I. A singer addresses his audience
II. Calvary Captain
III. Philomena
IV. Make you Better
V. Lake Song
VI. Till the Water's all long gone
VII. The Wrong Year
VIII. Carolina Low
IX. Better Not wake the Baby
X. Anti-Summersong
XI. Easy Come, Easy Go
XII. Mistral
XIII. 12/17/12
XIV. Beginning Song
This is an awesome album from the Decemberists that I have attempted to grab the best tabs I could find and put
them together in a nice concise place for you! ^_^ .I'm sure everyone knows this, but if you want to go to any
particular song, just ctrl-f using the roman numeral attached to it. (be sure to include the .) and it'll
take you right to it. :) Enjoy and buy the record!
I. The Singer Addresses His Audience
from "What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World"
Released January 20th, 2015
Originally tabbed by RandMcNally @ Ultimate-Guitar.com
Feel free to send comments or questions
to: carmenbondrajr at gmail dot com
Standard Tuning
We know, we know, we belong to ya
We know you built your life around us
Would we change, we had to change some
We know, we know, we belong to ya
We know you threw your arms around us
And the hopes we wouldn't change
But we had to change some
You know, to belong to you
|--0-2-4-5--|
(barre)
We're aware that you cut your hair
In a style that our drummer wore
In a video
|--0-2-3-4--|
But with fame came a mounting claim
For the evermore
You know
So when your bridal processional
Is a televised confessional
To the benefits of Axe shampoo
You know we did it for you
We did it all for you
Cause we know, we know, we belong to ya
We know you built your life around us
And would we change, we had to change some
You know, to belong to you (x4)
To belong, to belong, to belong (x5)
During this jam part the lead electric comes in and plays a quick
before playing the standard barre chords until the finish.
II. Calvary Captain[INTRO]
I am the cavalry captain, I am the remedy to your heart
I am the common collector, I am imprinted upon your stars
And when you shine, shine your eyes, looking lost, looking bright
Wheel away on the light brigade
And if only for a second (only for a second)
And if only for a time (only for a time)
And if only for a second (only for a second)
And if only for a time, we'll be alive
We'll be alive, oh oh oh oh oh
I am the cavalry captain, I am the remedy to your heart
I am the common collector, I am imprinted upon your stars
There is a world, there is a time, lookin' calm, lookin' kind
And if only for a second (only for a second)
And if only for a time (only for a time)
And if only for a second (only for a second)
And if only for a time, we'll be alive
We'll be alive, oh oh oh oh oh
I am the cavalry captain, I am the remedy to your heart
I am the common collector, I am imprinted upon your stars
just repeat until it fades out
III. Philomena
You can use instead of during the verse, it'll sound nice. :)
x5
Oh, Philomena, you in a tawdry-gown
Lean to your window, let slip a ribbon down
A cure to your boredom, if only you'll let me go
Down, down down
Long sunny days can lead to lazy vices
Boys all at idle, left to their own devices
Open up your linen lap and let me go
Down, down down
All I ever wanted in the world was just to live to see a naked girl
But I found I've quickly bored, I wanted more, I wanted more
So I'll be your candle and I'll be your statuette
I'll be your lash and loop of leatherette, and oh
Philomena, if only you'll let me go
Down, down down
x3
All I ever wanted in the world was just to live to see a naked girl
But I found I've quickly bored, I wanted more, oh so much more
So I'll be your candle and I'll be your statuette
I'll be your lash and loop of leatherette, and oh
Philomena, if only you'll let me go
Down, down down
Go down, down down
Go down
Go down
IV. Make you Better
This is largely based on the video of Colin playing in New York, less so on the recording.
(x2)
I want you, thin fingers;
I wanted you, thin fingernails.
And when you bend backwards
I wanted you, I needed you
Oh-oh to make me better
I loved you in spring time
I lost you when summer came.
And when you pulled backwards
I wanted you, I needed you
Oh-oh, to make me better.
Oh-oh to make me better.
But we're not so starry-eyed anymore
Like the perfect paramour you were in your letters
And won't it all just come around to make you
Let it all unbreak you to the day you met her
But it'd make you better.
It'd make you better.
I sung you your twinges
I suffered you your tattletales.
And when you broke sideways
I wanted you, I needed you
Oh-oh, to make me better.
Oh-oh, to make be better.
But we're not so starry-eyed anymore
Like the perfect paramour you were in your letters
And won't it all just come around to make you
Let it all unbreak you to the day that you met her
And it'd make you better.
And it'd make you better.
Did it make you better?
INSTRUMENTAL:
(x2)
BRIDGE:
And all I wanted was a sliver to call mine.
And all I wanted was a shimmer in your shine
To make me bright
Cause we're not so starry-eyed anymore
Like the perfect paramour you were in your letters
And won't it all just come around to make you
Let it all unbreak you to the day that you met her
And it'd make you better.
And it'd make you better.
V. Lake Song
Down by the lake
We were overturning pebbles
And upending all the animals alight
And I took a drag
From your cigarette and pinched it
'Tween my finger and my thumb
Till it died
And the sun burned low on the radio
Say that you will
Say you will or will you won't
Or you whatever you prevaricate
Your whole life, don't you?
This much I can say:
I would've waited till the oceans
Fell Away and all the sunken cities
Would reveal themselves to you
But you won't, will you?
Because you never do
And the sun burned through
Sweet as honeydew
And I
Seventeen and terminally fey
I wrote it down and threw it all away
Never gave a thought to what I'd paid
And you
Sibylline, reclining in your pew
You tattered me, you tethered me to you
The things you would and wouldn't do
To tell the truth I never had a clue
Now we arise
To curse those young suburban villains
And their ill-begotten children from the lawn
Come to me now
And on this station wagon window
Set the ghost of your two footprints
That they might haunt me when you're gone
And when the light broke dawn
You were forever gone
But I remember you, you were full
You were full and sweet as honeydew
And I
Seventeen and terminally fey
I wrote it down and threw it all away
And never gave a thought to what I paid
And you all sibylline, reclining in your pew
You tattered me, you tethered me to you
The things you would and wouldn't do
You noticed how I never had a clue
Never had a clue
You were full and sweet as honeydew
You were full and sweet as honeydew
VI. "Till The Water's All Long Gone" - The Decemberists
Tabbed by Ian Cummings on 1/23/15.
Time: 3/4
*On the recording, the is played in the following manner:
e--3
--5
--4
--2
They came down from the mountain
They'd strayed too long from the fountain
And all the while
All the while they longed for us
But I won't betray
No I won't betray
No I won't betray our water
No I won't betray
No I won't betray
No I won't betray our water
Till the water's all long gone
(Intro)
And you, my sweet flower
And how you grew more sweet by the hour
And loathe was I
Loathe was I to lose you
My tender rose
My limber rose
My slender loping daughter
My tender rose
My slender rose
My limber loping daughter
But my daughter's long, long gone
(Intro)
*Fingerpick the first two lines, strum after:
They came down from the mountain
They'd strayed too long from the fountain
O my girl, o my love I've lost you
But I won't betray
No I won't betray
No I won't betray our water
No I won't betray
No I won't betray
No I won't betray our water
Till the water's all long gone
X4 (with some variation on the tab)
VII. The Wrong Year
x2
Gray Jean was a river child
Born down by the river wild
Said hey, what ya wanna be?
