Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me)
(Partridge)
UK Sgt. Rock front cover |
Recordings Art Lyrics Chords and Tablature |
(Partridge)
|
UK Sgt. Rock front cover |
Recordings Art Lyrics Chords and Tablature |
Album version, 3'56.
Recorded at Townhouse Studios, London, in June 1980.
Released on Black Sea.
Andy: “Right, I'm standing up here and now, and saying this song embarrasses the shit out of me. Of all the tunes that I've written, that made it to tape, this makes me cringe the worse. It's not the music, that's solid enough. All the instruments in the track mesh nicely enough, but the lyrical sentiment, oh dear. It was supposed to be ironic, you know, nerdy comic fan imagines two dimensional hero can help him with his unsuccessful chat up technique. It did not work. It just came out limply crap. Virgin insisted it be included in this set, otherwise I'd gladly erase it from our history. We all make mistakes.”
Single edit, 3'36.
Released on 5 December 1980 as a single in the U.K.
Reached No. 16 on the U.K. singles chart on 21 February 1981.
PLAY LOUD.
Andy: “Just a simple admiration song. Sgt. Rock is a U.S. comic character who commands a troop known as Easy Company. He is brave, handsome, and successful, not as one empty headed girl wrote in to complain to a music paper, ‘likely to cause violence to women’.”
Andy: “The least favourite of all my songs. It was written as a joke about a little weed who looked up to Sgt. Rock. It was a nerd's sad fantasy.” Dave: “It got a lot of airplay.” Andy: “I know, but I just wish we hadn't released it. There's something very . . . crap, really. Something banal about it.”
[Thanks to R. Stevie Moore]
Sgt. Rock poster sleeve |
poster from Sgt. Rock sleeve |
another view of the Sgt. Rock poster sleeve |
Sgt. Rock French single |
Sgt. Rock single from Portugal, with promo insert |
Snippet of “Sgt. Rock” lip-sync on Top of the Pops, 22 February 1981 |
trade advert for the Sgt. Rock single |
“Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)” lip-sync on Top of the Pops, 22 February 1981 |
Sgt. Rock sticker |
I'm enlisting, overseas aid
need assisting, help with a maid
get the expert, on mademoiselles
he could diffuse, any bombshell
If I could only be tough like him
then I could win
my own, small, battle of the sexes
Sgt. Rock is going to help me
make the girl mine
keep her stood in line
Sgt. Rock is going to help me
make the girl mine
keep her stood in line
make the girl mine, wave the victory sign
I'm invading, territories
Girls are foreign, and strange to me
get the expert, at kissing and stuff
he stays easy, when things get rough
Sometimes relationships don't go as planned
some girls, can make themselves so cold
a no-mans land.
© 1980 Virgin Music (Publishers) Ltd.
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 16:00:17 -0700
From: hbmus047 (at) email dot csun dot edu (Ian Dahlberg)
Subject: Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me) TAB
Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me)
Quick 'n dirty Sgt. Rock chords taken directly from "11 Different Animals"
An XTC songbook made with David Gregory's supervision.
E----X---X--X--------------------------------------|
B----X---X--X--------------------------------------|
G----11--10-9----------6---4---6-9-----------------| etc.
D----0---0--0--------------------------------------|
A----11--10-9----------4---2---4-7-----------------|
E----0---0--0--------------------------------------|
+ . . . + . . . +
Lead in
C A7 D7 Abm9+5 (battle of the...
E----8----------------12--------------10-------------12-------------|
B----8----------------12--------------10-------------12-------------|
G----9----------------12--------------11-------------11-------------|
D----10---------------11--------------10-------------10-------------|
A----10---------------0---------------12-------------11-------------|
E----8----------------X---------------10-------------X--------------|
+ . . . + . . . + . . . + . . .
Chorus
C Cm7 F7 Fm7
E----8----------------8---------------8--------------8-----------|
B----8----------------8---------------8--------------8-----------|
G----9----------------8---------------8--------------8-----------|
D----10---------------8---------------7--------------6-----------|
A----10---------------10--------------8--------------8-----------|
E----8----------------8---------------X--------------X-----------|
+ . . . + . . . + . . . + . . .
C Cm7 F7 Fm7
E----8----------------8---------------8--------------8-----------|
B----8----------------8---------------8--------------8-----------|
G----9----------------8---------------8--------------8-----------|
D----10---------------8---------------7--------------6-----------|
A----10---------------10--------------8--------------8-----------|
E----8----------------8---------------X--------------X-----------|
+ . . . + . . . + . . . + . . .
(make the girl.... wave the vict-'ry sign)
F7 Fm7
E------8--------------8-----------|
B------8--------------8-----------|
G------8--------------8-----------|
D------7--------------6-----------|
A------8--------------8-----------|
E------X--------------X-----------|
+ . . . + . . .
Bridge
Ab F7 Bb7 Db7
E----4----------------1---------------1--------------4-----------|
B----4----------------1---------------3--------------4-----------|
G----5----------------2---------------1--------------4-----------|
D----6----------------1---------------3--------------3-----------|
A----6----------------3---------------1--------------4-----------|
E----4----------------1---------------X--------------X-----------|
+ . . . + . . . + . . . + . . .
( ...no-man's land)
Ab F7 Bb7 B7
E----4----------------1---------------1--------------2-----------|
B----4----------------1---------------3--------------4-----------|
G----5----------------2---------------1--------------2-----------|
D----6----------------1---------------3--------------4-----------|
A----6----------------3---------------1--------------2-----------|
E----4----------------1---------------X--------------X-----------|
+ . . . + . . . + . . . + . . .
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