MIKE NESS - BALLAD OF A LONELY MAN ACOUSTIC UKULELE CHORDS

Capo: 1

Ballad of a Lonely Man Capo 1 This is an acoustic version that Ness often played often during radio station interviews during his “Cheating At Solitaire” tour. My recording is from 2000, and if anyone wants the mp3, just let me know. Capo the 1st fret, and this chord chart is 100% accurate. The trick to playing this song acoustically is to capture Mike’s (very fast) version of Johnny Cash’s “boom-chicka-chicka-boom-chicka-chicka” strum. I have an acoustic recording of Ness doing this solo, (from 1999), and if anyone wants the mp3, just let me know. lowell.hein@fpl.com ============================================================= VERSE 1

^FI'm young ^Fand I'm strong^F, I've got this^G God forsaken ^Fworld by the b^Falls. I've got a^G one-way ^Fticket to free^Fdom Ain't no one n^Gow, gonna take it from ^Fme

VERSE 2

^FI was a soldier, ^Fage twenty-o^Fne In a ^Gwar not^F sure what I was fighting f^For And yet I ^Gturned from a ^Fboy to a man th^Fere Goodbye to innocence, ^Gand a sweet sixte^Fen

NOTE: To get a smooth flow entering the chorus, walk down from G to Em: Strum the G chord, then Pick 6th String 3rd Fret, then 6th String 2nd Fret, then strum the Em chord.) CHORUS:

^AmMy whole ^Flife, I ^Fcould not ^Garrange ^AmMy wicked ^Fways, ^FI could never ^Gchange ^AmDon't try, don't ^Ftry now,^G to understa^Fnd

This is the ballad,^G of a lonely ^Fman VERSE 3

^FClose to me, ^Fis a photogr^Faph Of a ^Gfamily left far,^F far behi^Fnd Ah, once I^G had love, it s^Flipped away f^From I searched a li^Gfetime, but I could not f^Find

VERSE 4

^FIn a hospital bed, I'm violently ill Just one more drink nurse I swear to God

I've got my St. Anthony and my whiskey Yes I'm a veteran of three foreign wars. CHORUS Play the chorus once, then, after “Don’t try, don’t try now, to understand.” repeat last line of chorus three more times:

^FThis is the ballad,^G of a lonely m^Fan, ^FThis is ballad, ^Gof a lonely ^Fman, ^FThis is the ballad, ^Gof a lone-ly m^Fan

F-G-F Finish with a hard strum on G. As I said, if you want the mp3 of Ness playing this version, e-mail me. Enjoy. Lowell

Mike Ness - Ballad of a lonely man acoustic