…EPISTLE TO DERROLL… by Donovan
------------------------...........
from ‘A Gift from a Flower to a Garden’ (1968)
CAPO 3rd FRET
(Original Key: Eb)
(N.B The C and C/G chord are played in this rhythm):
[C/G]
e|-----------|-----------|
B|-----1--1--|-----1--1--|
G|-----0--0--|-----0--0--|
D|-----2--2--|-----2--2--|
A|--3--3--3--|-----3--3--|
E|-----------|--3--3--3--|
Intro:
C C/G,
C C/G C C/G,
[C/G]
[C/G]
Verse 1:
Come
all ye [C/G]starry
star-[C/G]fish,
Living
in the deep blue
sea.[C/G]
[C/G]
Crawl to [C/G]me;
I
have a [C/G]propo-
sition to make
thee.[C/G]
[C/G]
Would you [C/G]walk the
North Sea [C/G]floor,
To
Belgium from Eng-
land?[C/G]
[C/G]
Chorus 1:
Bring me [C/G]word of a
banjo man,
With a
tattoo on his
hand.[C/G]
[C/G]
Verse 2:
The
spokesman [C/G]of the
star-[C/G]fish,
Spoke as spokesman
should.[C/G]
[C/G]
“If’n you [C/G]met our
fee [C/G]then,
Certainly we
would.[C/G]
[C/G]
If you [C/G]cast a
looking-[C/G]glass,
U-
pon the scallopped
sand;[C/G]
[C/G]
Chorus 2:
You’ll have [C/G]word o’ this
banjo man,
With a
tattoo on his
hand”.[C/G]
[C/G]
Verse 3:
Come
all ye [C/G]starry
star-[C/G]fish,
I
know your ways are
caped.[C/G]
[C/G]
Maybe [C/G]its be-
cause you’re,
[C/G] Astro-
logically
shaped.[C/G]
[C/G]
Converse [C/G]with the
herring [C/G]shoals,
As I know you
can,[C/G]
[C/G]
Chorus 3:
Bring me [C/G]word o’ the
banjo man,
With a
tattoo on his
hand.[C/G]
[C/G]
Verse 4:
The
eldest [C/G]of the
star-[C/G]fish,
Spoke, after a
sigh;[C/G]
[C/G]
“Youthfull [C/G]as you
are young [C/G]man,
You
have a ‘Wisdom
Eye’;[C/G]
[C/G]
Surely [C/G]you must
know a [C/G]looking-glass,
Is made from
sand?[C/G]
[C/G]
Chorus 4:
These young-[C/G]fish are
fooling you,
A-
bout this banjo
man.”[C/G]
[C/G]
Verse 5:
“Come then [C/G]aged
star-[C/G]fish,
Riddle me no
more.[C/G]
[C/G]
For news [C/G]I am
wea-[C/G]ry,
And my heart is
sore;[C/G]
[C/G]
All
on the [C/G]silent
sea-[C/G]shore,
Help me if you
can,[C/G]
[C/G]
Chorus 5:
Tell to [C/G]me,
if you know,
Of this banjo
man.”[C/G]
[C/G]
Verse 6:
“All
through the [C/G]seven
o-[C/G]ceans,
I
am a star most
famed.[C/G]
[C/G]
Many ‘[C/G]leggys’
have I [C/G]lost,
And
many have I
gained.[C/G]
[C/G]
Strange to [C/G]say, quite
recent-[C/G]ly,
I’ve
been to Fleming
Land,[C/G]
[C/G]
Chorus 6:
And if [C/G]you are
courteous,
I’ll
tell you all I
can.”[C/G]
[C/G]
Verse 7:
“You
have my [C/G]full at-
ten-[C/G]tion”,
I
answered him with
glee,[C/G]
[C/G]
His
brother [C/G]stars were
twink-[C/G]ling,
In the
sky above the
sea.[C/G]
[C/G]
So [C/G]I sat
there with [C/G]rapt,
At-
tention, on the
sand,[C/G]
[C/G]
Chorus 7:
Very [C/G]anxious
for to hear,
Of the banjo
man.[C/G]
[C/G]
Verse 8:
“I have [C/G]seen this
tattooed [C/G]hand,
Through a ship port-
hole.[C/G]
[C/G]
Steaming [C/G]on the
watery [C/G]main,
Through the waves so
cold.[C/G]
[C/G]
Heard his [C/G]tinkling
banjo,
[C/G] And
his voice so
grand.[C/G]
[C/G]
Chorus 8:
But
you must [C/G]come to
Belgium,
To
shake his tattooed
hand.”[C/G]
[C/G]
Verse 9:
“Gladly [C/G]would I
come,
[C/G] Oh,
gladly would I
go.[C/G]
[C/G]
Had I [C/G]not my
work to [C/G]do,
And my face to
show.[C/G]
[C/G]
I re-[C/G]joice to
know he’s [C/G]well,
But
I must go in-
land,[C/G]
[C/G]
Chorus 9:
Thank you [C/G]for the
words you brought,
Of the banjo
man.”[C/G]
[C/G]
Verse 10:
I
walked a-[C/G]long the
evening [C/G]sand,
As
charcoal clouds did
shift.[C/G]
[C/G]
Re-
vealing [C/G]the
moon
shi-[C/G]ning,
On the pebble
drift.[C/G]
[C/G]
Contem-
plating [C/G]every
other [C/G]word,
The starfish
said;[C/G]
[C/G]
Chorus 10:
Whistly [C/G]winds, they
filled my dreams,
In my dreaming
bed.[C/G]
[C/G]
CHORD DIAGRAMS:
---------------
[C/G]
x32010
332010
133211
x02210
Tabbed by Joel from cLuMsY, Bristol, England, 2006
(clumsyband@hotmail.com)