1. |
POST-PUNK TRANNY-FOLK
03:41
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KEY: G
4/4
INTRO:
G D Am Em
G D Am G
VERSE 1:
G D
One night to warm the skin
Am Em
One more tired year we tracked in
G D Am G
Relit the pilot light and gently settled in
VERSE 2:
Coals glow and fall apart
Wood whistles with hungry hearts
We sat and wrote the songs
And quickly learned our parts
VERSE 3:
Painted on the bathroom door
Etched in the attic floor
Carved in the window frame
You left your name behind
VERSE 4:
You make the clothes fit you
Crop old lines with new tattoos
A good seamstress has to choose
The curves she will let shine
CHORUS:
Em D
On your drafty bedroom floor
I sat close to you
C Bm
While waiting through the storm
Am G
You introduced me to
D
The loneliness that Julie brought
Am
On Goodnight Nobody
INSTRUMENTAL:
G D Am Em
G D Am Em D
G D Am Em
G D Am G
VERSE 5:
You wrote a thousand songs
Post-punk tranny-folk sing-alongs
Like Stipe, your voice is warm and heady
VERSE 6:
Dookie shirts and cut-off skirts
Beet-stained lamp shades stole from work
You know where shooting stars come from
Don't you?
CHORUS
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2. |
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KEY: C
4/4
VERSE 1:
C F
I would rather see your arms
Em* Bm
Both lead by your hands
F* F C
Fingering their way along my hips
F
My love handles my sides
Em* Em
Underneath my arms
F* F C
Following your arms back to their source
F
Your shoulders knees and toes
Em* Em
Underneath your clothes
F* F C
That change the way that people see you
INSTRUMENTAL (half-time with humming):
C F Bm Em
C F Bm Em
VERSE 2:
Do you think we have a static form
A steady constant norm?
How do I remember who you are
The scarf around your neck
The way your hair falls when it's wet
To what extent are these things connected
To my understanding of yourself
Your many different forms
Cause I'd be sad if I were to lose you
Amidst a crowded room of you
Your many different forms
Cause I'd be sad if I were to lose you
INSTRUMENTAL
VERSE 3:
Being that I'm often short on words
Descriptive paragraphs
It's reassuring that I'm getting to know you
The depths of your waters
The roots we cannot see
That are equal to the body above ground
The branches and the scars
The tattoos and the bark
"Squirrel girl lives here" it says
(pause on "says" then punk rock)
INSTRUMENTAL
VERSE 4:
Although ever changing skin
The things that I let in
And the shit that I throw out
This is my home
Don't fuck with me in my home
Don't fuck with me in my home
It's the one place where
I should at least feel safe
It's the one room in the house
The one place that I know
Where I'll find myself whenever I'm alone
Although ever changing skin
The people I let in
And the people I don't
Want around no more
Although ever changing skin
The people I let in
And the people I don't
Want around no more
OUTRO (half-time):
C F Bm Em
C F Bm Em
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3. |
VICE GRIPS
02:14
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KEY: D
4/4
INTRO:
D(4)
VERSE 1:
D G
... What is this obsession with pain?
A
Acutely empathetic and understanding
I get stuck listening
Bm A
And can't break the hold
Bm
I feel suffocated and in vice grips
VERSE 2:
I am a guilt sponge when I drink
Lay awake wondering
If I've damaged friendships
And whether I'll end up
In the glass in ten years
Soak up the fears of the family
INSTRUMENTAL:
Same as verse
VERSE 3:
I am a mess in the mornings
When time loses heart
And then disassembles
Bodies I've burned lay in bed with me
These little bones
Float to the surface just to haunt me
VERSE 4:
There is a cure hidden in your voice
Blocking out white noise and criticism
Sample your words' worth
From simple shapes and common tones
My heart walks home wearing headphones
My heart walks home wearing headphones
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4. |
OIL AND MUD
05:08
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KEY: Bm
4/4
INTRO:
Bm*(4) F#m(4)
Bm*(4) F#m(4)
VERSE 1:
Cm Bm
Strap it to my chest
My cage, my arms, my vest
F#m
This uniform is neatly pressed
Bm F#m
We'll spare some lives, regret the rest
VERSE 2:
Rub it in with oil and mud
And spit and blood
Is this not what we're all made of?
Your hair, your heart, your teeth, your lungs
VERSE 3:
You'll notice in the ways we move
They myths that grow
That root themselves beneath our homes
While cracked foundations creak and moan
VERSE 4:
It seeps in through your skin, your lips,
Your mouth, your tongue
The words you use in place of them
Ears that grow callous and numb
CHORUS
G F#
All in all, it hearts my heart
D Bm
As we go play-ing our parts
G F#
From white lungs, words come cheap
D Bm Em
It's not our turn to speak
INSTRUMENTAL:
Cm*(1) A#(3) A(1) Cm*(2) Bm*(2)
A#(2) A(2) G#(2) G*(2)
A#(3) A(1) Cm*(2) Bm*(2)
A#(2) A(2) G#(2)
Bm*(4) F#m(4)
Bm*(4) F#m(4)
VERSE 5:
One acre of suburban land
Gets you worked up
As make-shift barricades go up
'round half-built homes and streets of mud
VERSE 6:
One law is not enough
When our words have no weight
When treaties signed evaporate
As land beneath you changes names
CHORUS
INSTRUMENTAL
VERSE 7; X2
McHale stands up like a preacher
Tattletale go tell the teacher
Cry-baby, dirty rat
What would make you act like that?
Law-pushing colonizer
What you say will not survive here
Even by your own good books
Even by your own good books
OUTRO:
G***(4) A*(4) G***(5) F#m*(1)
Em*(4) A**(4). Em*(4) A**
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5. |
MOUNTAIN GOATS
04:29
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KEY: C
4/4
INTRO:
C F A* Am
C F A* G7*
VERSE 1:
C
Lately I've been spending more
F A* Am
Time with the Mountain Goats
C
On the drive to my parents
F A* F
I took all the roads back home
C
I turned up the volume
F A* Am
So I could hear the vocals
C
Over the hum of the wind
F A* Am
tumbling in through the window
C
Over the roar of the engine
F A* F
Coming in of the open roa.....d
INSTRUMENTAL:
C F A* Am
C. F. A*. G7*
VERSE 2:
Tucked away in an attic
Of a place on Aberdeen (ends on G7*)
With some books and a mattress
And me off sweeping (ends on Am)
As my thoughts would collect
In the cracks between the floorboards (ends on G7*)
Taking stock of their plight they wonder
What a life like this is good for (ends on F)
CHORUS:
C F A* F
I forgot what exactly it felt like to be alone
C F A* Am
I forgot what exactly it felt like to be alone
C F A* F
I forgot what exactly it felt like to be alone
C F A* G7*
I forgot what exactly it felt like to be alone
INSTRUMENTAL
VERSE 3:
Under the weight of my feet
I feel the feel the floorboards speaking (ends on Am)
And at night while I read
I feel the street lights creep in (ends on Am)
The only books that I brought
Were by children's authors (ends on G7*)
Like the one in which Piglet
Is entirely surrounded by water (ends on F)
INSTRUMENTAL
VERSE 4:
In the rearview mirror
I see me on the highway (ends on G7*)
With a tow rope tied to my chest
And then driving away (ends on F)
Both lungs pulled tight
As I fight to keep breathing (ends on G7*)
Having the wind knocked out of me
Feels like a tired cliché (ends on F)
CHORUS:
C F A* F
I forgot what exactly it felt like to be alone
C F A* G7*
I forgot what exactly it felt like to be alone
C F A* F
I forgot what exactly it felt like to be alone
C F A* Am
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6. |
BATS
04:01
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KEY: B
4/4
VERSE 1:
B
As this truck lurks slowly forward
F#
I'm in the front seat driving
E
There's potholes to look out for
And no hope of arriving
VERSE 2:
The sun lay down in the back after
Being punched out in the darkness
We drove off to the horizon
As the moon rose up behind us
VERSE 3:
The bugs were think and heavy
They smelled the sweet sweat on me
Well I find I lose my patience
But it's that fight that draws them to me
(End on C#m)
VERSE 4:
Is it for the blood and the glory
Or their sense of achievement?
Do they do this for their family?
Or are they working for the government?
(End on C#m)
INSTRUMENTAL:
F# F# E G#m
F# F# E B
F# F# E G#m
F# F# E B E B F# F#
VERSE 5:
The branches brush my forehead
The leaves, they comb my hair
Swept my hat up off my head
Out of reach, beyond repair
VERSE 6:
The anxious arms of the deadwood
Reach out
Trying dear to hold me
A million bats around us
Make what they do look easy
VERSE 7:
The dancing of the serpents
Nocturnal and brilliant
I wish that I was one of them
I wish that I was one of them
(Ends on C#m)
VERSE 8:
Is it for the blood and the glory
Or their sense of achievement?
