#----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE---------------------------------#
#This file is the author s own work and represents their interpretation of the #
#song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. #
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------##
From: Steve Vetter
Counting Crows - August And Everything After (and extras)
18 March 1995
------------------------------------------------------
I have compiled all of the circulating files from the net into this one
overview file. If you have anything to add, mail it to me and I ll update
it. Original credit is left intact, much thanks to Ken McLeod who did
many of them and Paul Hutchinson for his trained ear and skillfull
corrections. If I have forgotton to name anyone that credit is due to,
please flame me. ;-)
Further Note - Steve s a bit busy at the moment, so I ve finished and
tidied up the file myself. If anyone has any further corrections, I ll
accept them if necessary. Full credit to Steve and Ken who did most of
the work on this.
Round Here
Omaha
Mr. Jones
Perfect Blue Buildings
Anna Begins
Time and Time Again
Rain King
Sullivan Street
Ghost Train
Raining In Baltimore
A Murder of One
***
Einstein on the Beach - From DGC Rareties v.1
Marjorie - Unreleased Demo
Goodnight, Elizabeth - Unreleased Concert Staple
(NB During the verses, the guitar plays the riff shown - the chords
marked are implied by the keyboards and bass. However, during the
chorus, the guitar plays the chords as shown.
Note also the funky "Sleeping children.." bit. On the album, there
is definitely a chord change implied from A to G (by the wah-wah
guitar and possibly the keyboards) but the main guitar and bass
play the same thing under both chords, which kind of confuses the
ear. You can approximate what s happening like this
into the fog where no one notices the contrast of white on white.
And in between the moon and you the angels get a better view
of the crumbling difference between wrong and right
I walk in the air between the rain, through myself and back again
Where? I don t know
Maria says she s dying. Through the door, I hear her crying
Why? I don t know
Round here we always stand up straight
Round here something radiates
Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand
She said she d like to meet a boy who looks like Elvis
She walks along the edge of where the ocean meets the land
Just like she s walking on a wire in the circus
She parks her car outside of my house Takes her clothes off,
Says she s close to understanding Jesus
She knows she s more than just a little misunderstood
She has trouble acting normal when she s nervous
Round here we re carving out our names
Round here we all look the same
Round here we talk just like lions
But we sacrifice like lambs
Round here she s slipping through my hands / / Oh...
Sleeping children got to run like the wind Out of the lightning dream
Mama s little baby better get herself in Out of the lightning
She says, "It s only in my head."
She says, "Shhh...I know it s only in my head."
But the girl on the car in the parking lot
says: "Man, you should try to take a shot
Can t you see my walls are crumbling?"
Then she looks up at the building she says she s thinking of jumping
She says she s tired of life; she must be tired of something.
Round here she s always on my mind
Round here I got lots of time
Round here we re never sent to bed early
Nobody makes us wait
Round here we stay up very very very very late
I can t see nothing, nothing around here
You catch me if I m falling, you catch me if I m falling
Will you catch me cause I m falling down round here
I said I m under the gun round here
I m innocent, I m under the gun round here
I can t see nothing, nothing round here.
------------------------------------------------------
-- OMAHA -- Counting Crows
From: [email protected] (Bruce S. Tobin),
These chords were figured out by Matt Fleming.
Further corrections by Paul Hutchinson.
This was orginally posted with no capo. I have been informed that the
Crows play it with a capo on 2 and I found that it makes it a lot easier
to play. I have changed the file to be played with a capo on II.
Note the A chord in the verse. At times, if you sing it by yourself, it
will sound like it should be an Am, but I assure you that it should
definitely be an A. If you play it as Asus2, it might make things easier.
Intro:
Start tearing the old man down
Run past the heather and down to the old road
Start turning the grain into the ground
Roll a new leaf over
In the middle of the night there s an old man
Treading around in the gathered rain
Well mister if you want to walk on water
Could you drop a line my way
Chorus:
Omaha
Somewhere in middle America
Get right to the heart of matters
It s the heart that matters more
I think you d better turn your ticket in
And get your money back at the door
Verse 2:
Start threading a needle
Brush past the shuttle that slides through the cold room
Start turning the wool across the wire
Roll the new life over
In the middle of the night there s an old man
Threading his toes through a bucket of rain
Hey mister you don t want to walk on water
You re only going to walk all over me
[Chorus]
[Bridge chords] x 4
Verse 3:
Start running the banner down
Drop past the color come up through the summer rain
Start turning the girl into the ground
Roll a new love over
In the middle of the day there s a young man
Rolling around in the earth and rain
Hey mister if you re going to walk on water, you know
You re only going to walk all over me
----------------------------------------------
-- MR. JONES -- Counting Crows
From: [email protected] (D Morgan)
Corrections by Eric Simon and Ken McLeod.
sha la la la la la la uh huh...
I was down at the New Amsterdam staring at this yellow-haired girl
Mr. Jones strikes up a conversation with this black-haired flamenco dancer
She dances while his father plays guitar. She s suddenly beautiful
We all want something beautiful I wish I was beautiful
So come dance this silence down through the morning
*
sha la la la la la la la yeah uh huh...
Cut up, Maria! Show me some of them Spanish dances
Pass me a bottle, Mr. Jones
Believe in me Help me believe in anything
(cause) I want to be someone who believes
Mr. Jones and me tell each other fairy tales
Stare at the beautiful women
"She s looking at you. Ah, no, no, she s looking at me."
Smiling in the bright lights Coming through in stereo
When everybody loves you, you can never be lonely
I will paint my picture Paint myself in blue and red and black and gray
All of the beautiful colors are very very meaningful
*
(you know) Gray is my favorite color I felt so symbolic yesterday
If I knew Picasso I would buy myself a gray guitar and play
Mr. Jones and me look into the future
Stare at the beautiful women
"She s looking at you. Uh, I don t think so. She s looking at me."
Standing in the spotlight I bought myself a gray guitar
When everybody loves me, I will never be lonely
I will never be lonely
I will never be lonely
I want to be a lion Everybody wants to pass as cats
We all want to be big big stars, but we got different reasons for that.
Believe in me because I don t believe in anything
and I want to be someone to believe, to believe, to believe.
Mr. Jones and me stumbling through the barrio
Yeah we stare at the beautiful women
"She s perfect for you, Man, there s got to be somebody for me."
I want to be Bob Dylan
Mr. Jones wishes he was someone just a little more funky
When everybody loves you, son, that s just about as funky as you can be.
Mr. Jones and me staring at the video
When I look at the television, I want to see me staring right back at me.
We all want to be big stars, but we don t know why, and we don t know how.
But when everybody loves me, I m going to be just about as happy as I can
be.
Mr. Jones and me, we re gonna be big stars.....
CHORDS: x32010 x33211 320003
x02210 x00231
(*) The following fill is used at a couple of points in the song,
marked with an asterisk.
--------------------------------------------------
-- PERFECT BLUE BUILDINGS -- Counting Crows
From: Ken McLeod
(NB You will notice that some lines in some verses have an Am at the end
of them, and others don t. A general guide is, if the words stop on
the Bb chord, then stay on Bb, and don t play Am)
Intro pattern (repeat 2x)**
E|--------------------1---------| **also play at end of first chorus
B|------------------3---3----3--|
G|---------------2---------2----|
D|--0-(let ring)----------------|
A|------------------------------|
E|------------------------------|
Bb
Just down the street from your hotel, baby Bb
I stay at home with my disease Bb
And ain t this position familiar, darling Bb
Well, all monkeys do what they see GmBb
Help me stay awake, I m falling...
Down on Virginia and La Loma
Where I got friends who ll care for me
You got an attitude of everything I ever wanted
I got an attitude of need
Help me stay awake, I m falling...
CHORUS: Gm
Asleep in perfect blue buildings Gm
Beside the green apple sea GmBb
Gonna get me a little oblivion, baby Bb 1.| ** 2.|
Try to keep myself away from | me | (myself and) me
| |
It s 4:30 A.M. on a Tuesday
It doesn t get much worse than this
In beds in little rooms in buildings in the middle
of these lives which are completely meaningless
Help me stay awake, I m falling...
(CHORUS)
INSTRUMENTAL: (each chord is held for a bar) GmBb GmBb
I got bones beneath my skin, and mister...
There s a skeleton in every man s house
Beneath the dust and love and sweat that hangs on everybody
There s a dead man trying to get out
Please help me stay awake, I m falling...
(CHORUS) x 3
-------------------------------------------
-- ANNA BEGINS -- Counting Crows
From: Ken McLeod
Corrections by Paul Hutchinson.
(verses Ams2 x02200 - G 320003)
Ams2
My friend assures me, "It s all or nothing."
I am not worried, I am not overly concerned
Ams2
My friend implores me, "For one time only,
make an exception." I am not worried
Wrap her up in a package of lies
Send her off to a coconut island
I am not worried, I am not overly concerned
With the status of my emotions
"Oh," she says, you re changing
But we re always changing
It does not bother me to
Say this isn t love Cmaj7D13
Because if you don t want to talk about it then it isn t love Cmaj7D13
And I guess I m going to have to live with that Cmaj7
But I m sure there s something in a shade of grey D13
Or something in between Cmaj7D13
And I can always change my name if that s what you mean
[2nd verse]
My friend assures me "It s all or nothing"
But I am not really worried I am not overly concerned
You try to tell yourself the things you try to tell yourself
To make yourself forget, I am not worried
[Bridge]
"If it s love," she said, "then we re gonna have to think about the
consequences."
She can t stop shaking, I can t stop touching her and..
(Chorus 320033 - Csus2 x32033 - Am7s4 x02233 - xx0232 - Em7 xx2033) Csus2 Am7s4
This time when kindness falls like rain it washes her away Csus2Em7Dsus4
And Anna begins to change her mind Csus2 Am7s4 Dsus4Csus2
"These seconds when I m shaking leave me shuddering for days" Em7Dsus4
And I m not ready for this sort of thing
[3rd verse]
But I m not gonna break
And I m not going to worry about it anymore
I m not going to bend, and I m not going to break and I m
not going to worry about it anymore
It seems like I should say, As long as this is love...
But it s not all that easy so maybe I should
Snap her up in a butterfly net
Pin her down in a photograph album
I am not worried - I ve done this sort of thing before
[Bridge]
But then I start to think about the consequences
Because I don t get no sleep in a quiet room and..
[Chorus]
This time when kindness falls like rain it washes me away
And Anna begins to change my mind
And every time she sneezes I believe it s love
and Oh Lord, I m not ready for this sort of thing
She s talking in her sleep
It s keeping me awake
And Anna begins to toss and turn
And every word is nonsense but I understand and
Oh lord I m not ready for this sort of thing
Her kindness bangs a gong
It s moving me along
And Anna begins to fade away
It s chasing me away it disappears and
Oh lord, I m not ready for this sort of thing
This appears in the second verse - the first half of the first verse has
no guitar (the bass carries the accompaniment) and for the second half of
it, the guitar plays only the first 2 notes over the Ams2 chords. Repeat
throughout.
NB You should play the tab rather than chords over the verse, but if
you do play chords, use these - F/C x33210 C x32010
F/CF/C
I wanted so badly Somebody other than me F/CF/C
Staring back at me But you were gone, gone, gone F/C
I wanted to see you walking backwards F/C
And get the sensation of you coming home F/C
I wanted to see you walking away from me F/C
Without the sensation of you leaving me alone
CHORUS:
Time and time again Time and time again
Time and time again I can t please myself
Intro pattern x 2
F/C
I wanted the ocean to cover over me F/C
I wanna sink slowly without getting wet F/C
Maybe someday, I won t be so lonely F/C
And I ll walk on water every chance I get
(CHORUS)
GmBb GmBb
So when are you coming home Sweet angel? GmBbC/E
You leaving me alone? / All alone? GmBbF/C
Well if I m drowning darling, you ll come down this way on your own
Intro pattern x 2
F/C
I wish I was traveling on a freeway F/C
Beneath this graveyard western sky F/C
I m gonna set fire to this city F/C
And out into the desert we re gonna ride
(CHORUS)
(SOLO) - Same chords as chorus.
(CHORUS)
-------------------------------------------
There is a second guitar in the song which plays fills and the solo
at the end. During verse 1, from the first I wanted to see onwards,
it plays the following over the F/C chords
+ + + +
E-----------------|
B---1-------------|
G--2--------------|
D-----------------|
A-----------------|
E-----------------|
During the choruses it connects the Dm and C chords with
+ C +
E--1p0-----|------------
B------3---|---------1--
G----------|-0----------
D----------|------------
A----------|------------
E----------|------------
Over the bridges before the 2nd and third verse, and during the third
verse and the second half of the second, it plays the following,
repeating throughout.
+ + + + + + + +
E-----------------|-----------------|
B---1-------------|---1-------------|
G--2--------------|--0--------------|
D-----------------|-----------------|
A-----------------|-----------------|
E-----------------|-----------------|
Note: the timing of the words to the chord changes is approximate,
because the singer uses very elastic phrasing.This is how I do it.
[verse]
When I think of heaven
Deliver me in a black-winged bird
I think of flying down into a sea of pens and feathers
And all other instruments of faith and sex and God
In the belly of a black-winged bird.
Don t try to feed me
I ve been here before E
And I deserve a little more
[chorus] E
I belong in the service of the Queen E
I belong anywhere but in between E
She s been crying and I ve been thinking E
And I am the Rain King
[verse] E
And I said mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone?
I can t go outside
I m scared I might not make it home
I m alive, I m alive
But I m sinking in
If there s anyone at home at your place, darling
Why don t you invite me in?
Don t try to bleed me
I ve been there before E
And I deserve a little more
[chorus] E
I belong in the service of the Queen E
I belong anywhere but in between E
She s been lying and I ve been sinking E
And I am the Rain King
[bridge]
Hey, I only want the same as anyone
Henderson is waiting for the sun
Oh, it seems night endlessly begins and ends
After all the dreaming I come home again
repeat 2x here
[verse]
When I think of heaven
Deliver me in a black-winged bird
I think of dying
Lay me down in a field of flame and heather
Render up my body into the burning heart of God
In the belly of a black-winged bird
Don t try to bleed me
I ve been here before E
And I deserve a little more
[chorus] E
I belong in the service of the queen E
I belong anywhere but in between E
She s been dying and I ve been drinking E
And I am the Rain King
---------------------------------------------
-- SULLIVAN STREET -- Counting Crows
From: [email protected] (Stephen Thompson)
Corrections by Paul Hutchinson and Preserved Moose
Intro: D Gmaj7 x 4
Gmaj7Gmaj7
Take the way home that leads back to Sullivan Street Gmaj7Gmaj7
Cross the water and home through the town Gmaj7Gmaj7
Past the shadows that fall down wherever we meet Gmaj7Gmaj7
Pretty soon I won t come around
Take the way home that leads back to Sullivan Street
Where all the bodies hang in the air
If she remembers, she hides it whenever we meet
Either way now, I don t really care, cause I m gone from there
[Chorus]
Take the way home that leads back to Sullivan Street
I m just another rider burned to the ground, come tumbling down
Chorus:
I m almost drowning in her sea
She s nearly crawling on her knees Gmaj7
It s almost everything I need
Gmaj7Gmaj7
I m down on my knees I m down on my knees Gmaj7Gmaj7Gmaj7
I m down on my knees I m down on my knees
Down on my knees
[Ken sent me an article that was posted a while back: - sv]
Just to expand a little further, while playing the D chord during the
verses, it sounds like he may be occasionally pulling off the 1st string
(2nd fret), then hammering on again for the next strum.
Here s an attempt to tab the the way I m currently playing it, with bass
notes added for the piano chord part (sounds ok to my ears, although I
haven t worked it out to see if it s correct.) Your mileage may vary.
Feel free to jump in and correct me, show me a different way, etc.
V = pluck bass notes together
/ = strum top three strings, alternating up & down strums
D4
V / / / / / / / V V / / / / / / / V V
E|----|-2-0h2--2-2-2-2------|-2-0h2--2-2-2-2------|
B|----|-3-3-3--3-3-3-3------|-3-3-3--3-3-3-3------|
G|--2-|-2-2-2--2-2-2-2--2-0-|-0-0-0--0-0-0-0--0-2-|
D|--0-|-----------------0---|-------------------0-|
A|----|-------------------2-|-----------------2---|
E|----|---------------------|---------------------|
Take the way home that leads back
to Sullivan Street ...
In the change from D to D4, your index finger moves from the G string
down to the A string, then back. Of course, this whole sequence isn t
strictly repeated over and over... sometimes there are the little
piano runs in between, and so on.
-------------------------------------------------------
-- GHOST TRAIN -- Counting Crows
From: Paul Hutchinson
NB The verses of this are a bit harmonically strange in that, like Round
Here and Time and Time Again, the guitar is not playing chords during
the verses, and so the bass carries the song rather a lot. However, I
get the impression that the verses are based on Dm the whole way
through, with the bass guitar playing Ds and Fs (and a G just before
the first verse). This should make the song horribly boring for you if
you re trying to play it by yourself without a bass guitarist, but
them s the breaks.
On the album, the guitar and some other strange instrument are messing
about with the following notes during the verses - listen to the tape
to get a better idea:
======
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
|||x|x
||x|x|
|||x||
Intro:
| | / | | /G |
I took the cannonball down to the ocean
Across the desert from sea to shining sea
I rode a ladder that climbs across the nation C/G
Fifty million feet of earth between the buried and me
She buys a ticket cause it s cold where she comes from
She climbs aboard because she s scared of getting older in the snow
Love is a ghost train rumbling through the darkness C/G
Hold on to me darling I ve got nowhere else to go
I took the cannonball down to the ocean
Watched the diesel disappear beneath the tumbling waves
Love is a ghost train howling on the radio C/G
"Remember everything." she said, "when only memory remains."
----------------------------------------------------
-- RAINING IN BALTIMORE -- Counting Crows
From: Ken McLeod
Corrections by Paul Hutchinson
Bb
This circus is falling down on its knees Bb
The big top is crumbling down Bb
It s raining in Baltimore fifty miles east Bb
Where you should be, no one s around
Bb
I need a phone call Bb
I need a raincoat Bb
I need a big love Bb
I need a phone call
These train conversations are passing me by
And I don t have nothing to say
You get what you pay for
But I just had no intention of living this way
I need a phone call
I need a plane ride
I need a sunburn
I need a raincoat Bb
And I get no answers Bb
And I don t get no change Bb
It s raining in Baltimore, baby Bb
But everything else is the same
There s things I remember and things I forget
I miss you, I guess that I should
Three thousand five hundred miles away
But what would you change if you could?
I need a phone call; Maybe I should buy a new car;
I can always hear a freight train; If I listen real hard
And I wish it was a small world
Because I m lonely for the big towns
I d like to hear a little guitar
I think it s time to put the top down
I need a phone call
I need a raincoat
I really need a raincoat
I really, really need a raincoat
I really, really, really need a raincoat
I really need a raincoat
----------------------------------------------
-- MURDER OF ONE -- Counting Crows
From: Steve Vetter
Corrected by Paul Hutchinson
lyrics from cs.uwp.edu
This is played in D with a capo at the 4th fret. The As can be exchanged
for Asus2s whenever you feel like it.
