The Scarlet Tide

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Well I recall his parting words
Must I accept his fate?
Or take myself far from this place

I thought I heard a black bell toll
A little bird did sing
"Man has no choice
When he wants everything."

We`ll rise above the scarlet tide
That trickles down through the mountain
And separates the widow from the bride

Man goes beyond his own decision
Gets caught up in the mechanism
Of swindlers who act like kings
And brokers who break everything

The dark of night was swiftly fading
Close to the dawn of day
Why would I want him just to lose him again?

We`ll rise above the scarlet tide
That trickles down through the mountain
And separates the widow from the bride

We`ll rise above the scarlet tide
That trickles down through the mountain
And separates the widow from the bride

The Scarlet Tide
Written byElvis Costello and T Bone Burnett
Performed byElvis Costello
Produced byDennis Herring & Elvis Costello
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocals, ukulele
Emmylou Harris - vocals
Recordedca. April-June 2004, Ocean Way Studios, Nashville
ReleasedSeptember 20, 2004
AlbumsThe Delivery Man, 2004
Length2:22

Background:
 First recorded by Alison Krauss in 2003.
First known performance:
January 27, 2004, New York, NY
Last known performance:
February 10, 2023, New York, NY
     (202 known performances)


Alternate versions

The Delivery Man (The Clarksdale Sessions version)
Performed byElvis Costello
Produced byDennis Herring & Elvis Costello
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocal, piano
Steve Nieve - accordion
RecordedApril 15, 2004, Delta Recording, Clarksdale, MS
ReleasedJanuary 25, 2005
AlbumsThe Clarksdale Sessions, 2005
The Delivery Man (Deluxe Edition), 2005
Length2:22

The Delivery ManTdm.jpg

The Delivery Man (Deluxe Edition)The Delivery Man Deluxe Edition album cover.jpg

The Clarksdale SessionsTCS.jpg

Covers

Angel City Chorale performed live, June 2012, Wilshire Utd. Methodist Church, Los Angeles, CA. 2012 YouTubewebsite
Joan Baez Day After Tomorrow 2008 AllMusicAmazon
Joan Baez performed live, 2005-2010, Glenside, Grenoble, Santa Monica, and more 2005 etreeetreeetree
Bell, Book & Canto performed live, July 2017, Frontier Days Festival, Arlington Heights, IL 2017 YouTubewebsite
Jon Boden and the Sacconi Quartet performed live, 2013-07-30, Old Vic, Bristol, England, 2013 ents24.com YouTubeWikipedia
Angelo Branduardi Così è Se Mi Pare - sung in Italian as "Il Lungo Addio" 2011 YouTubeWikipediaAmazon
Broad performed live, Perth Concert Hall & Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne 2007 YouTube
Broad Broad 2007 DVD 2007 broadfestival.com
Brandi Carlile performed live, 2007 to 2009, Vancouver, Seattle, Bellingham 2007 infoinfoYouTubeMP3
Ray "Chopper" Cooper performed live, 2014-10-17, Goseck Castle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany 2014 AllMusicYouTube
The Dunn Deal performed live, April 2014, Osprey Park, FL 2014 YouTubeinfo
Bob Fish studio recording (video only release) 2018 AllMusicWikipediaYouTube
Renée Fleming performed live, 2012-04-14, A Prairie Home Companion 2012 publicradio.org
James Hill and Char Mayer performed live, October 2010, Uketoberfest, Eugene, OR 2010 YouTube
The Kallisto Trio performed live, July 2011, Havana Theatre Club, Vancouver, BC, Canada 2011 YouTubeFacebook
Alison Krauss Cold Mountain (soundtrack) 2003 AllMusicAmazon
Alison Krauss performed live, 2004-02-29, Academy Awards, Los Angeles 2004 info
Alison Krauss UK Elvis Costello (2006)  (promo) 2006
Alison Krauss A Hundred Miles Or More: A Collection 2007 AllMusicAmazon
The Lemon Squeeze Quartet performed live, 2011-09-04, Aerdt, Netherlands 2011 YouTube
The Muses Celtic Hillbilly Soul 2007 YouTubewebsiteAllMusicAmazon
Maria Piana performed live, 2018-08-18, Luther's Table, Renton, WA 2018 YouTube
Coreen Scott A Scottish Journey 2010 Amazon
Erich Sellheim & Annette Deuerlich (vocals) home studio recording (in German) 2021 YouTube
Pat Sheridan Ocean Born 2011 Amazon
Simmerdim studio recording, online release 2018 YouTubeinfo
Spiritful Voices Community Choir Homecoming 2005 Amazon
The Starlight Honeys performed live, information needed 2014 YouTubeWebsite
Debra Tidwell performed live, 2004-09-26, Washington DC, 2004 review
Beverley Worboys Songs To The Night Sky 2008 websiteAmazon
The Wanted The Wanted 2011 Amazon
Whiskey Business One Foot in the Groove 2012 Amazon

Chords

Submitted by Jeffrey Schulberg

This song is played on a ukulele in the key of D.  The easiest way to play it 
on the guitar is w/a capo on the 7th fret and using the chords below.

[G][G/C][G]
 
Well, I [G]recall his [G/C]parting [G]words
Must I [G7]accept his [C]fate?
Or [D]take [G]myself far [C]from this [D]place
 
I thought I [G]heard a [G/C]black bell [G] toll
A little [G7]bird did [C]sing
[D]"Man has no [G]choice
When[C] he wants [D]everything."[G][G/C][G]
 
We'll rise above the [G/C]scarlet [G]tide
That trickles [G7]down through the [C]mountain
And[D] separ[G]ates the [C]widow [D]from the [G]bride[G/C][G]
 
Man goes beyond his [G/C]own [G]decision
Gets caught up [G7]in the [C]mechanism
Of [D]swindlers[G] who [C]act like [D]kings
And brokers [G]who break [C]everything[D]

The dark of [G]night was [G/C]swiftly [G]fading
Close to the [G7]dawn of [C] day
Why [D]would I [G]want him just to [C]lose him [G]again?[G/C][G]

We'll rise above the scarlet tide
That trickles down through the mountain
And separates the widow from the bride

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External links