Do they do this for their family?
Or are they working for the government?
(End on C#m)
INSTRUMENTAL
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7. |
HISSING GOOSE
02:08
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KEY: D
2/4
INTRO:
Bm(7)
VERSE 1
D
Oh when I heard
A D A G
Those lone-ly words
F#m
Spill out from your mouth
Bm*
I stood up like a scarecrow
F#m Em
With straw bursting out from the seams
F#m Em A
Just walking a friend through the scene
VERSE 2:
The heat and the sweat
Were rallying around your neck
We carried the weight to the exit
And walked with it out in the street
Walked with it out in the street
CHORUS:
Em
Where you singled out one brick
A
And punched it
Em
You singled out his face
A Em*(pause 4) Bm(7)
And cut it up
VERSE 3:
His heart was bruised
His callous brain must get confused
He thinks he owns half of this town here
And says we out to have the blues
He says, "If I've got the blues
You've got the blues"
VERSE 4:
Oh hissing goose
When she attacks, she'll let it rain on you
She'll break both your legs
With her wingspan
And tell all her friends of the news
And tell all her friends of the news
CHORUS:
Em
Where you singled out one brick
A
And punched it
Em
You singled out his face
A Em*(pause 4) Bm(1st chord of outro)
And cut it up
OUTRO:
Bm A# A G
Bm A# D A
Bm A# A G
Bm A# D A
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8. |
BOTTLE NECK
01:56
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Key: A
4/4
INTRO:
A(6) B(4) D(4) Bm(2) D(2) Bm(4)
VERSE 1
A
Bottled, stuffed in a cup
E
Thoughts ferment and blow up
D
Words get lost in a bottleneck
Bm
Makes them hard to bring up
D Bm
Makes them hard to bring up
VERSE 2:
A
So I say them one at a time
E
Write it down and make them mine
D
Bristol board on a hockey stick
Bm D
Will it catch the eye of an anarchist?
VERSE 3:
A
You've made a dent in my lonely heart
E
You've dismantled my lonely parts
D
A steady porch light in a snowstorm
Bm
And a heavy quilt to get warm
D Bm A
A heavy quilt to get warm
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9. |
DANCING BOYZ
03:18
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KEY: A (Capo 7)
4/4
INTRO
Riff A
Verse 1
A. E. Riff 1
Stitched into her favorite sweater
A E Riff 1
The Ink has left us faded letters
A E Riff 1
Threads escaping, fabric worn
A E Riff 1
A patch that I'd not seen before
CHORUS:
Riff 2
It's love. It's lovely
To see you're taking your time with
Riff 2
Your hair and earrings
These boys go dancing
VERSE 2:
In a dark and dreary basement
Perhaps an early Punchclock piece
Printed by your friend Simone
Made for all the queers she'd known
CHORUS
VERSE 3:
A line drawing, no shape, no tone
A cute boy standing all alone
Crop top and a few hair pins
And the short skirt he was dancing in
OUTRO:
Same as Verse
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10. |
T. REXXX
01:48
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Key: G
Time 4/4
INTRO:
G(16)
VERSE 1:
G
Stay inside and read a book
I do this when it's raining
I stare into outer space
And get my picture taken
D C G
I .... start shaking
VERSE 2:
I get bored and go downtown
And get rid of some capital
Buy a bike and do some tricks
And end up in the hospital
Then get better
CHORUS:
C
If I fall, get back up
D
Break a glass and steal a cup
G
I will never have enough of
Em
Getting hurt and fucking up
C
I will never have enough of
D
Getting hurt and fucking up
INSTRUMENTAL:
G(8) D(3) C(1) G(4)
VERSE 3:
I go dancing with my friends
And we declare a holiday
Practise shaking all our junk
And get down with Beyonce
We go dancing
VERSE 4:
I get drunk and make out
With my lover on the dance floor
We pretend we're animals
I wish I was a dinosaur
Big and scary
CHORUS: x2
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Richard Laviolette Guelph, Ontario
If you like OVER THE ROAR OF THE ENGINE, you may also like:
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What a great Album. Great to see you on Friday at Radstorm . You are a very talented musician.
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