John Mellencamp - Between A Laugh And A Tear

the versions online are either taken from the “rough harvest” version or are just
wrong in general .

between a laugh and a tear
scarecrow ( 1985 )

intro –

C# A G# B F# C# B

riff #1
G – 9 11 9
D – 7/11 11 9

verse – played as regular chords and doubled with a muted guitar

Asus2 ( x02200 ) E C#m Bsus2 ( x24400 )

Asus2 E
with paradise no longer fit for you to live in
C#m Bsus2
your adolescent dreams are gone
Asus2 E
through the days you feel a little used up
C#m Bsus2
don’t know where your energy’s gone wrong
Asus2 E
just your soul feeling a little downhearted
C#m Bsus2
sometimes life is too ridiculous to live
Asus2 E
count your friends all on one finger
C#m Bsus2 ( x24422 )
i know it sounds crazy , it’s just the way that we live

. . . until the “energy’s gone wrong” line and then the muted turns into

riff #2
E – 0 0 x x x x x
xb – 0 0 5 5 5 5 4 4
G – 2 2 4 4 6 6 4 4
D – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
A – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
E – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

end with an x24422 with the “we live”/”swing past” lines

chorus –
Asus2 E
between a laugh and a tear
C#m Bsus2
smile in the mirror as you walk by
Asus2 E
between a laugh and a tear
C#m Bsus2 Asus2
that’s as good as it gets for us but that ain’t no reason to stop trying

the “solo” is played as . . .

G – 9 11 9
D – 7/11 11 9

x3/then . . . .

G – 9 11 9 9 11 9 9 11b12 11 9 11
D – 7/11 7/11 7/11

hope that’s clear enough . questions or comments – blindterry333@gmail . com