The Hollies
Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)
tab, Chords, Lyrics, Video & Song FactsBy Roger Cook, A. Clark and Roger Green Way
Intro [Play Twice]:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------0---------0--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------0----0-------0----------0--0-----0--------------------------------------------------------------
----------0----------4------------2---------0------------0-----------0-------0------0------0-----0-----0-
---0h2-----------------------------------------------2------------2-------0------2-------------------------
-0--------------------------------------------------------------3--------2------3------5--------3----2------
Rhythm Guitar [Play 7 times]
------------------------
------------------------
------------------------
------------------------
---2--2--4--5--4--2--
---0--0--0--0--0--0--
Verse 1:
E
Saturday night I was downtown
G A E
Working for the F.B.I.
(E)
Sitting in a nest of bad men
G A E
Whiskey bottles piling high
(E)
Bootlegging boozer on the West Side
G A E
Full of people who are doing wrong
(E)
Just about to call up the D.A. man
G A E
When I heard this woman sing a song
A
A pair of 45s made me open my eyes
B
My temperature started to rise
A
She was a long cool woman in a black dress
G E
Just-a 5'9, beautiful, tall
A
With just one look I was a bad mess
G E
'Cause that long cool woman had it all
Break between verses [4X]:
1)
v v v v v v v v
-----------------|-----------------
-----------------|-----------------
-----1---1---1---|---------------0-
-----2---2---2---|---0-------0-----
---------------0-|-2-----0-2-------
-0---------------|-----------------
2,3,4)
v v v v v v v v
-----------------|-----------------
-----------------|-----------------
-----------------|---------------0-
-2-2-----2---2---|---0-------0-----
---------------0-|-2-----0-2-------
-----------------|-----------------
[Guitar 2 plays mostly muted quarter-notes on low E]
[repeat main riff, 4X, as before]
Verse 2:
E
I saw her head up the table
G A E
Well, a tall walking big black cat
(E)
When Charlie said I hope that you're able boy
G A E
Well, I'm telling you she knows where it's at
(E)
Then suddenly we heard the sirens
G A E
And everybody started to run
(E)
A-jumping out of doors and tables
G A E
When I heard somebody shooting a gun
(E)
Well, the D.A. was pumping my left hand
G A E
And a-she was a-holding my right
(E)
Well I told her don't get scared
G
'Cause you're gonna be spared
A
I've gotta be forgiving if I wanna spend my living
(A)
With a long cool woman in a black dress
G E
Just a 5'9 beautiful tall
A
Yeah, with just one look I was a bad mess
G E
'Cause that long cool woman had it all
Coda (over main riff):
(E)
Had it all... [repeat to fade]
-- another ace 70's tab from Andrew Rogers
Video The Hollies - Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)
Album: (2014) The Hollies - Greatest Hits & Singles Volume 1 & 2 (4 CD Japan) Track 18
Lyrics: http://www.hollies.co.uk/a-z_songlist...
Editors: AVS Video Editor & XMedia Recode
Saturday night I was downtown
Working for the FBI
Sitting in a nest of bad men
Whiskey bottles piling high
Bootlegging boozer on the west side
Full of people who are doing wrong
Just about to call up the DA man
When I heard this woman singing a song
A pair of 45's made me open my eyes
My temperature started to rise
She was a long cool woman in a black dress
Just a 5'9" beautiful tall
With just one look I was a bad mess
Cause that long cool woman had it all
I saw her heading to the table
Well a tall walking big black cat
When Charlie said "I hope that you're able boy"
Well I'm telling you she knows where it's at
Well then suddenly we heard the sirens
And everybody started to run
Jumping under doors and tables
Well I heard somebody shooting a gun
Well the DA was pumping my left hand
And she was holding my right
Well I told her, "Don't get scared
cause you're gonna be spared"
Well I'm gonna be forgiven
If I wanna spend my living
With a long cool woman in a black dress
Just a 5'9" beautiful tall
With just one look I was a bad mess
Cause that long cool woman had it all
Had it all, had it all, had it all...
Song Meaning
The song is set in the Prohibition era (1920's-30's) in the U.S. The singer is working undercover for the FBI at a speakeasy. He's about to call the District Attorney to blow the whistle on some illicit activity when he hears/sees a tall beautiful blonde woman in a black dress singing. After she finishes the song she heads toward his table. Just then the police raid the place (how they found out about it, when our hero never placed his call, and why he gets the credit from the D.A. for the successful bust, is not explained). No matter, our hero winds up with a medal and the girl... I don't think this song has any deeper meaning. Whoever wrote it probably just liked those old 20's-30's detective novels and movies where some hard boiled gumshoe solves a case and gets the girl. The song draws a picture and creates a certain atmosphere in a few broad strokes and leaves the listener to fill in the details according to his/her own perception of that era. {(tigger2006) @ http://songmeanings.com}
Song Facts
This contains one of the classic indecipherable lyrics in rock history. The part after "She was a long cool woman in a black dress" is "Just a 5' 9" beautiful tall."
The Distant Light album was out for a year before this song was released as a single. Before the single was released, lead singer Allan Clarke left the group, replaced by Swedish singer Michael Rickfors. After "Long Cool Woman" became a hit in the US, Clarke rethought his solo career and came back. The group released one album with Rickfors, which did not sell well.
On the charts, this was a rare miss in the UK, where the Hollies were from and where they had their greatest success. It was surprising, however, how well it did in the US.
This is the only Hollies single without any backing vocals. The reason why Clarke is the only singer on this record is that he didn't intended the song to be released on a Hollies album, but as a record of his own. When the band learned that he intended to do a solo recording, Clarke was issued an ultimatum - he could either remain with The Hollies or pursue a solo career, but not both. Clarke told Rolling Stone in 1973: "I think with me the band feared that if I got a hit I'd leave. How can you stop destiny? Now, if they originally agreed, I might not even have left. 'Long Cool Woman' would have been released a year earlier, and we'd have done a few tours of the States and maybe would have been really big."
Clarke wrote this song with the British songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway. Cook and Greenaway also wrote "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" by The New Seekers.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
---------------------------------------PLEASE NOTE----------------------------------------
This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the
song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the
song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did you like my post? If you did, please share my blog with your friends
to help keep me motivated and making posts.
Love and Peace and keep Rocking!
My 54 year old Baby
Checkout the Right Column for more TABS & Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment