Chords for Keith Richards accepts the Norman Mailer Prize 2011
Tempo:
143.65 bpm
Chords used:
B
Ab
G
Bm
Gb
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret

Start Jamming...
[G]
Thank you, Bill.
You know, I mean, what can you say [A] after this?
[Bm] I mean, if I was an American, I'd think of running.
[Db]
[B]
Now, this is awesome because I mean, hey, usually when I'm working a crowd, I have a
guitar around my neck, you know, so I have this prop, you know, to play with.
Now, this is the most amazing thing to happen.
This is one for the books.
[Bm] If you get my drift, you hacks, you know.
I write one book and I get the award, you know what I mean?
Shit happens, you know.
[Bm]
[B]
I [Ab] really am a bit of a loss for words on this.
But I realized about writing that, hell, I've been writing since I was 16, 17, 18,
but they were called songs and you had to bring them in in two [B] minutes and 30 seconds
and otherwise, out of here, you know.
And so, I mean, in a way, I've been writing for a long time, so I don't feel too much
of an intrusion as I thought I would feel, [Ab] you know.
I mean, the gates are easy and you get, you know, the scribbling away and stuff, you know.
And brilliantly, and you've heard some words from some incredible people tonight, [A] you know,
about [B] some serious stuff, you know.
[F] You know, the only serious stuff I'm interested in, I've given up.
But I don't want to be too [Bb] flippant about this because people have been here tonight
who've said some very [Abm] things that mean things to us, like the human race, you know.
And I ain't in a race, you know.
[B] But, you know, I don't know how to thank [C] you all.
I'm [Eb] so amazed by this.
I mean, I feel like a thief in the night, you know.
[Ab] You know, when you catch out [B] there, it's kind of
[Ab] I wish I had the guitar around my neck.
Then, you know, here's my prop.
But I [Gb] thank you so much for [B] this.
Actually, autobiographies are very difficult because you've got to live your life twice,
you know, and then once was enough.
Shit, you know, excuse me, you know.
I'm a musician.
I live backstage.
This is a wonderful [Bb] thing for me and especially for the [G] press here himself
to actually come to do [Ab] this.
You know, I mean, it's like, hey, knock me out, you know.
I mean, I'm not fazed by a lot of shit, you know.
[Ab]
But this one is fazing me.
And I do have to point out that this book was done
I gave [B] the stories.
I told the stories.
There's a certain other gentleman who's in the room
who put this whole thing into the pages, the written word.
And this is the important thing, I think, about it all.
It's the writing of it, how [Gb] to put it all together.
I could tell you yarns.
I would keep you here all night.
[G] You wouldn't believe some of the stuff I would tell you.
But the gentleman, and [Gb] I wish to introduce now,
after thanking you all [B] for this amazing
[N] It'll certainly go down in the diary.
And it's very, very encouraging.
But I would like now to ask Mr James Fox,
who put this thing together for me,
and to ask him to take over.
Thank you, Bill.
You know, I mean, what can you say [A] after this?
[Bm] I mean, if I was an American, I'd think of running.
[Db]
[B]
Now, this is awesome because I mean, hey, usually when I'm working a crowd, I have a
guitar around my neck, you know, so I have this prop, you know, to play with.
Now, this is the most amazing thing to happen.
This is one for the books.
[Bm] If you get my drift, you hacks, you know.
I write one book and I get the award, you know what I mean?
Shit happens, you know.
[Bm]
[B]
I [Ab] really am a bit of a loss for words on this.
But I realized about writing that, hell, I've been writing since I was 16, 17, 18,
but they were called songs and you had to bring them in in two [B] minutes and 30 seconds
and otherwise, out of here, you know.
And so, I mean, in a way, I've been writing for a long time, so I don't feel too much
of an intrusion as I thought I would feel, [Ab] you know.
I mean, the gates are easy and you get, you know, the scribbling away and stuff, you know.
And brilliantly, and you've heard some words from some incredible people tonight, [A] you know,
about [B] some serious stuff, you know.
[F] You know, the only serious stuff I'm interested in, I've given up.
