The Good Son Chords

Transcribed by Andy Field.

These chords were worked out by me using only the album and my ears. I apologise forany mistakes and I make no guaranteees that these chords are, in fact, correct. All comments & corrections welcome...

Helpless transcribed by Blake.

Table of Contents:


FOI NA CRUZ

Intro:

C,G / C,G

C
Foi na cruz, foi na cruz

       Am
que um dia

       F          G         C
meus pecados castigados em Jesus

        Am
Foi na cruz

       G
que um dia

        C
Foi na cruz

G            C                                F
Love comes a knocking, comes a knocking at my door

    Gm           Eb       D 
but you, you and me, love we

                     Gm      Eb / Gm / Gmaj7
don't live there anymore.

Repeat this pattern for all other verses/choruses.

Table of Contents

THE GOOD SON

Em
The good son walks in to the field
he is a tiller, he has a tiller's hands
but down in his heart now, he lays down queer plans
against his brother and against his family.
Yet he worships his brother, and he worships his mother
but it's his father he says is an unfair man


    Am
The Good Son

    Em
The Good son

    Am
The Good son


Em
the good son has sat and often wept.....

.......

G
One more man gone
one more man gone

         Am    [ C / D ]
one more man

G
One more man gone ...

etc

Table of Contents

SORROW'S CHILD


(G) (Bb) Cm                Bb
Sorrow's child sits by the river

         Cm                  Bb
Sorrow's child hears not the water

         Cm                Bb
Sorrow's child sits by the river

         Cm                    Bb
Sorrow's child hears not the water

    C#           G#             
and just when it seems as though

           Eb                 C#
you've got strength enough to stand

Cm             Bb                  
sorrow's child all weak and strange

        Cm      Bb      G#
stands waiting at your hand.

Repeat

Piano solo bit at end:

Cm / Bb / Cm / Eb / G / Cm, Bb / G#

 - You'll have to play along to the record to
 work out where the changes come (it's fairly
 obvious from humming the piano melody over
 the top).

Table of Contents

THE WEEPING SONG

Easy one this .....

intro Gm

(C, D - notes played on 5th string)


Gm              F      Gm
Go son, go down to the water

Gm                  F       Gm
and see the women weeping there

Gm            F     Gm
then go up into the mountains

Gm               F       Gm
the men they are weeping too.

Gm                     F     Gm
Father why are all the women weeping?

Gm                    F        Gm
They are all weeping for their men

Gm                    F         Gm
Then whay are all the men there weeping?

Gm               F       Gm
They are weeping back at them

 F        Gm              F                Gm
This is a weeping song, a song in which to weep

Gm              F             Gm
while all the men and women sleep

F         Gm               
this is a weeping song but

  F                 Gm   [C D - notes on 5th string]
I won't be weeping long.

Repeat to end

Table of Contents

THE SHIP SONG

G              D
Come sail your ships around me

C             G       D
and burn your bridges down

G                D
we make a little history baby

C             G    D
everytime you come around

G                D
come loose your dogs upon me

C            G         D
and let your hair hang down

G                D
you are a little mystery to me

C             G    D
Everytime you come around.

*

C                G         D
We talk about it all night long

C             G      D
we define our moral ground

Em                 G
but when I crawl into your arms

C                G         D
everything comes tumbling down.

G               D
Come sail your ships around me

 C            G       D
and burn your bridges down

G                D
we make a little history baby

C             G     D
everytime you come around


Return to '*' and repeat through remaining lyrics.

Table of Contents

THE HAMMER SONG

Riff 1 TAB:

E---------------------------
B---------------------------
G---------------------------
D---------------------------
A-----1--3^5-5-3-3-1-1-0----
E--3----------------------3-

^ means slide. This riff is played with lots of delay added.
This is the riff played by the guitar throughout the verse -
check record for exact rhythm. The bits in {} are bass bits
for bass guitar!)


Gm                   {G    F#    F    D    G (lo)}
I set out on Monday the night was cold and vast

                    (Guit Riff 1)
and my brother slept

Gm
and though i left quite quietly

          { G F# F D F(lo)}                 (guit Riff 1)
my father raged and raged and my mother wept

Gm
now, my life was like a river all sucked into the ground

             G#                         Gm
and then the hammer came down, Lord the hammer came down


Repeat  until:


Gm
Then I came upon a river and I laid my saddle down

             G#                          Gm
and then the hammer came down, lord, the hammer came down

              F                         Eb
it knocked me to the ground and I said "please please,

                 G#                      Gm
take me back to my home town", Lord, the hammer came down


Table of Contents

LAMENT

               Fm
I've seen your fairground hair, your seaside eyes

      Gm                                       Fm
your vampire tooth and your little truth, your tiny lies

             Fm
I know your trembling hand, your guilty prize

      Gm                                     Fm
your sleeping limbs, your foreign hymns your midnight cries.

            G#       C#        Eb     G#
So dry your eyes and turn your head away


            C#      Eb      G#              Eb     Bb
now there's nothing more to say, now you've gone away.

Repeat over remaining lyrics

Table of Contents

THE WITNESS SONG

Ok, The bass in this is sort of playing
{ D D(octave higher) C A G } behind the vocals.
Listen to the record and hopefully all will become clear!

C / Am / G /

D
Yeah, yeah, well well
I took a walk down to the port

D
where strangers met and do consort

D
All blinkered with desire

D
and a winter fog moved thickly on

C
a winter fog moved thickly on

  Am               G        D
a winter fog moved thickly on.

D
Now who will be the witness, who will be the witness,


who will be the witness


when the fogs too thick to see.


Repeat a lot.


Middle Bit:

D
and time gets somewhat muddled here
but no matter, no matter
here comes the events all tumbling down
.................
and she said"well are you healed?"
and I said "yes, i'm healed"
and she said "well, yes I'm healed then too"

            Dm
and I said "babe you are a liar"
"babe you are a liar"
"babe you are a liar"

C
"babe you are a liar"

Am              G
"babe you are a liar too"

D (with bass bit)

repeat D until end.

Table of Contents

LUCY

G                Em
Last night I lay trembling

G               Em
the moon it was low

G                 Em
it was the end of love

   Am         D
of misery and woe

G               Em
then suddenly above me

G                  Em
her face burned in light

G                Em
came a vision of beauty

    Am         Em
all covered in white

        G             D
now the bell tower is ringing

         G              D
and the night has stole past

  Em            C
O Lucy, can you hear me?

Am           D
wherever you rest.


Repeat over remaining words.

Table of Contents

HELPLESS

D  A  G  D  A  G

D          A                G
There is a town in north Ontario,

D         A                    G
With dream comfort memory to spare,

D          A      G
and in my mind I still need a place to go,

D  A                 G
All my changes were there,

Blue, blue windows behind the stars,
Yellow moon on the rise,
Big birds flying across the sky,
Throwing shadows on our eyes.

D         A             G
Helpless, helpless, helpless

D A                  G
Baby can you hear me now?

D        A                 G
The chains are locked and tied across the door,

D A       G 
Baby, sing with me some how.

D  A  G  D  A  G

Blue, blue windows behind the stars,
Yellow moon on the rise,
Big birds flying across the sky,
Throwing shadows on our eyes.

(repeat and fade)

D         A             G
Helpless, helpless, helpless

Table of Contents

----**----

Return to the Lyrics and Chords page.