Cinderella Man

Background and Commentary

Based loosely on Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, a 1936 comedy starring Gary Cooper about a small-town man who inherits a fortune, the piece has the character of a fable. Lyrics by Geddy, with help from Alex.

The piece has a “beautiful melodic chorus. The band is able to soften its approach here without losing any of its intensity.”—Bill Banasiewicz, Rush Visions

Musically, it “contrasts acoustic and electric guitars dynamically in a manner consciously addressed in the Rupert Hine years [Presto, Roll the Bones], with songs like ‘Roll the Bones.’ it would serve an encore track on the A Farewell to Kings tour.”—
Martin Popoff, Contents Under Pressure

Geddy in the program guide to the tour describes the middle section of the piece as almost funky.—Songfacts

Lyrics

A modest man from Mandrake
Traveled rich to the city
He had a need to discover
A use for his newly found wealth

Because he was human
Because he had goodness
Because he was moral
They called him insane
Delusions of grandeur
Visions of splendor
A manic depressive
He walks in the rain

Eyes wide open
Heart undefended
Innocence untarnished…

Cinderella Man
Doing what you can
They can’t understand
What it means
Cinderella Man
Hang on to your plans
Try as they might
They cannot steal your dreams

In the betrayal of his love he awakened
To face a world of cold reality
And a look in the eyes of the hungry
Awakened him to what he could do

He held up his riches
To challenge the hungry
Purposeful motion
For one so insane
They tried to fight him
Just couldn’t beat him
This manic depressive
Who walks in the rain

Tablature

By Jimmy Pena (jimmy@walrus.com)

Excerpted from Fretplay.

This song is in D.

| = not a standard bar line; just used to separate music
~ = vibrato or held note
x = percussive note with no pitch; muted note
h = hammer on
p = pull off
s = slide
b = bend string up to indicated pitch/fret
r = release bend to indicated string/fret
/ = slide up from infinity
\ = slide down into infinity
o \_
o / repeat sign (always look for these!)
[x35553] = fret box; this is a C chord – this is the same as standard
tablature, only turned on its side. Tilt your head clockwise to read.

Chords used:

G/D : [xx0787]
D : [xx0232]
G : [320033]
C/G : [3×2010]
C/D : [xx0010]
CaddD : [x32030]

[Riff 1] *this part only played first time*
(is this alternate picking or a delay?)
e:———————|———————————————|
B:———————|———————————————|
G:———————|———————————————|
D:———–5–4——|—————–5-5–4-4——————–|
A:–2–4–5——–5—|–2-2–4-4–5-5————5-5—————|
E:———————|———————————————|

[Riff 2]
A D/A Dsus4/A
e:————-2~——-2~——-3~———————————-|
B:—-2~——-3~——-3~——-3~———————————-|
G:—-2~——-2~——-2~——-2~———————————-|
D:—-2~——-0~——-0~——-0~———————————-|
A:—-0~——-0~——-0~——-0~———————————-|
E:——————————————————————-|

[Riff 3]
A D G
e:———-2~——————3-3—————–3-3————–|
B:—2~—–3~——————3-3—————–3-3————–|
G:—2~—–2~——————0-0—————–0-0————–|
D:—2~—–0~——————0-0—————–0-0————–|
A:—0~———–4-5-4———2-2—4-5-4———2-2————–|
E:———————-5-3~—-3-3———5-3~—-3-3————–|

[Riff 4] – on acoustic guitar
____________________________________________________
A |1. G6 D/F# |2. G6 D/F#
e:–0–0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|—-0–0-0—————–|—0-0-0—–0-0-0—-|
B:–2–2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|—-3–3-3—3–3-3-3-3-3–|—3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3|
G:o-2–2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|—-0–0-0—2–2-2-2-2-2-o|—0-0-0-2-2-0-0-0-2-2|
D:o-2–2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|—-0–0-0—0–0-0-0-0-0-o|—0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0|
A:–0–0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|—-x–x-x—x–x-x-x-x-x–|—x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x|
E:——————-|—-3–3-3—2–2-2-2-2-2–|—3-3-3-2-2-3-3-3-2-2|

[Riff 5] – Freely
D A Bm E
e:–2—2-2-2-2—-0——0———-2———-0——————–|
B:–3————–2–2-3————3—-3–3—-3-2—-0~———-|
G:–2————–2—————–4—————-4–1~———-|
D:–0————–2—————–4——————-2~—2~—–|
A:—————–0—————–2——————-2~—2~—–|
E:——————————————————-0~—0~—–|
Am G
e:——————————————————————-|
B:–1–1—1—3–1—0——–3–0–0——————————-|
G:–2——————-2–0~—————————————-|
D:–2—————————————————————-|
A:–0—————————————————————-|
E:——————————————————————-|

For complete tab, go to Fretplay.