Dsus2Gmaj7
All your life is such a shame, shame, shame Dsus2Gmaj7
All your love is just a dream, dream, dream
Are you happy when you re sleeping?
Does he keep you safe and warm?
Does he tell you when you re sorry?
Does he tell you when you re wrong?
I ve been watching you for hours
It s been years since we were born
We were perfect when we started
I ve been wondering where we ve gone
All your life is such a shame
All your love is just a dream
I dreamt I saw you walking up a hillside in the snow
Casting shadows on the winter sky as you stood there counting crows
One for sorrow Two for joy, Three for girls and four for boys A/C#
Five for silver Six for gold and Seven for a secret never to be told
There s a bird that nests inside you
Sleeping underneath your skin
When you open up your wings to speak
I wish you d let me in
All your life is such a shame
All your love is just a dream
Open up your eyes
You can see the flames of your wasted life
You should be ashamed
You don t want to waste your life
I walk along these hillsides In the summer neath the sunshine
I am feathered by the moonlight falling down on me
Change, change, change
NB This figure appears and is played constantly from
I walk these hillsides onwards.
------------------------------------------------------
-- EINSTEIN ON THE BEACH -- Counting Crows
from the DGC Rarities Disk, Volume I
From: Mark Bentley
(1st Verse)
[Bouncy EEB]
Albert s always sincere, he s a sensivitive type
His intentions are clear, he wanna be well-liked
Better think of nothing, all are we anything (???)
Better to be better than to be anything
(2nd Verse)
Einstein down on the beach staring into the sand
It s everything he believes in has been shattered
What you fear in the night in the day comes to call anyway-ay
We all get burned as:
(Bridge) EEB
One more sun comes sliding down the sky
Dust me off and shut me down
And dream of where I haven t been
Close the door inside my heart
Stuck in the south Atlantic wind
I have hollow eyes
Haunting only to myself
Even so, I can t stop calling
This great big hollows in my self
I took the train form California
To the far side of the continent
Woke up in Kentucky
Where a wedding was about to end
I looked up at Anna
She turned back to look at me
It s best to kill the ones that matter
Render blind the ones who see
But oh, Marjorie
Takes the blade and walks away from me
Oh, Marjorie
Love like blood is pouring out of me
Oh, Marjorie
My heart won t stop bleeding over me baby
[solo over F#m and B?]
Oh, I can t shut it in
It s got far too many doors to block the wind
Oh, I can t shut it in
It s got far too many doors to block the wind
-------------------------------------------------
-- GOODNIGHT, ELIZABETH -- Counting Crows
Unreleased Concert Staple
From: Steve Vetter [[email protected]]
with help from an anonymous post.
Waiting on a train E
I woke up in pieces and Elizabeth
Had disappeared again
I wish you were inside of me
Hope that you re OK
I hope that you re resting quietly
I just wanted to say
Chorus:
Good, Goodnight, Elizabeth
Goodnight Elizabeth, Goodnight
Good, Goodnight, Elizabeth
Goodnight, Elizabeth, Goodnight
We couldn t all be cowboys
So some of us are clowns
Some of us are dancers on the midway
Roam from town to town
Well I hope that everybody
Can find a little flame
I say my prayers and I set myself one fire
And I walk out on the wire, once again
I said
[chorus]
Well I wait for you in Baton Rouge
I miss you down in New Orleans
I wait for you while she slips in something comfortable
And I miss you when I m slipping in between
If you wrap yourself in daffodils
I will wrap myself in pain
And If you re the Queen of California
Baby, I am the King of the Rain
/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/-
I Steve Vetter I "I m not the same I [email protected] I As I was long ago, /
I [email protected] I I ve learned some new things I
/ Elon College I And I hope that it shows..."
I Alpha Kappa Psi I -Neil Young (Homefires) I
-/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/