"Read about love" by Richard Thompson
From the Album "Rumor and Sigh"

Transcribed by Rich Kendrick (Richard.Kendrick@student.shu.ac.uk)
Webmaster of The RT TAB Archive <http://people.netcom.co.uk/r.kendrick/rt/>

Okay people, I guess you could call this an easy chords version 
of a classic song. Listen to the album to work out the exact 
rhythm. Otherwise play to your hearts content. 
PLAYING NOTES: The Song has two fills which are played in the 
verse

FILL 1:                          FILL 2:     
E --------------------------     E ------------------
B --------------------------     B -1p0--------------
G --------------------------     G -----2p0---2------
D 5-5-5-5-5-4-2-0-2-0-0-0-0-     D ---------4---0----
A --------------------------     A ------------------
E --------------------------     E ------------------

Notes on Chord Voicings:

G	This can be played with an F shape at the 3rd fret to 
      allow easy access to FILL 1.
G/?	I have not come up with any good chord voicings for this 
      run down. Any help will be gratefully received. I tend to 
      just play the root notes.

THE SONG IN FULL:

G
Asked my Daddy when I was thirteen
(FILL 1----------------------)  D
"Daddy can you tell me what a lover really means?"
     G
His eyes went glassy, not a word was said
(FILL 1----------------------)  D       (FILL 2-)
He poured another beer and his face turned red
G                       C
Asked my mother, she acted the same
     G                        D
She never looked up, she seemed so ashamed
  G                     C
Asked my teacher, he reached for the cane
    G                          D
He said "don't mention that subject again"

CHORUS:
       Em         C
So I read about love, I read it in a magazine
 Em          C
Read about love, cosmo and seventeen
  Em         C
Read about love, in the back of a hustler, hustler, hustler
   G G/F G/E           G/Eb          G  G/F G/E G/Eb
So I         know what makes girls sigh
    G  G/F  G/E     G/Eb      G  G/F G/E G/Eb
And I         know why girls cry
     G        Em     C       D
So don't tell me I don't understand
 G             Em       C            D
What makes a woman and what makes a man
       G            Em            C         D          Fm
I've never been to heaven but at least I've read about love

SECOND VERSE: (See first verse for chords and fills)
My big brother told me when I was fourteen
"It's time I showed you what love really means
Girls like kissing and romance too
But a boy's got to know what a man's got to do"
He gave me a book, the cover was plain
Written by a doctor with a German name
It had glossy pictures, serious stuff
I read it seven time then I knew it well enough

SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT CHORUS:
Read about love, now I've got you
Read about love, where I want you
Read about love, I got you on the test-bed, test-bed, test-bed
So why, don't you moan and sigh?
And why do you sit there and cry?
I do everything I'm supposed to do
If something's wrong than it must be you
I know the ways of a woman I've read about love

Well well well, when I touch you there it's supposed to feel nice
That's what it said in reader's advice
I've never been to heaven but at least I've read about love

------------------------
PART TWO
JOHN LA GRECA at <j.la.greca@worldnet.att.net> suggests the 
following riff for the run down in the chord sequence:

    ------------------------------------------------------
    --------0-----------0-----------0-----------0---------
    -----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0------
    ------------------------------------------------------
    --10----------8-----------7-----------6---------------
    ------------------------------------------------------


      Or if you use drop-D tuning -


    -----------------------------------------------------
    --------0-----------0-----------0-----------0--------
    -----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----
    -----------------------------------------------------
    -----------------------------------------------------
    --5-----------3-----------2-----------1--------------

             Just to let you know.... the Fm in "Read About Love" should be
an Fadd2.


                                       It look s like this- ----1-----
                                                            ----1-----
                                                            ----0-----
                                                            ----3-----
                                                            ----3-----
                                                            ----------


                                              John LaGreca



PART THREE:

Here's a possibility for the G chord with a descending chromatic run in the
bass on the chorus of Read About Love.  What I do is play the chord without
a 3rd.  Here's the tab:

So I            know what makes girls sigh               
   G   G/F  G/E            G/Eb        G   G/F  G/E  G/Eb
---3----3----3--------------3----------3----3----3----3--
---0----0----0--------------0----------0----0----0----0--
---0----0----0--------------0----------0----0----0----0--
--------3----2--------------1---------------3----2----1--
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------

Mike Beers
mbeers@hbs.edu