Gentle on My Mind - chords, tab and comments


I've seen this song erroneously credited various people, like Jimmy Webb, Tom Russell ... even Glen Campbell, that hit-grabbing coyote who's never ever written a single line himself. But it is John Hartford, a fiddling singer/songwriter, who obviously was struck by God in 1962 and wrote this masterpiece. It is a toil to play, but it chills my spine, tears along my depressions and saves my day. Thanks, John! (...and Geir Madsen, who brought me notes, harmonies and lyrics in those days internet not even was intended ...and Steinar Fonn, who gave me the rare original album for Christmas some lost years ago).
C                      Cmaj7           C6           Cmaj7            Dm
it's knowing that your door is always open and your path is free to walk
Dm                     Faug           Dm7                 G7                  C
that makes me tend to leave my sleeping bag rolled up and stashed behind your couch
C                         Cmaj7         C6               Cmaj7
and it's knowing I'm not shackled by forgotten words and bonds
         C                    Cmaj7           Dm
and the ink stains that have dried upon some line
Dm                      Faug           Dm7          G7
that keeps you in the backroads by the rivers of my memory
      Dm              G6          C
that keeps you ever gentle on my mind
Between the 4 melody lines it's meant to be an interlude, repeating chords from the last line. Not nescessary, but sounds good. And if you want to score hell and make your hand crawl like a spider along the neck: keep the basic chords, and put all the sixth, seventh and augmented stuff into a bass line. I do, and I've got arthritis :-(
C major
C
C major seventh
Cmaj7
C sixth
C6
D minor
Dm
D minor seventh
Dm7
F augmented
Faug
G seventh
G7
G sixth
G6
John Hartford