Ladbroke Grove Symphony

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[Verse 1]
                 Am   Bm  Am
I had a basement flat
         Bm    Am   Bm   Am
Off Portobello Road
       Bm    Dm    Em
In my cowboy hat
Dm       Em      Am     Bm   Am  Bm
Down the Grove I strode
                Dm   Em   Dm
With my buckled boots
                    F
And my blue striped pants
              Am     Bm
I knew how to groove
  Am     Bm           Am     Bm
I didn't know how to dance
         F
I wore a teenage rockabilly

Coat from Johnston's
   Em
My head full of lyrics, wonder
           Bm    Am   Bm   Am
Love and magic, stuff and nonsense

[Verse 2]
                        Am   Bm  Am
The counter-culture was fading
    Bm          Am
But echoed everywhere
            Dm    Em    Dm
Rastas promenading
                    Am   Bm  Am
Reefer smoke on the air
Bm                 Dm    Em    Dm
Behind my wooden door
                 F
I'd blast out my sounds
                  Am   Bm  Am
On my back on the floor
   Bm               Am
With the lights all down
      F
Like Dorothy adrift

In the land of Oz
Dm
Sometimes I'd open my eyes
    Am     Bm        Am           Am   Bm  Am
And wonder where the hell I was


[Verse 3]
         Bm          Am   Bm  Am
I was in love with a girl
  Bm           Am   Bm  Am
I saw one afternoon
 Em                     Dm    Em    Dm
Wearing duffle coat and pearls
Em                Am   Bm  Am
In the middle of June
      Bm            Dm  Em  Dm
Nikki Sudden would call
                  F
In his velvet and tat
                      Am   Bm  Am
And sleep in my spare room
    Bm            Am   Bm  Am/C  Bm/D
And wear my spare hat
   F
As carnival approached

The pot got stronger
Em
Reggae sound systems fired up
   Am     Bm       Am      Bm     Am
On every crumbling street corner


[Verse 4]
             Am   Bm  Am
I remember a hot
Bm            Am   Bm  Am
Sticky summer night
                 Dm  Em  Dm
I was in a sweet spot
Em              Am    Bm  Am
I was hungry to write
Bm                Dm  Em  Dm
The sound systems roared
Em                   F
They made the houses shake
               Am    Bm  Am
My imagination soared
Bm                    Am    Bm  Am
And like a storm that breaks
F
Savage Earth Heart

Tumbled through my brain
Em
A bolt or a download
                     Am      Bm       Am      Bm     Am
From another wilder, higher plane

Lead Break


[Verse 5]
N/C              Am     Bm  Am
Landlord sold my place
Bm                 Am     Bm  Am
Needed the cash I suppose
Bm            Dm    Em  Dm
And I left in haste
Em              Am   Bm  Am
The day between shows
Bm                  Dm Em  Dm
I packed everything up
Em                     F
In one night, it's the truth
            Am    Bm  Am
Didn't even sleep
Bm                  Am    Bm  Am Bm
That's the power of youth
F
On the bus next morning

And away we drove
Dm
Never said a proper
                      Am    Bm  Am Bm
So long and thank you baby
      Am      Bm       Am    Bm   Am    Bm
To my beloved Ladbroke Grove


[Verse 6]
N.C.              Am    Bm  Am
I tried moving back
 Bm             Am    Bm   Am
When an age had passed
Bm                  Dm     Em  Dm
The stage was still intact
Em                    Am    Bm   Am
Only with a different cast
Bm             Dm    Em  Dm
In a different play
                 F
A whole new pantomime
                      Am    Bm  Am
And I was just in the way
 Bm                  Am    Bm  Am
And I was way out of time
F
Some things I guess you

Ain't meant to repeat
Dm
I retired to lick my wounds
     Am      Bm      Am   Bm    Am      Bm
And scheme again, On some other street