Ballade De Melody Nelson tab by Serge Gainsbourg

Ballade de Melody Nelson (Serge Gainsbourg 1971)

Notes : The song is extremely more complex in harmony and rythm than
        it sounds.

        The time signature is a mixture of 3/4, 4/4 and 5/4,
        and it can be heard on the record that pieces of bars were pasted
        together, which makes it even more difficult to follow with the guitar.

        And the vocals (in french) usually start on the 2nd beat,
        in syncopated time ...



Intro :

 3/4  >  .  >  .  >  .     >  .  .  .  >  .     >  .  >  .  >  .
e-||--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
B-||--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
G-||--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
D-||--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
A-||--9-----7-----9-----|--------------------|--------------------|
E-||--------------------|--5-----------5-----|--7-----5-----7-----|



 (let ring)          Dmaj7/E
     >  .  .  .  .  . 4/4 >  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
e-|--------------------|--2-----------------------|
B-|--------------------|--2-----------------------|
G-|--------------------|--2-----------------------|
D-|--------------------|--0-----------------------|
A-|--------------------|--------------------------|
E-|--0-----------------|--------------------------|


Verse :

    F#m
     >  .  .  >  .  .  .  .     >  .  .  >  .  .  .  .
e-|-----------2--------------|-----------2--------------|
B-|--2--------------2-----2--|--2--------------2-----2--|
G-|--------2-----------2-----|--------2-----------2-----|
D-|--4-----------4-----------|--4-----------4-----------|
A-|--------------------------|--------------------------|
E-|--------------------------|--------------------------|

          Ca,             c’est l’his...


   F#m/C#                      D/F#
     >  .  .  >  .  .  .  .     >  .  .  >  .  .  .  .
e-|-----------2--------------|-----------2--------------|
B-|--2--------------2-----2--|--3--------------3-----3--|
G-|--------2-----------2-----|--------2-----------2-----|
D-|--------------4-----------|--4-----------4-----------|
A-|--4-----------------------|--------------------------|
E-|--------------------------|--------------------------|

          de,          Me-lo - ...


    F#m
     >  .  .  >  .  .  .  .     >  .  .  >  .  .  .  .
e-|-----------2--------------|-----------2--------------|
B-|--2--------------2-----2--|--2--------------2-----2--|
G-|--------2-----------2-----|--------2-----------2-----|
D-|--4-----------4-----------|--4-----------4-----------|
A-|--------------------------|--------------------------|
E-|--------------------------|--------------------------|

    son


   F#m/C#                      D/F#
     >  .  .  >  .  .  .  .     >  .  .  >  .  .  .  .
e-|-----------2--------------|-----------2--------------|
B-|--2--------------2-----2--|--3--------------3-----3--|
G-|--------2-----------2-----|--------2-----------2-----|
D-|--------------4-----------|--4-----------4-----------|
A-|--4-----------------------|--------------------------|
E-|--------------------------|--------------------------|

          Qu’a  part  moi       ...


    F#m
     >  .  .  >  .  .  .  .     >  .  .  >  .  .  .  .
e-|-----------2--------------|-----------2--------------|
B-|--2--------------2-----2--|--2--------------2-----2--|
G-|--------2-----------2-----|--------2-----------2-----|
D-|--4-----------4-----------|--4-----------4-----------|
A-|--------------------------|--------------------------|
E-|--------------------------|--------------------------|

    sonne


   F#m/A
     >  .  .  >  .  .  .  .     >  .  .  >  .  .  .  .
e-|-----------5--------------|-----------5--------------|
B-|--7--------------7-----7--|--7--------------7--------|
G-|--------6-----------6-----|--------6-----------6-----|
D-|--7-----------7-----------|--7-----------7-----------|
A-|--------------------------|--------------------------|
E-|--------------------------|--------------------------|

                n’a   ja -     mais  ...


  C#m/G#
     >  .  .  >  .  .  .  . 3/4 >  .  .  >  .  .
e-|-----------4--------------|--------------------|
B-|--5--------------5--------|--5--------5--------|
G-|--------6-----------6-----|--------6-----------|
D-|--6-----------6-----------|--6-----------6-----|
A-|--------------------------|--------------------|
E-|--------------------------|--------------------|

    bras                       ca    ...


   D#m/F#                            D/F#
 5/4 >  .  .  >  .  .  .  .  >  . 4/4 >  .  .  >  .  .  .  .
e-|-----------2--------------------|-----------2--------------||
B-|--4--------------4--------4-----|--3--------------3--------||
G-|--------3-----------3-----------|--------2-----------2-----||
D-|--4-----------4-----------4-----|--4-----------4-----------||
A-|--------------------------------|--------------------------||
E-|--------------------------------|--------------------------||

    tonne                            mais c’est ...


Bridge (same as the intro) and then the verses ...



Chords voicing :

F#m      :  xx4222
F#m/C#   :  x44222
D/F#     :  xx4232
F#m      :  xx7675
C#m/G#   :  xx6654
D#m/F#   :  xx4342