"Dress Blues (live)" By: Jason Isbell from the album "Sirens of the Ditch" Another one of my favorites by Jason Isbell. This is such a deep song that has lyrics. Every time he plays it live he makes sure to let the audience know that he wrote this for his friend from high school, Matt Connolly,who joined the marines and was killed by roadside bomb in Iraq. I'm not exactly sure what the names for each of the chords used are so I figured I'd write them out here instead. He also plays a melody throughout the song in between the and verse so I put a few little variations of that at the bottom. Chords Used: G: 3x0033 Em/G: 02x033 C/G: x3x033 D: xx0232 F#/G: 2x0033 Bm: x24432 C/G2: x32013 Cm: x31003 Intro: G Em/G G Em/G Verse: G Em/G What can you see from your window? G Em/G I can't see anything from mine. G Em/G Flags on the side of the highway C/G G D and scripture on grocery store signs. G Em/G Maybe eighteen was too early. G Em/G Maybe thirty or forty is too. G Em/G Did you get your chance to make peace with the man C/G G before he sent down his angels for you? Chorus: Em/G F#/G G Mamas and grandmamas love you Em/G F#/G G F#/G 'cause that's all they know how to do. Em/G Bm You never planned on the bombs in the sand C/G2 Cm G or sleeping in your dress blues. -- Alright now I'm going to show you a few variations on the bridge he plays... play all these kind of loosely (except the album version) Bridge Variation 1: e|-3--------------------3-----------------------------------------| B|-3--------------------3-----------------------------------------| G|-0-------0---0--0-----0-----------------------------------------| A|-0--0----0---2--0--0--x-----------------------------------------| D|-x--0h2------3-----3--2-----------------------------------------| E|-3--------------------0-----------------------------------------| Bridge Variation 2: e|--------------------------------------3-------------------------| B|--------------------------------------3-------------------------| G|----0-----0-----0-----0-----0------0--0-------------------------| A|-------------------2-----0------------x-------------------------| D|-------0-----2------------------3-----2-------------------------| E|-3------------------------------------0-------------------------| Album Version (not played by guitar): e|-----------------------------------------------------------------| B|-----------------------------------------------------------------| G|-----------------0--0~-------------------------------------------| A|-----------0--4--------------------------------------------------| D|-----0--2--------------------------------------------------------| E|--3--------------------------------------------------------------| -The Verse, Chorus, and Bridge are all the same for the rest of the song. Verse: Your wife said this all would be funny when you came back home in a week. You'd turn twenty-two and we'd celebrate you in a bar or a tent by the creek. Your baby would just about be here. Your very last tour would be up but you won't be back. They're all dressing in black drinking sweet tea in styrofoam cups. Chorus: Mamas and grandmamas love you. American boys hate to lose. You never planned on the bombs in the sand or sleeping in your dress blues. Bridge Verse Now the high school gymnasium's ready, full of flowers and old legionnaires. Nobody showed up to protest, just sniffle and stare. But there's red, white, and blue in the rafters and there's silent old men from the corps. What did they say when they shipped you away to fight somebody's Hollywood war? Chorus Nobody here could forget you. You showed us what we had to lose. You never planned on the bombs in the sand or sleeping in your dress blues. Tabbed by: Wyatt Floyd