Joanna Newsom – Colleen (Guitar)
Key
-
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Speed:
1.0x
Chords
[Intro]
Em with improvisation into D chord notes
[Verse 1]
Em D Em I tell it as I best know how Em D Em And that's the way it was told to me Em G Must have once been a thief or a whore G F Eb B7 Then surely was thrown overboard B7 Where, they say Em D Em D I came their way from the deep blue sea Em D Em It picked me up and tossed me round Em D Em I lost my shoes and tore my gown Em I forgot my name G And drowned G F Eb B7 Then woke up with the surf a-pounding; B7 Em D Em D It seemed I had been run aground Em D Well they took me in and shod my feet A C Bb And taught me prayers for chastity F C Bb And said my name would be Colleen, and Dm G A B7 I was blessed among all women B7 Em D Em To have forgotten everything
Em Em Em D Em
Em Em Em D Em
[Verse 2]
Em D Em And as the weeks and months ensued Em D Em I tried to make myself of use Em G I tilled and planted, but could not produce-- G F Eb B7 Not root, nor leaf, nor flower, nor bean; Lord! Em D Em It seemed I overwatered everything Em D And I hate the sight of that empty air A C Bb Like stepping for a missing stair F C Bb And falling forth forever blindly: Dm G A B7 Cannot grab hold of anything! No Em D Em Not I, most blessed among Colleens
Em Em Em D Em
Em Em Em D Em
[Verse 3]
Em D Em I dream some nights of a funny sea Em D Em As soft as a newly born baby Em G It cries for me so pitifully! G F Eb B7 And I dive for my child with a wildness in me Em D Em And am so sweetly there received Em D But last night came a different dream: A C Bb A gray and sloping-shouldered thing F C Bb Said "What's cinched 'round your waist, Colleen? Dm G A B7 Is that my very own baleen? B7 Em D Em No! Have you forgotten everything?"
Em Em Em D Em
Em Em Em D Em
[Verse 4]
Em D Em This morning, 'round the cape at dawn Em D Em Some travellers sailed into town Em G With scraps for sale and the saddest songs G F Eb B7 And a book of pictures, leather-bound, that Em D Em Showed a whale with a tusk a metre long Em D I asked the man who showed it me A C Bb "What is the name of that strange beast?" F C Bb He said its name translated roughly to Dm G A B7 Em D Em He-Who-Easily-Can-Curve-Himself-Against-The-Sky D And I am without words A C Bb He said "My lady looks perturbed F C Bb (the light is in your eyes, Colleen)." Dm G A B7 I said, "Whatever can you mean?" B7 He leaned in and said Em D Em "You ain't forgotten everything."
Em Em Em D Em
Em Em Em D Em
[Verse 5]
Em Em D Em
Em Em D Em
Em D Em "You dare to speak a lady's name?" Em D Em He said, "My lady is mistaken Em G I would not speak your name in this place; G F Eb B7 For if I were to try then the wind--I swear-- Em D Em Would rise, to tear you clean from me without a trace." Em D "Have you come, then, to rescue me?" A C Bb He laughed and said, "From what, 'colleen'? F C Bb You dried and dressed most willingly Dm G A B7 You corseted, and caught the dread disease Em D Em By which one comes to know such peace." Em D Well, it's true that I came to know such things as A C Bb The laws that govern property F C Bb And the herbs to feed the babes that wean Dm G A B7 The welting weight for every season; B7 But still Em D Em I don't know any goddamned "Colleen"
Em Em Em D Em
Em Em Em D Em
[Verse 6]
Em D Then dive down there with the lights to lead A C Bb That seem to shine from everything-- F C Bb Down to the bottom of the deep blue sea; Dm G A B7 Down where your heart beats so slow Em D Em And you never in your life have felt so free D Will you come down there with me? A C Bb Down where our bodies start to seem like F C Bb Artifacts of some strange dream Dm G A B7 Which afterwards you can't decipher Em And so, soon, have forgotten D Em Everything
[Outro from "...thing"]
Em D A C Bb
F C Bb
Dm G Am B7
Em D A C Bb
F C Bb
Dm G Am B7
Em D A C Bb D