8/19/2023 0 Comments Midnight rider lyrics![]() ![]() “Midnight Rider” is a great song, a prime example of what can be said with only a few words, a song for all times and generations whose titular character is “bound to keep on ridin’.” You’ll be able to read more about “Midnight Rider” and other compositions by Gregg Allman in the Jan/Feb Legends Issue of American Songwriter. Bon Jovi has performed an abbreviated version of the song as a segue into their own “Wanted Dead or Alive,” continuing the theme of a man on the run, but on a motorcycle. It has been cut by bluegrassers like Krauss and Eddie Adcock, “Godmother of Punk” Patti Smith, and Canadian rockers Theory of a Deadman, and has been recorded at least three different times by Willie Nelson. Some performers (e.g., Alison Krauss and Union Station) have taken major liberties with the key, changes and tempo without losing the flavor or intent of the piece. The original guitar tunings by Duane Allman and Dickey Betts were probably standard, but some artists, including Gregg Allman himself, have been known to drop one or both E strings to D.Īnother notable thing about “Midnight Rider” is that the song is so open to stylistic interpretation. With the signature lick on the open A and D strings that is a cousin to licks used by Neil Young, Journey and others, “Midnight Rider,” in the key of D, utilizes a IVmi7 chord (G mi7) and a VII chord (C) for its chorus, and the solo is played over a VII chord and a VIb chord (Bb). ![]() Not gonna let em catch The midnight rider. But unlike the material of those artists, Allman’s own writing has seldom revolved around such progressions, and “Midnight Rider” is an example of that. 'Midnight Rider' uses traditional folk and blues themes of desperation, determination, and a man on the run: Ive got one more silver dollar, But Im not gonna let em catch me, no. Play with guitar, piano, ukulele, or any instrument you choose. And there are moments- like the "Walking In Space" basic training sequence or the simple close-up on Cheryl Barnes's torch solo "Easy To Be Hard-" which are just plain astonishing.Many of the performers who influenced Allman’s artistic growth were straight blues writers whose songs almost exclusively used I-IV-V progressions. Am A D G Dm Chords for Midnight Rider (Willie Nelson) w/ lyrics with Key, BPM, and easy-to-follow letter notes in sheet. ![]() Moore (who performed in the original Broadway HAIR) appears later in the film singing "3-5-0-0" with Ronnie Dyson in the war protest scene shot in Washington, DC. (BTW, the woman singing "Aquarius" in the film's opening is not Melba Moore, but Ren Woods- a wonderful singer-actress seen a lot on TV in the 70's, and star of the Los Angeles production of "The Wiz.") The opening Twyla Tharp corps-de-ballet shot right on the Central Park grounds- with Woods' solo in a dizzying 360 camera pan- is an awesome start to a rock-infested musical. As it is, the film plays out like one long, fantasy trip (whether that trip is substance-enhanced or not is your call)- starting with the "Aquarius" sequence and continuing on to the marvelous set pieces for "Manchester England," "Ain't Got No," "I Got Life," and best of all, the "Electric Blues"/"Hare Krishna" fantasy which shows lovers John Savage and Beverly D'Angelo literally flying through their own wedding ceremony. Judge it on its own merit too often, a movie is compared to its stage roots and is inevitably crucified. But please don't call it a "disco-era" musical there isn't a single thing in it that would suggest any detraction from its 1968 period. ![]()
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