I think Black Limousine is a 16-bar blues?

>> i think Black Limousine is a 16-bar blues? <<

well now i think it's weirder than that, marcovandereijk!
thanks for taking an interest, though :E

You make me curious!

(BTW, Black Limousine is one of my top 10 of all time favourite Stones songs. Or at least it is a lot of the time, because those top 10s tend to change by the day...)

"Black Limousine" is odd... I can't count it out at the moment, b/c I can't remember how many lines there are in the verses (3? or 4?), and then there's an extra 1/2-bar before the refrain. If there are 3, I think it's 16 bars plus that 1/2. Also, the pattern starts on the IV rather than the I. I can't think of any other blues tunes that do that. In "Johnny B. Goode," the band enters on the IV, but it becomes clear the pattern starts on I when the verse begins.

Is there somewhere the basis for these patterns are explained? I've read a few times that 32 bars is/was the pop form, but I've never seen it demonstrated. People like to say the 12-bar blues is a "simple" pattern, but to me it doesn't seem any simpler than the others, just a different count.

Hot damn and bless my freezing toes!
I forgot about the half bar before the "well now look at your face now" phrase. But during the instrumental parts they skip this half bar don't they?

marcovandereijk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hot damn and bless my freezing toes!
> I forgot about the half bar before the "well now
> look at your face now" phrase. But during the
> instrumental parts they skip this half bar don't
> they?

yes, I think you're right.

>> I forgot about the half bar before the "well now look at your face now" phrase. <<

smile: well now you can't say i wasn't giving you any clues in my posts! :E
thanks cc - it is three lines per verse, so 16 and a half.
starting on the IV ... can someone diagram the sucker for us, please please and thank you kindly?



We used to ride, baby, ride around in limousines
We looked so fine, baby, you in white and me in green
Drinking and dancing all inside our crazy dream
Well now look at your face now, baby
Look at you and look at me

I get so scared just to see you on the street
The living dead, you're all the same, you never speak
You're wrecked out now, washed up high up on the beach
Well now look at your face now, baby
Look at you and look at me

We used to shine, shine, shine, shine, say what a pair, say what a team
We used to ride, ride, ride, ride, ride in a long black limousine
Those dreams are gone, baby, they're locked away and never seen
Well now look at your face now, baby
Look at you and look at me

Look out, yeah

Starting on the IV (I hope I explain it well):

Most blues songs are build around three chords: numbered I, IV and V.

The key of the song is numbered I. Like Black Limousine is in the key of G, I think, so the chord G is #1. This makes A number II, B is #III, C is IV and D is V.

A blues pattern in E for example has E, A and B. A standard 12-bar blues starts of with number I, then goes to IV, back to I, on to V, another IV and back to I again with an occasional V on the 12th bar.

Black Limousine starts off with the C chord before it goes back to G. That's what gives the song some kind of "urgency" right at the beginning. At least, that's how I experience it.

cool marcovandereijk - thank you
well now can i persuade you to show where the Black Limousine changes
come in relation to the lyric, just for the educational value? i would admire that greatly

Well, this is what I found, don't know if it's accurate though. The source is here: [www.azchords.com]

TAB BY: DON CZARSKI
E-MAIL: guitarzan7@hotmail.com


BLACK LIMOUSINE
ROLLING STONES


sl.
INTRO: C G D / C G D


VERSE:
____________C
We used to ride, baby
_________________G
Ride around in limousines
______________C
We looked so fine, baby
_______________________G
You in white and me in green
_______________C
Drinking and dancing
___________________G
All inside a crazy dream
___________D
Well now look at your face now baby
__C______________G____D
Look at you and look at me

(boy it's hard to get those letters at the right place)



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2007-11-23 10:42 by marcovandereijk.

cool - thank you! can you put the numbers in too, so we fascinated types whom it doesn't come natural to
can see the pattern easily? please please and thank you thank you - or better yet
let me try that myself and you can correct me:

____________C (IV)
We used to ride, baby
_________________G (I)
Ride around in limousines
______________ C (IV)
We looked so fine, baby
_______________________ G (I)
You in white and me in green
_______________ C (IV)
Drinking and dancing
___________________ G (I)
All inside a crazy dream
___________D (V)
Well now look at your face now baby
__ C (IV)_______ G (I)____D (V)
Look at you and look at me



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-11-23 11:28 by with sssoul.

That's it, sister.
Another example of the three chord wonders, don't you think?

Now, it's not very hard to transpose these chords if you want to sing the song in E instead of G for example, if that suites you better.

with sssoul Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> >> I forgot about the half bar before the "well
> now look at your face now" phrase. <<
>
> smile: well now you can't say i wasn't giving you
> any clues in my posts! :E
> thanks cc - it is three lines per verse, so 16 and
> a half.
> starting on the IV ... can someone diagram the
> sucker for us, please please and thank you
> kindly?

I have to admit I didn't notice this oddity until I got the guitar tab for the song somewhere a few years ago. I didn't believe the transcription until I played along! It must somehow come naturally (unnaturally naturally?) to the band--I haven't noticed them screwing it up on any 1981-82 show, when there are so many other mistakes. But the fact that they drop the half-bar during the instrumental go-rounds is suggestive... maybe they relied on mick's vocals for the cue during the verses.

nifty writing on this tune! Deft lyrics, too... though it's true they look less impressive on the page than they sound as they're delivered.