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Date: Sun, 10 Sep 1995 12:27:35 -0400 (EDT)
From: Glen Norman Pavan 


artist:  Sex Pistols
title:  Belsen Was a Gas
album:  The Great Rock and Roll Swindle
tuning:  standard

There are two differing versions of this tune, the Sex Pistols version
with Johnny Rotten and the one with Ronald Biggs.  Here's both.

F-G  means slide up from the F to the G

w/ Johnny Rotten

intro:  D C D Eb  D C G   x2
D            C       D              Eb
Belsen was a gas I heard the other day
D              C              G
In the open graves where the jews all lay
D        C         D             Eb
Life is fun and I wish you were here
D                 C          G
They wrote on postcards to those held dear

chorus  (played twice)
C   G    C   G  C    G    F-G   F-G
oh dear oh dear oh dear

second verse
Sergeant majors on the march
Wash their bodies in the starch
See them all die one by one
Guess it's dead guess it's glad

chorus (twice)
so bad so bad so bad

intro

repeat first verse

outro:  ad lib chorus


with Ronald Biggs:

ok, this time for real Belsen was a gasser


intro:  D C Bb C    D C G   x2

verse
D            C       Bb           C
Belsen was a gas I heard the other day
D              C                G
In the open graves where the jews all lay
D         C          Bb         C
Life is fun and I wish you were here
D            C                G
They wrote on postcards to those held dear

chorus (same as other version)

second verse
Dentists search their teeth for gold
Frisk the jews for bank notes rolled
when they found out what they got
Line them up and shoot the lot

chorus
kill a man be a man kill a man

intro

third verse
Wonder what the jews would say
If I told them where Boorman was today
Would they start a vendetta
you'd better ask Ernie Ledbetter

chorus
Ledbetter Ledbetter Ledbetter

outro:  ad lib chorus


comments, corrections to senomar@bach.udel.edu
                             -I'm here, I'm queer, I play 5-string bass