
We can have a whoppin' good time
Final guitar solo:
F# Bm
: . . . : . . . : . . .
|--------------------2--h3-|-2---3-232---2-----------|-------------------------|
|-----------2-5------------|-----------5-----5-----3-|-------3---2-3---------2-|
|-------3------------------|-------------------------|-------------------4-----|
|--------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
|--------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
|--------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
C#7 F#m
: . . . : . . . : . . .
|-2------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
|-323----------------------|-----------------2-3---2-|-----------------1-2--/4~|
|--------------------------|-----------1-4-----------|-------2-----------------|
|--------------------------|-------3-----------------|----------(4)------------|
|--------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
|--------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
B9 E7 A
: . . . : . . . :
|--------------------------|-------------------------|------
|~~~~~~~~~---------2-4---5~|~~~--------5-6-----------|------
|--------------------------|-----------------6-------|------
|--------------------------|-------------------6-----|------
|--------------------------|-----------------------8-|-7----
|--------------------------|-------------------------|------