"Requiem For The Masses"
(Terry Kirkman)
Jim Yester, in the liner notes to the Japanese _From The Original Master
Tapes_ CD (Warner/Pioneer WPCP-3536):
Written during the peak of the Vietnam War, this flip side of "Never My
Love" soon became an underground hit, and its stark dramatic tone and
shockingly beautiful requiem mass parts [became] a favorite at live
concerts.
Note: guitar is capoed at 4th fret; chords are notated in brackets
Intro:
Snare roll [2X]
(acapella w/military drums; chords implied):
C#m B G#m F# F#sus2
Requiem aeternam, requiem aete...rnam
Verse:
F# F#6
[D] [D6]
Mama, mama, forget your pies
F#7 F#
[D7] [D]
Have faith they won't get cold
F# F#6
[D] [D6]
And turn your eyes to the bloodshot sky
F#7 F#
[D7] [D]
Your flag is flying full
F# (octaves in piano l.h; guitar enters gradually)
[D]
At half-mast
For the matadors
Who turned their backs
To please the crowd
And all fell before the bull
Bridge 1:
B A#m G#m F#
[G] [F#m][Em] [D]
Red was the color of his blood flowing thin
B A#m G#m F#
[G] [F#m] [Em] [D]
Pallid white was the color of his lifeless skin
B A#m G#m F#
[G] [F#m] [Em] [D]
Blue was the color of the morning sky
A
[F]
He saw looking up from the ground where he died
G#m F#
[Em] [D]
It was the last thing ever seen by him
(acapella w/military drums and sustained F# on bass; chords implied):
F#m E C#m B F#
Kyrie elei...son
(flugelhorn and military drums)
[repeat verse]
Bridge 2:
Black and white were the figures that recorded him
Black and white was the newsprint he was mentioned in
Black and white was the question that so bothered him
He never asked, he was taught not to ask
What was on his lips as they buried him
(acapella w/military drums; chords implied:)
F#
Rex tremendae majestatis
Coda:
(acapella w/military drums; chords implied:)
C#m B G#m F# F#sus2
Requiem aeternam, requiem aete...rnam
(flugelhorn and military drums to fade)
-- another ace 60's tab from Andrew Rogers
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