Nobody's gonna intervene
And she wants you but you won't do
And it won't leave you alone
And the rain falls on the wrong year
And it won't leave you alone, it won't leave you alone
Could be that he's into you
Could be that the opposite's true
Struck down as a summer child
Ten steps just to run a mile
And he wants you but you won't do
And it won't leave you alone
And the rain falls on the wrong year
And it won't leave you alone, it won't leave you alone
It won't leave you alone
Your spirit's weiling
Flesh is getting bored
Speaker's blaring out some long forgotten chord
Some missbegotten long forgotten chord
Sing me some ?mandolin? (if anyone know what he says here, please write it in the comment section)
And I'll sleep all the winter long
Till then I can only be,
nobody's gonna intervene
And she wants you but you won't do
And it won't leave you alone
And the rain falls on the wrong year
And it won't leave you alone, it won't leave you alone
It won't leave you alone
It won't leave you alone
VIII. Artist: The Decemberists
Song: Carolina Low
Tabbed by: N..
I heard Colin play this song on NPR and had to learn it. He said he had written it that
morning, so this song is only two days old at this point. It's an easy song to learn just
from listening, so this tab is for beginners looking to play.
I can't quite figure out his picking pattern, but I got all the notes of the melody. He
doesn't play these exactly while singing, but it is the melody he sings to. I left out
the bass notes, but I just play the low at every pause. The lyrics are just a guess at
what he is singing, so some of them may be wrong, and they will probably change if it is
ever recorded for an album.
Tuning: DADGBE - Drop
I am a boy from the high country
And I got a little low for the offering
That's the gist of the song. Here it is without the lyrics. Might make it easier to see the melody.
He also walks down the low string sometimes in the interludes between lyric like this:
And he also may do it at the last line of every stanza, as opposed to:
I am a boy
From the high country
And I got a little low
For the offering
Come down from the mountains
Bow to the sea
Carolina low - to cradle thee
Gonna take you up
Gonna take you around
Oh, your poor little pant legs
Dragging down
Did you crack your lip?
Did you skin your knee?
Carolina low - to carry thee
What is sealed with a handshake
Is spoiled with a kiss
Got an ugly little mouth, boy
To come to this
I'm bound for the hilltops
Gonna make it bleed
Carolina low - to carry thee
I am a boy
From the high country
And I got a little low
For the offering
And I got a little low
For the offering
And I got a little low
For the offering
IX. Better not Wake the Baby
I play this in standard tuning, so 2 steps down. Since it's all based around , it's
really easy to play a
basic melody between strums since those top 3 strings will be open anyways.
Kick a hole in the hallway
While singing like a painted lady
Use your skull like a cannonball
But it better not wake the baby
How long will this go on?
How long, indeed?
You can bang a drum 'till the money's all gone
But it better not wake the baby
Make your moan of your lot in life
Split your mind half crazy
Gouge your eyes with a butter knife
But it better not wake the baby
Drown yourself in crocodile tears
Curse the gods what made 'ye
Pine away for your better years
But it better not wake the baby
X.
XI. Anti-summersong
Here now, long gone
Three freaks and a bed are gone
Went to the river but the river got dry
And all the good people were hanging around
Too little, too late
Everybody gotta medicate
Through the winter when the winter comes down
And all the city comes to hanging ground
I'm not going on
Just to sing another summer song
So long, farewell
Don't everybody follow over themselves
HARMONICA SOLO
I'm not going on
Just to sing another summer song
So long, farewell
Don't everybody follow over themselves
I'm not going on
Just to sing another singalong suicide song
So long, farewell
Don't everybody follow over themselves
So, don't everybody follow over themselves
Don't everybody follow over themselves
Here now, long gone
Three freaks and a bed are gone
Went to the river but the river got dry
And all the good people were hanging around
Too little, too late
Everybody gotta medicate
Through the winter when the winter comes down
And all the city comes to hanging ground
I'm not going on
Just to sing another summer song
So long, farewell
Don't everybody follow over themselves
HARMONICA SOLO
I'm not going on
Just to sing another summer song
So long, farewell
Don't everybody follow over themselves
I'm not going on
Just to sing another singalong suicide song
So long, farewell
Don't everybody follow over themselves
So, don't everybody follow over themselves
Don't everybody follow over themselves
XII. Easy Come, Easy Go
-- x2
Limber-Jack, he landed on his back
Was betting on the netting when the rigging went slack
Was a moonless-night, the stars all lending light
She's leering in the mirror when the rodent broke right
Cause you never really know
When the whistle's gonna blow
You never really know
Easy come and easy go
He was a stand-up gent, but no one knew his bent
And all the little bones that he hid in his vent
She was the come-on queen, jewel on the scene
They found her in the shower she'd been gone for seven weeks
Cause you never really know (no you never really know)
When the whistle's gonna blow
You never really know (no you never really know)
Easy come and easy go
Cause you never really know (no you never really know)
When the whistle's gonna blow
You never really know (no you never-ever know)
Easy come and easy go
Oh, Limber-Jack, his name is on the plaque
His mother is another that will never get him back
XIII. "Mistral" - The Decemberists
Tabbed by Ian Cummings on 1/24/15.