But I don't want to be too [Bb] flippant about this because people have been here tonight
who've said some very [Abm] things that mean things to us, like the human race, you know.
And I ain't in a race, you know.
[B] But, you know, I don't know how to thank [C] you all.
I'm [Eb] so amazed by this.
I mean, I feel like a thief in the night, you know.
[Ab] You know, when you catch out [B] there, it's kind of
[Ab] I wish I had the guitar around my neck.
Then, you know, here's my prop.
But I [Gb] thank you so much for [B] this.
Actually, autobiographies are very difficult because you've got to live your life twice,
you know, and then once was enough.
Shit, you know, excuse me, you know.
I'm a musician.
I live backstage.
This is a wonderful [Bb] thing for me and especially for the [G] press here himself
to actually come to do [Ab] this.
You know, I mean, it's like, hey, knock me out, you know.
I mean, I'm not fazed by a lot of shit, you know.
[Ab]
But this one is fazing me.
And I do have to point out that this book was done
I gave [B] the stories.
I told the stories.
There's a certain other gentleman who's in the room
who put this whole thing into the pages, the written word.
And this is the important thing, I think, about it all.
It's the writing of it, how [Gb] to put it all together.
I could tell you yarns.
I would keep you here all night.
[G] You wouldn't believe some of the stuff I would tell you.
But the gentleman, and [Gb] I wish to introduce now,
after thanking you all [B] for this amazing
[N] It'll certainly go down in the diary.
And it's very, very encouraging.
But I would like now to ask Mr James Fox,
who put this thing together for me,
and to ask him to take over.
Key:
B
Ab
G
Bm
Gb
B
Ab
G
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ Thank you, Bill. _
_ _ _ _ _ You know, I mean, what can you say [A] after this?
[Bm] I mean, if I was an American, I'd think of running.
_ _ _ _ [Db] _ _
_ _ _ _ [B] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ Now, this is awesome because I mean, hey, usually _ when I'm working a crowd, I have a
guitar around my neck, _ _ you know, so I have this prop, you know, to play with.
_ _ Now, this is the most amazing thing to happen. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ This is one for the books.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Bm] If you get my drift, you hacks, you know. _ _ _
_ I write one book and I get the award, you know what I mean?
_ Shit happens, you know.
[Bm] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [B] _ _
I [Ab] really am a bit of a loss for words _ _ on _ this.
But I realized about writing _ that, hell, I've been writing since I was 16, 17, 18,
but they were called songs and you _ _ had to bring them in in two [B] minutes and 30 seconds
and otherwise, out of here, you know.
And so, I mean, in a way, I've been writing for a long time, so I don't feel too much
of an intrusion as I thought I would feel, [Ab] you know.
I mean, the gates are easy and you get, you know, the _ _ _ scribbling away and _ _ stuff, you know. _ _ _
_ _ _ And brilliantly, and you've heard some words from some incredible people tonight, [A] you know,
about [B] some serious stuff, you know.
_ _ [F] You know, the only serious stuff I'm interested in, I've given up.
But I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ don't want to be too [Bb] flippant about this because people have been here tonight
who've said some very [Abm] things that _ mean things to us, like the human race, _ _ you know.
_ And I ain't in a race, you know.
_ _ _ _ [B] _ But, you know, I don't know how to thank [C] you all.
I'm [Eb] so amazed by this.
I mean, I feel like a thief in the night, you know. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Ab] You know, when you catch out [B] there, it's kind _ _ _ of_
[Ab] I wish I had the guitar around my neck. _
_ _ Then, you know, here's my prop. _
_ But I [Gb] thank you so much for [B] this.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ Actually, autobiographies are very difficult because you've got to live your life twice,
_ you know, and then once was enough. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ Shit, you know, excuse me, you know.
_ I'm a musician.
I live backstage.
_ _ _ _ _ This is a wonderful [Bb] thing for me and especially for the [G] press here himself
to actually come to do [Ab] this.
You know, I mean, it's like, hey, knock me out, you know.
I mean, _ _ I'm not fazed by a lot of shit, you know.
