This one suddenly came to me while playing some Dire Straits...
The original is on piano, but this is nice to play on an acoustic as a
solo folk song (the last verse can be played with some distortion to go
with the tone of the lyrics). I've tabbed this out in the key of G because
I naturally sing low and it's how I remember the song, but feel free to
transpose it to A if you can sing like Don. If so, then play as follows:
G becomes A
C becomes D
D becomes E
Em becomes F#m
Bm becomes C#m
That's it! Here's the song. Apparently, this was inspired by Don's
grandfather and his experiences farming. Think of it as a soft-rock
counterpoint to "Foreclosure of a Dream" :-)
G (can play C here, but not necessary)
I used to work for Harvester,
[G]I used to use my hands,
[C]I used to build the tractors and the combines,
that [D]plowed and harvested this great land...
Now I [Em]see my handiwork [C]on the block
[Em]Everywhere I [Bm]turn,
[Em]And I see the clouds cross the [C]weathered faces,
And I [Bm]watched the harvest [D]burn...
That's essentially it, as all the verses can be played with the same basic
progression
(G / C / D followed by Em / C / Em / Bm / Em / C / Bm and end on D)
At the end (after "I don't see next year's crop"), return to the second
progression:
And I [Em]sit here in my [C]back porch in the twilight,
And I [Em]hear the crickets [Bm]hum...
Sit an[Em]d watch the [C]lightning in the distance,
but the [Bm]showers never [D]come...
I [Em]sit here and [C]listen to the wind blow,
I [Em]sit here and [Bm]rub my hands,
I [Em]sit here and [C]listen to the clock strike,
Bm C (end on C)
And wonder when I'll see my com-panion again..
That's about it. Economically and politically a bit dated, I guess, but
still packs a punch musically.
- G.
The original is on piano, but this is nice to play on an acoustic as a
solo folk song (the last verse can be played with some distortion to go
with the tone of the lyrics). I've tabbed this out in the key of G because
I naturally sing low and it's how I remember the song, but feel free to
transpose it to A if you can sing like Don. If so, then play as follows:
G becomes A
C becomes D
D becomes E
Em becomes F#m
Bm becomes C#m
That's it! Here's the song. Apparently, this was inspired by Don's
grandfather and his experiences farming. Think of it as a soft-rock
counterpoint to "Foreclosure of a Dream" :-)
G (can play C here, but not necessary)
I used to work for Harvester,
[G]I used to use my hands,
[C]I used to build the tractors and the combines,
that [D]plowed and harvested this great land...
Now I [Em]see my handiwork [C]on the block
[Em]Everywhere I [Bm]turn,
[Em]And I see the clouds cross the [C]weathered faces,
And I [Bm]watched the harvest [D]burn...
That's essentially it, as all the verses can be played with the same basic
progression
(G / C / D followed by Em / C / Em / Bm / Em / C / Bm and end on D)
At the end (after "I don't see next year's crop"), return to the second
progression:
And I [Em]sit here in my [C]back porch in the twilight,
And I [Em]hear the crickets [Bm]hum...
Sit an[Em]d watch the [C]lightning in the distance,
but the [Bm]showers never [D]come...
I [Em]sit here and [C]listen to the wind blow,
I [Em]sit here and [Bm]rub my hands,
I [Em]sit here and [C]listen to the clock strike,
Bm C (end on C)
And wonder when I'll see my com-panion again..
That's about it. Economically and politically a bit dated, I guess, but
still packs a punch musically.
- G.
