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HAMMER AND A NAIL (Emily Saliers)
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[Actually in B; capo 4.]
[Each chord is about half a measure, except in the instrumental parts.
"Ds" is really Dsus4; "Cs9" is Csus9.]
[See the tablature at the end of the file for chord fingerings in the verse.]
G Ds Em7|Em7 C(9) G|G Ds Cs9|Cs9 | G Ds Em7|Em7 C(9) G|G Ds Cs9|Cs9 |
[intro; see tab at bottom]
G Dsus Em7 C(9) G Dsus Em7 C(9)
Clearing webs from a hovel a blistered hand on the handle of a shovel
G Dsus Em7 Em7 Csus9 Csus9 Csus9 Csus9
I ve been digging too deep, I always do
G Dsus Em7 C(9) G Dsus Em7 C(9)
I see my face on the surface; I look a lot like Narcissus
G Dsus Em7 Em7 Csus9 Csus9 Csus9 Csus9
A dark abyss of an emptiness standing on the edge of a drowning blue
Em9 Em9 C(9) C(9) Em9 Em9 C(9) C(9)/B
I look behind my ears for the green, and even my sweat smells clean
Am Am/B C A D D(9)/C G/B G/D
Glare off the white hurts my eyes Gotta get out of
G D C(9) D G D C(9) D
bed, get a hammer and a nail, learn how to use my hands; Not just my
G D C(9) C(9) Am Am Em7 Em7
head, I ll think myself into jail; Now I know a refuge never grows from a chin
C C A A C(9) C(9) C(9) C(9)
in a hand in a thoughtful pose; Gotta tend the earth if you want a rose
G Ds Em7|Em7 C(9) G|G Ds Cs9|Cs9 |
[instrumental, same as intro]
I had a lot of good intentions; sit around for fifty years and then
collect a pension
Started seeing the road to hell and just where it starts
But my life is more than a vision; the sweetest part is acting after
making a decision
I started seeing the whole as a sum of its parts
I look behind my ears for the green, and even my sweat smells clean
Glare off the white hurts my eyes
Gotta get out of bed, get a hammer and a nail, learn how to use my hands
Not just my head, I ll think myself into jail; now I know a refuge never grows
From a chin in a hand in a thoughtful pose
Gotta tend the earth if you want a rose
My life is part of the global life; I d found myself becoming more immobile
When I d think a little girl in the world can t do anything
A distant nation my community, a street person my responsibility
If I have a care in the world I have a gift to bring
I look behind my ears for the green, and even my sweat smells clean
Glare off the white hurts my eyes
Gotta get out of bed, get a hammer and a nail, learn how to use my hands
Not just my head, I ll think myself into jail; now I know a refuge never grows
From a chin in a hand in a thoughtful pose
Gotta tend the earth if you want a rose
G G/F# | G/F | C | Cm | G | D | G C | G.
[ending; see below]
INTRO:
G Ds Em7 C(9) G Ds Csus9
E 33x33|3x33|3x33|3 ||
B 33x33|3x33|3x33|3.||
G 00x20|0x00|0x25|5 ||
D 00x02|2x20|0x05|5.||
A 22x02|2x32|2x03|3 ||
E 330|03|3| ||
^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .
[Note that for most of this, your ring and pinky fingers never move.]
[If you don t like barre chords, play Csus9 as x30033.]
ENDING:
G G/F# G/F C Cm
E |||||
B |333|333=53|1011|11=31|
G 4|44|4|2|0|
D 5|544|33|2|11|
A |||||
E |||||
^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .
G D G C G
E ||3|3|
B 00|3|1|3|
G 0|24=20=2|0|0|
D 000=22|00|00=2|0|
A |||2|
A |||3|
^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .
- Adam Schneider, *