BALLAD OF THE SNOW LEOPARD AND THE TANQUERAY COWBOY
written by David Rodriguez (1998)
performed by Lyle Lovett on STEP INSIDE THIS HOUSE (1998)
transcribed by Mark Albert markalbert@pipeline.com

see suggested chord fingerings below


INTRO (see TAB below)

VERSE 1
D          D/C#
Comfort me said she
D/C
With your conversation
         G/B
With the cocktails
        Bb
And the candlelight
        D
In your eyes
D                 D/C#
It's funny how we hunger
D/C      
For some inspiration
     G/B
And everything else
     Bb               D
That money just won't buy
G   A     Bm
Men have lied
      A                   G
Many good girls have gone astray
        G              D
Just to hear the gypsy play
         D              A   A#dim7
One more lilting cowboy tune
           Bm 
And as the rivers run dry
        A               G
And the mountains blow away
             G                   D
They sing of lovers and how they lay
                   A               G
Beneath this crazy frontier moon

VERSE 2
I ain't no golden boy
I ain't no Grecian dancer
And I an't no loud mouthed cowboy
From the West
I'm not that kind of man
With all the answers
But I surely know the songs
That suit me best
But lately I've had something on my mind
It's growing stronger all the time
Calling out when I'm alone
But I'm a poet
And I'm bound to walk the line
Between the real and the sublime
And give the muses back their own

BRIDGE (see TAB below)

VERSE 3
It's a penny for your thoughts
It's a dollar for your kisses
Keep a running tab on the time
'Cause what I've got the most of
Is what she misses
The clock is here
The hourglass is mine
But I'm her lover
Not a man bent on revenge
Hanging out here on the fringe
Of my native borderlands
Counting the days
The sun shone golden across her head
Lying on the banks of the bayou's edge
Kicking up some Southeast Texas sand

CODA
Comfort me said she
With your conversation
With the cocktails
And the candlelight
In your eyes
It's funny how we hunger
For some inspiration
And everything else
That money just won't buy
And everything else 
That money just won't buy


INTRO, BRIDGE AND CODA TAB

6 string = D
                __      ________    ________        __   __   __ 
  |    |   |   |  |    |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |   |  |  | |  | |  |
  |    |   |   |  |    |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |   |  |  | |  | |  |
|------2-------5-----|-7--5--------5----------|--------------------|
|------3-------7-----|--\/---5--7-----5-------|------------0-------|
|------2----------7--|---P----\/---------7----|-------0-2-------2--|
|--------------------|---------H------------0-|----0---\/----0---\-|
|--------------------|------------------------|-3-------H----------|
|-0--------0---------|------------------------|--------------------|

   _____        __     _____    _____     _____    __    ________
  | | | |  |   |  |   | | | |  | | | |   | | | |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  | | | |  |   |  |   | | | |  | | | |   | | | |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|-------------------|---0--------0-----|-0-1-0---------------------|
|---3---------------|-------3--3---3---|--\/\/-3-----3--3----------|
|-2-----2---------0-|-----0--\/------0-|---H-P--------\/---3-----0-|
|/----0--------0----|---------T--------|----------0----T------3----|
|T---------3--------|-2----------------|-1-------------------------|
|-------------------|------------------|---------------------------|

   ___________     ___________              ___     ___
  |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |     |      |   |   |   |   |
  |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |     |      |   |   |   |   |
|--------------------------------|-------------0---0---------------|
|-----------------------------3--|---------------\/----3-----------|
|-----2---------------2---4------|----------------T--------2-------|
|-------------2---4--------------|---------0-----------------------|
|--------------\/----------------|---------------------------------|
|-0-------0-----H----------------|--0------------------------------|


SUGGESTED CHORD FINGERING (6 string = D)

   D    D/C#  D/C   G/B   Bb     D
|--0--|--0--|--0--|--0--|--0--|--2---||
|--3--|--3--|--3--|--3--|--3--|--3---||
|--2--|--2--|--2--|--0--|--0--|--2---||
|--0--|--0--|--0--|--0--|--3--|--0---||
|-----|--4--|--3--|--2--|--1--|--0---||
|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|--0---||


   G          A         Bm         D        A#dim7
|--3--|    |--0--|   |--2--|    |--2--|    |--0--|
|--3--|    |--2--|   |--3--|    |--3--|    |--2--|
|--0--|    |--2--|   |--4--|    |--2--|    |--0--|
|--0--|    |--2--|   |--4--|    |--0--|    |--2--|
|--x--|    |--0--|   |--2--|    |--0--|    |--1--|
|--5--|    |-----|   |-----|    |--0--|    |-----|


NOTES:
H = hammer on
P = pull off
T = tied note