_ [Ab] _ _
_ _ But this one is fazing me.
And I do have to point out that _ _ this book was done_ _ _
I gave [B] the stories.
I told the stories.
There's a certain other gentleman who's in the room _ _
who put this whole thing into the pages, the written word.
_ _ And this is the important thing, I think, about it all.
It's _ _ the writing of it, how [Gb] to put it all together.
I could tell you yarns.
I would keep you here all night.
_ _ [G] You wouldn't believe some of the stuff I would tell you. _ _ _
_ _ But the gentleman, _ _ and [Gb] I wish to introduce now, _
after thanking you all [B] for this _ amazing_
_ _ [N] It'll _ certainly go down in the diary.
_ And it's very, very encouraging. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ But I would like now to ask Mr James Fox,
who put this thing together for me,
and to ask him to take over. _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ Thank you, Bill. _
_ _ _ _ _ You know, I mean, what can you say [A] after this?
[Bm] I mean, if I was an American, I'd think of running.
_ _ _ _ [Db] _ _
_ _ _ _ [B] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ Now, this is awesome because I mean, hey, usually _ when I'm working a crowd, I have a
guitar around my neck, _ _ you know, so I have this prop, you know, to play with.
_ _ Now, this is the most amazing thing to happen. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ This is one for the books.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Bm] If you get my drift, you hacks, you know. _ _ _
_ I write one book and I get the award, you know what I mean?
_ Shit happens, you know.
[Bm] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [B] _ _
I [Ab] really am a bit of a loss for words _ _ on _ this.
But I realized about writing _ that, hell, I've been writing since I was 16, 17, 18,
but they were called songs and you _ _ had to bring them in in two [B] minutes and 30 seconds
and otherwise, out of here, you know.
And so, I mean, in a way, I've been writing for a long time, so I don't feel too much
of an intrusion as I thought I would feel, [Ab] you know.
I mean, the gates are easy and you get, you know, the _ _ _ scribbling away and _ _ stuff, you know. _ _ _
_ _ _ And brilliantly, and you've heard some words from some incredible people tonight, [A] you know,
about [B] some serious stuff, you know.
_ _ [F] You know, the only serious stuff I'm interested in, I've given up.
But I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ don't want to be too [Bb] flippant about this because people have been here tonight
who've said some very [Abm] things that _ mean things to us, like the human race, _ _ you know.
_ And I ain't in a race, you know.
_ _ _ _ [B] _ But, you know, I don't know how to thank [C] you all.
I'm [Eb] so amazed by this.
I mean, I feel like a thief in the night, you know. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Ab] You know, when you catch out [B] there, it's kind _ _ _ of_
[Ab] I wish I had the guitar around my neck. _
_ _ Then, you know, here's my prop. _
_ But I [Gb] thank you so much for [B] this.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ Actually, autobiographies are very difficult because you've got to live your life twice,
_ you know, and then once was enough. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ Shit, you know, excuse me, you know.
_ I'm a musician.
I live backstage.
_ _ _ _ _ This is a wonderful [Bb] thing for me and especially for the [G] press here himself
to actually come to do [Ab] this.
You know, I mean, it's like, hey, knock me out, you know.
I mean, _ _ I'm not fazed by a lot of shit, you know.
_ [Ab] _ _
_ _ But this one is fazing me.
And I do have to point out that _ _ this book was done_ _ _
I gave [B] the stories.
I told the stories.
There's a certain other gentleman who's in the room _ _
who put this whole thing into the pages, the written word.
_ _ And this is the important thing, I think, about it all.
It's _ _ the writing of it, how [Gb] to put it all together.
I could tell you yarns.
I would keep you here all night.
_ _ [G] You wouldn't believe some of the stuff I would tell you. _ _ _
_ _ But the gentleman, _ _ and [Gb] I wish to introduce now, _
after thanking you all [B] for this _ amazing_
_ _ [N] It'll _ certainly go down in the diary.
_ And it's very, very encouraging. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ But I would like now to ask Mr James Fox,
who put this thing together for me,
and to ask him to take over. _