TRAFFIC - "low spark" Tablature
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OK, so what *is* this song about? Jim Capaldi, in _Goldmine_ #97, explained
that he and actor Michael J. Pollard were in Morocco preparing for a movie
that was never actually made:
Pollard and I would sit around writing lyrics all day, talking about
Bob Dylan and the Band, thinking up ridiculous plots for the movie.
Before I left Morocco, Pollard wrote in my book [the line] 'The Low
Spark of High Heeled Boys.' For me, it summed him up. He had this
tremendous rebel attitude. He walked around in his cowboy boots, his
leather jacket. At the time he was a heavy little dude. It seemed to
sum up all the people of that generation who were just rebels. [...]
The 'Low Spark', for me, was the spirit, high-spirited. You know,
standing on a street corner. The low rider. The 'Low Spark' meaning
that strong undercurrent at the street level.
"Low Spark of High Heeled Boys"
(S. Winwood - J. Capaldi)
Intro:
(fade in)
Dm7 [repeat to 1:15; vibra-slap enters]
/ / / / / / / /
Dm7 Em7/D [2X] [piano r.h.: A-C-D-F, B-D-E-G]
/ / / / / / / /
Verse 1:
Dm7 Em7/D
If you see something that ...
Dm7 Em7/D
And it's shooting up ...
Dm7 Em7/D Dm7 Em7/D
And your head is ...
Dm7 Em7/D
And you just can't escape ...
Dm7 Em7/D
Don't worry too much ...
Dm7 Em7/D Dm7 Em7/D
We were children ...
D A
And the thing that you're ...
C G F
Of the low spark of ...
Bridge:
(saxes arr. for guitar; doubled w/bass [2X; continue])
D7(no3) G/D D7(no3) [piano r.h: D-A-C, D-G-B]
v v v v v v v v (8th-note chords)
-----------------|-----------------
-----------------|-------3---------
-------5---------|---4-------------
---4-------------|-----------------
-----------------|-----------------
-----------------|-----------------
D7(no3) G/D D7(no3)
The percentage you're ...
D7(no3) G/D D7(no3)
While you're living beyond ...
D7(no3) G/D D7(no3)
And the man in the suit has ....
F/C C G
From the profit he's...
F/C C G
But today you just read ...
F/C C G
By a gun that ...
D A
But it wasn't the bullet ...
C G F
Was the low spark of ....
[Instrumental break: 16-bar piano solo on Dm7]
Dm7 Em7/D [2X]
/ / / / / / / /
Verse 2:
If you had just a minute ....
And the thing that disturbs ....
[repeat chorus]
High heeled boys
Instrumental break:
(Piano, sax, fuzz organ solos)
Dm7 Em7/D [5:18 - 9:19]
/ / / / / / / /
Dm7
/ / / / / / / /
Dm7 D7
/ / / / / / / /
Dm7 Em7/D [2X]
/ / / / / / / /
Verse 3:
If I gave you everything that ....
And the sound that I'm .....
[repeat chorus (instrumental)]
Coda:
Dm7 Em7/D [repeat to fade, w/fuzz organ]
/ / / / / / / /
-- another ace 70's tab from Andrew Rogers
This musical interpretation has been removed due to a legal threat from Moses & Singer LLP,
representing the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) and
The Music Publisher's Association of the United States (MPA).
Unfortunately, these threats are fueled by greed and being masked by a "copyright infringement." They claim tab sites are
"hurting the songwriters," but it's a known fact that the publishing companies garner most of the
revenue. Instead, they would prefer you to purchase the
official TRAFFIC tablature
which is an option we've always given our users. And due to the highly error-prone nature of tabs on the internet, many choose to go this route.
These companies also do not realize that tablature sites help to promote their artists.
For more information on this onslaught, you can read the
NY Times Article.
We hope one of the larger tablature sites will have the money to fight this. Until then, we urge you all to keep tabbing songs and sharing them in any way you can.
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