Colonel Forbin’s Ascent
C#m7 F#m9
Colonel Forbin stared up at the mountain
Ebdim7 Em(maj7)
And wiped
away the beads of sweat that glistened on his brow
F#7 C#7b9--F#7 (not sure)
His tired
feet were buried in the Quag---myre
Am7 Intro
And his
bloodshot eyes saw all the lay between him and fulfillment of his vow
C#m7
F#m9
And he felt
his fingers wrap around a knotted root
Ebdim7 Em(maj7)
And pulled
his body upwards to a seagreen mossy boulder
F#7 C#7b9--F#7
And he
dragged weary shi-tass up the mountain
F#m7 Gmaj7 F#m7 Gmaj7
And he
climbed so slowly.. he
climbed so slowly
A F
F#m7 Gmaj7
Ahead (2x)
Noise---Em(maj7) Form 2 (4x)
A C#
Suddenly he heard
the crack of thunder
D G
And the rocks
began to crumble overhead
A C#
And tumbled
down the mountain to the dismal swamp that lay beneath
D G
The jagged
cliffs through which his path had led
A
C#
And the earth
began to quake beneath his feet
D G
And the
mighty mountain changed before his eyes
A C#
And he stood
amidst a sea of dust and rocks and stones
D G
(Ab) A
Cascading
down the mountain and a thousand birds were headed for the sky
A C#m7
Bm7 G A C#m7 Bm7
G
Ohhh...... the sacred creed will be yours....
A C#m7 Bm7 G
And if you
wait until tomorrow ... the sacred creed
F#m7 Gmaj7 F#m7 Gmaj7 A F
F#m7 Gmaj7
Will be yours
to devour, yours to seize, and to obey.....
Then---C#m7
BRIDGE: D A/C# Bm7 F#m E
D Ebm7 E
B/D# C#m7 G#m F#
E
C#m7 F#m9
When the dust
had cleared the colonel lifted up his head
Ebdim7 Em(maj7)
And was
driven to his knees by a blazing beam of light
F#7 C#7b9--F#7
And he saw
the silhouette that stood before him
Am7
Intro
And he bowed
in reverence, trembling, in the shadow of the mighty legend's form.
C#m7 F#m9
Icculus, the prophet, stood before his eyes
Ebdim7 Em(maj7) F#7
Looking down
on Colonel Forbin as he shuddered in the puddles and
the muck
C#7b9---F#7
And he
quietly addressed him
F#m7 Gmaj7 F#m7 Gmaj7
And he spoke
so slowly ... he spoke so slowly..
A F
F#m7 Gmaj7 (x2)
He
said.........................
Em(maj7)
(4x)
A C#
Colonel Forbin I know why you've come here,
D
G
And I'll help
you in your quest to gain the knowledge that you lack.
A C#
I call upon
my faithful friend the Mockingbird,
D G
To fly and seize the Helping Book and bring it to your shack.
A C#
And a tree of
knowledge in your soul will grow,
D
G
And the
Helping Friendly Book will plant a seed
A C#
But I warn
you that all knowledge seeming innocent and pure
D G (Ab) A
Becomes a deadly
weapon in the hands of avarice and greed..
A
C#m7 Bm7 G A C#m7 Bm7
G
Ohhh...... the sacred creed will be yours....
A C#m7
Bm7 G
And if you
wait until tomorrow ... the sacred creed
F#m7 Gmaj7 F#m7 Gmaj7 A F
F#m7 Gmaj7
Will be yours
to devour, yours to seize, and to obey.....
Then C#m7 NARRATION JAM: D A/C#
Bm7 E A C#m7
Ab Intro Riff Adim7
Ab Cdim7
e--4-------|-------5---------------------------11---------------------------------------------
B--4-------|-------4----------------4----------10---------------------------------------------
G--5-------|-------5----------------5----------11---------------------------------------------
D--6-------|-------4----------------6----------10---------------------------------------------
A--6-------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E--4-------|----------------4-----------------------------------------------------------------
BRIDGE (Trey bends the E to F# and the G# to
A. I just didn't know how to write in
bends)
D A/C#
Bm7 F#m E
D Ebm7
e---------------------------------------------------------------------------
B---7-------5-------3-------------9------10-----9-------7--------HOLD-------
G---------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---------------------------------------------------------------------------
E---------------------------------------------------------------------------
E B/D# C#m7
G#m
F# E
e--------------------------------------------------------------------------
B--5---7-----9------7------5-----------11-----12-----11------9-----HOLD,
G-------------------------------------------------------------------then----
D---------------------------------------------------------------BACK
INTO THE INTRO
A---------------------------------------------------------------------------
E---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colonel Forbin’s Ascent,
pg.3
CHORD FORMS
C#m7
F#m9 Ebdim7 Emin(maj7) F#7 Emin(maj7) Form 2
e----9------9--------------------------------------0-----------------
B----9------9--------------------------------------0-----------------
G----9------9------11------12--------15------------0-----------------
D----9------7------10------13--------14------------1-----------------
A----x------9------x-------x---------x-------------2-----------------
E----9-------------11------12--------14------------0-----------------
This transcription is pretty close. The two chords at the end of the verse are
tough to hear. I feel like the melody notes are D
and C#, that's why I called it C#7b9--F#7. I don't think Trey plays Gmaj7
during the choruses, but I like the way they sound. (Page might play the major 7ths there) The verses are very unique in that Trey sings
a straight-forward melody, but with very non-traditional chords behind it. The instrumental bridge is another example of
Trey taking a line and modulating it around almost seamlessly. (Golgi, Bowie, Horn, et al)