If You Could Read My Mind tab - johnny cash

If You Could Read My Mind 
Album: American V: A Hundred Highways 
Artist: Johnny Cash 

Intro E

(Verse 1) 

E
If you could read my mind, love
Dadd9
What a tale my thoughts could tell
E
Just like an old time movie
Dadd9 
'bout a ghost from a wishing-well
E                             A 
In a castle dark or a fortress strong 
B                              C#m 
With chains upon my feet 
A                               E 
You know that ghost is me
A                     C#m 
And I will never be set free 
Fm                    A                        E
As long as I'm a ghost you can't see 

(Verse 2)
E
If I could read your mind, love
Dadd9
What a tale your thoughts could tell
E
Just like a paperback novel
Dadd9
The kind that drugstores sell
E                                                  A  
When you reach the part where the heartaches come
B                           C#m 
The hero would be me 
A                          E 
And heroes often fail
A                                   C#m 
And you won't read that book again 
Fm                           B                        E 
Because the ending's just too hard to take

 (Middle section)

E Dadd9 E Dadd9

E                             A
I'd walk away like a movie star
                B                                 C#m 
Who gets burned in a three way script
A                           E 
And enter number two 
A                         C#m 
A movie queen to play the scene 
Fm                       B                        A
Of bringing all the good things out in me 
                                          E
But for now, love, let's be real 
A                                  C#m
I never thought I could act this way 
Fm                                  B 
And I've got to say that I just don't get it 
A                            C#m 
I don't know where we went wrong 
Fm
But the feeling's gone 
B                               E 
And I just can't get it back 

E Dadd9 E Dadd9

(Verse 3...)

E 
If you could read my mind, love, 
Dadd9 
What a tale my thoughts could tell
E
Just like an old time movie
Dadd9
'bout a ghost from a wishing-well 
E                              A 
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
B                               C#m 
With chains upon my feet 
A                         E 
The story always ends 
A                       C#m 
And if you read between the lines 
Fm                                  B                       C#m 
You’ll know that I’m just trying to understand 
A                             E 
The feeling that you lack
A                                  C#m
I never thought I could feel this way 
              Fm                    B 
And I've got to say that I just don't get it 
A                            C#m 
I don't know where we went wrong 
            Fm
But the feeling's gone 
          B
And I just can't get it back

E Dadd9 end on E

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Video If You Could Read My Mind

Johnny Cash - If You Could Read My Mind
*NOTE* I had to remove the audio from this video as it was in copyright violation. I decided to keep the video on anyway as the pics still show Johnny's love for June. Sorry for the missing audio. Let me say I am surprised by all the "one is better than the other" comments regarding Gordon Lightfoot's original version of this song. It is not about which is better. They are both very different versions with different meanings and both can co-exist. Of course, Gordon Lightfoot's version is the best version because he wrote it. Johnny made it his own in this version and it was real and meaningful for him when he sang it. Johnny recorded this one not long before he died and he made it his own as he did with "Hurt". Not sure if the song and pics go together, but when I hear him singing this, I can only imagine him singing it about his wife June who had passed away just before he recorded this. He had a knack of taking songs and making them his own and that's what he did with this one. I got the pictures off the web and, for me, they seemed to go with the song well.

If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot
If you could read my mind love What a tale my thoughts could tell Just like an old time movie about a ghost from a wishing well In a castle dark or a fortress strong With chains upon my feet You know that ghost is me And I will never be set free As long as Im a ghost that you cant see If I could read your mind love What a tale your thoughts could tell Just like a paperback novel The kind that drugstores sell When you reach the part where the heartaches come The hero would be me But heroes often fail And you wont read that book again Because the endings just too hard to take Id walk away like a movie star Who gets burned in a three way script Enter number two A movie queen to play the scene Of bringing all the good things out in me But for now love, lets be real * I never thought I could act this way * And Ive got to say that I just dont get it I dont know where we went wrong But the feelins gone And I just cant get it back If you could read my mind love What a tale my thoughts could tell Just like an old time movie bout a ghost from a wishin well In a castle dark or a fortress strong With chains upon my feet But stories always end And if you read between the lines Youll know that Im just tryin to understand The feelins that you lack I never thought I could feel this way And Ive got to say that I just to get it I dont know where we went wrong But the feelins gone And I just cant get it back The song has been covered by many artists, including Don McLean, Kalan Porter, Olivia Newton-John, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Cash, Liza Minnelli, Glen Campbell, It was also used in the motion pictures including: Paperback Hero (1973), starring Keir Dullea and Elizabeth Ashley Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) 54 (1998) Wonderland (2003) We Are Marshall (2006)

If You Could Read My Mind (Gordon Lightfoot)
"If You Could Read My Mind" played on a classical guitar

WILDBOY "If you could read my mind" (Tribute Pt.IV)
Heresy!

Gordon Lightfoot - If you could read my mind (Cover)
Me singing If you could read my mind from Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Lightfoot - If you could read my mind also covered by:Don McLean, Kalan Porter, Olivia Newton-John, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Cash, Liza Minnelli, Glen Campbell, Gene Clark, Viola Wills and techno-dance supergroup Stars on 54