Bends Like A Willow

Words & music by Ian Anderson from the Jethro Tull CD Dot Com.
Transcription by Peter Dawson.  Note some notes are very close together in the TAB, what looks like a "10" is really a 1 & 0, a "13" is really 1 & 3.

Capo 4th fret.


Intro.  Repeat Riff 1 x4 before playing bars 3 & 4.  Then Riff 1 once with bars 3 & 4, back to Riff 1 x2 & into the verse.

.  |Riff 1                           |
.   A5               Asus2             No chord
--||----------------|----------------||----------------|----------------|
--||----------------|--0)------------||----------------|----------------|
--||2--)------------|2-2)strum-------||----------------|----------------|
02||--2)strum-----02|--2)----------02||----------------|--------------02|
--||--0)------------|----------------||--3-33--3-------|--3-33--3-------|
--||----------------|----------------||----------------|----------------|


She's [Am]catching the wind: the gentlest of breezes.
It's a [C]sensitive passage she's [G]sailing
Through stormy [Bb]straits, navi[F]gates my unfathomable [Am]failings.


She [Am]rises before me, reading me clearly.
Empty [C]nest left pressed in the [G]pillow.
She can [F]shift, she can [C]sway
and bend like a [Riff 1]willow.


Instrumental 1
.Fmaj7 with variations                              F
|----------------|0)--------------|----------------|1---------------|
|0)----------1-3-|1)----------3-1-|0)----------1-3-|1---------------|
|2)-strum----2-2-|2)-strum----2-2-|2)-strum----2-2-|2---------------|
|3)----------3-3-|3)----------3-3-|3)----------3-3-|3-------------02|
|----------------|----------------|----------------|3---------------|
|----------------|----------------|----------------|1---------------|

                                                        She bends like
                                                                   a
[Riff 1] willow.  Riff 1 again.


I'm [Am]swept in the riptide.  Caught in a fish trap.
Gift [C]wrapped in my soft self [G]centre.
Summer [Bb]sun leaves me as [F]one who can only taste [Am]winter.
She's a [F]good, a good God[Bb]send: she can bend like a [Riff 1 ]willow.
Riff 1 again.

Instrumental 1
She bends like a [Riff 1]willow.


Instrumental 1]
Ooh! She bends like a [Riff 1]willow.  Riff 1 again.


Instrumental 2 (keep strumming first chord in the bar)

.  Fmaj7 with b (open 2nd string)   |G
.                                                    |1.
||:---------0------|---------0------|---------0------|----------------:||
||:0--1--3--1--3-1-|0--1--3--1--3-1-|0--1--3--1--3-10|10--------------:||
||:2---------------|2---------------|0---------------|--0-------------:||
||:3---------------|3---------------|0---------------|--------------0-:||
||:----------------|----------------|2---------------|------0--2---3--:||
||:----------------|----------------|3---------------|---3------------:||

.G               |Bb              |                |C
|2.               electric guitar solo...
|---------0-0----|----------------|------0-1-3-00-1|3---------------|
|0-01-13-3-3-310-|---3------------|--1-3-----------|5---------------|
|-0--0--0--------|---3------------|----------------|5---------------|
|----------------|---3------------|----------------|5---------------|
|----------------|1---------------|----------------|3---------------|
|3---------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|

|---5--3--1------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
|-33-11----------|----------------|--------5~------|----------------|
|-------00-------|----------------|--4-5-7---------|----------------|
|----------------|-----0*-----0235|7---------------|--2-22--2-------|
|-----------35-3-|0--------023----|----------------|----------------|
|----------------|------013-------|----------------|----------------|
*should be an octave lower but capo prevents this

|----------------|
|----------------|
|----------------|
|----------------|
|--3-33--3-------|
|----------------|

Riff 1 twice

With a [Am]fully armed angel to cover me quickly.
I'm [C]cool under enemy [G]fire.
If I [Bb]fall, she can [F]crawl right under the [Am]wire.


When I'm [Am]caustic and cold, she might dare to be bold -
ease me [C]round to her warm way of [G]thinking:
fill me [Bb]up from the [F]cup of love that she's [Am]drinking.
And I [F]find, given [Bb]time, I can bend like a [Riff 1]willow.
She bends like a willow [repeated & played over Riff 1]