* is just the traditional open chord shifted up two frets:
e--x
--3
--0
--4
--5
--x
So we already wrecked the rental car
And I've already lost my way
My feet entombed in this tourist bar
For a day, anyway
So lay me down on the cobblestones
And unfurl this aching jib
The streets all built on ancient bones
And the crib of the ribs
Won't the mistral
Blow it all away
Won't the mistral
Blow away
Won't the mistral
Blow it all away
Won't it blow, won't it blow, won't it blow
So it's me and you and the baby boy
And a fourth to share the weight
We're eking out a little joy
From what awaits back in the States, aay
Won't the mistral
Blow it all away
Won't the mistral
Blow away
Won't the mistral
Blow it all away
Won't it blow, won't it blow, won't it blow
(Honky-tonk piano, guitar solos)
Won't the mistral
Blow it all away
Won't the mistral
Blow away
Won't the mistral
Blow it all away
Won't it blow, won't it blow, won't it blow
Fade out:
Won't the mistral
Blow it all away
Won't the mistral
Blow away ...
XIII. "12/17/12" - The Decemberists
Tabbed by Ian Cummings on 1/24/15.
* add4 is just the traditional open chord shifted up two frets:
e--x
--3
--0
--4
--5
--x
, quick shift to X4
What a gift, what a gift has been given me
add4
Here with my heart so whole
While others may be grieving
To think of their grieving
And O my boy, don't you know you are dear to me
add4
You are the breath of life
And a light upon the water
A light upon the water
(Harmonica solo - use verse form.)
And O my love, if you only knew how I longed for you
add4
How I waste my days
Wishing you would come around
Just to have you around
And what a dear, what a sweet little baby
add4
This cannonball
In the bosom of your belly
It's just a kick in your belly
(Harmonica solo #2)
And O my god, what a world you have made here
add4
What a terrible world
What a beautiful world
What a world you have made here
What a world you have made here
What a world you have made here
What a world you have made here.
XIV. Beginning Song
x2
Let's commence to coordinate our signs
Get them square to lights
Get them square to lights
Condescend the calmest riot in your mind
Find yourself in time
Find yourself in time
I am waiting, should I be waiting?
And I am wanting, should I be wanting?
And all around me, all around me
, X2
Document the world inside your skin
Tender of your lips
The tender of your lips
Doc commence to care each brick of heart
The sensor on your heart
Starting with your heart light up
I am waiting, should I be waiting?
And I am wanting, should I be wanting?
And all around me, all around me
All around me X3
I am waiting, should I be waiting?
And I am wanting, should I be wanting?
I am hopeful, should I be hopeful all around me
X2
All around me
It's it sunlight, it's it shadow
It's the quiet, it's the word
It's the beating heart
It's the ocean... It's the boy
It's you, my sweet love
Oh, my love
And the light, bright light
And the light, bright light
Bright light, bright light
It's all around me
It's all around me
It's all around me
https://lyrics.primoaccordo.net/decemberists/what-a-terrible-world-what-a-beautiful-world-album.htm