Chords for When Rock Ruled The World - Status Quo

[Em] Even at school, the art class had a project where you could do a band's design on the back of your denim.
And the [E] school was judging it.
How you getting on, embroidery?
Everybody was going home at night with that needle and thread, you know, like really manly.
Digging it out, you know, hey, we're into rock.
Smart.
_ _ [F] _ _ [Bm] And one band, [F] more than [Ab] any, made denim de rigueur through [G] several eons [F] of heads down, no-nonsense, mindless boogie.
The number one rock and roll band in the land.
Will you welcome Status Quo.
Amazing.
Hooray!
_ _ When you get a bit older, you'll never admit to being into them at all because it's like so uncool. _ _ _ _
_ I did everything with three chords that anybody could possibly do.
I like the Quo, and I don't care who knows it.
But the hard rock in Status Quo hasn't always been the Status Quo.
When they started in the late 60s, they were more Lawrence Llewellyn than Led Zeppelin.
Ladies and gentlemen, up from [N] number 15 of last week to number 10 of this week, pictures of matchstick men, the Status [G] Quo.
[Cm] It was an [Ab] altogether frillier and more fragrant Quo [E] who debuted with pictures of matchstick men in [G] 1968. _
When I first became aware of Status Quo, it was with records like pictures of matchstick men,
and they [F] were dressed in all the [G] Carnaby Street outfits with all the ruffle [D] shirts and stuff like that.
Very, very well-dressed, smart boys, you know, playing pop songs.
_ _ [Dm] _ _
[C] I [G] _ _ [D] _ _ [F] tried to copy [C] the [G] Hey Joe, which is his name, Jimi [C] Hendrix, and came out with matchstick men.
[B] Then we had this thing that were psychedelic bands, and we were a psychedelic band with [F] [C] a soul set, and we were rocking.
It was [G] confusing.
_ [D] _ _ [E] Initially, we [G] were quite happy to be a pop band.
_ [D] _ _
_ [G] To get up on stage in front of a [Gm] hundred or so [A] screaming girls [D] was amazing, because [G] that's really what [Dm] I'd always wanted in my life.
_ _ _ [Em] It's amazing [G] how quickly [Gb] that kind of wears [C] off, and you want real appreciation [Gm] for what you're doing,
rather than because they've seen you on top of the [Am] pops, you know.
Excellent [Bm] band, Status Quo.
This [A] is Big Fat Martin.
_ Quo underwent a mini-evolution and [Dm] emerged [A] hairier, heavier, and [Am] louder.
We went into the underground [G] scene around [C] London.
We go in, and people are sitting down, cross-legged on the floor, you know, long hair, trench coat, album under one arm, pint in the other hand, you know.
They're just kind of [D] sitting there.
_ [E] _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ We went on and started pumping this kind of [Gm] boogie at them.
[A] They all start nodding their heads.
[C] I mean, we hadn't done [A] all this.
We left some of that.
[Am]
To get closer to them, you sort of, to [Ab] use an excused expression, [Am] open your legs, right, and [D] sort of get down there like that,
and that's how the whole [E] Quo stance sort of came [A] about.
You turn your head, and I'm putting [E] guitars in.
And the hair would come down, and you'd start [A] _ this movement together, and two of you move together, or three of you move together,
and then you saw certain people in the audience, and they were, hmm.
And there was this great feeling of everybody raving.
It's just, it's a collective consciousness going. _
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ _ [B] _ _ _ [E] _
_ [A] _ You better do as you're [D] told.
You know I'm gonna [B] bring you down.
[A] _ _ [C] _ [D] _ [Am] _ [G] The only _ [A] _ _ _ [E] time you would see anything was at the end of the number, when you put any of your hair back.
[Am] Ah, there you all are.
And like that, blah, blah, blah, next song, head down, [A] and away you go again.
See you.
_ _ _ [N] _