Mary Chapin Carpenter – This Shirt (Guitar)

Capo 5
Key
-
Versions (3)

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Chords

A few notes: For the fingerpicking, you can hear on the record that the she lets the high E-string ring out during all of the chords. If you want to emulate this, use an Fmaj7 chord and a G6 chord rather than the standard F and G. I play the Fmaj7 as a Hendrix-style bar chord. However, when she plays it live, she plays a non-barred version of the Fmaj7. Since she’s playing with a band, she doesn’t have to worry about the root note which the bassist plays. I find that, when playing solo, the Fmaj7 bar chord sound the best because it includes the root. In order to play the bar chord shapes, you’ll need to wrap your thumb around to fret the low-E string. Note: I’ve also included the chord-shape for a G6 Hendrix-bar because it’s easy to just slide your F shape up. But you can play it as a regular G6 (what she is doing) instead.
Bar chord types      |     Non-bar version
Fmaj7   G6                   Fmaj7    G6
-0-     -0-                   -0-     -0-

-1-     -3- pointer           -1-     -0-
-2-     -4- middle            -2-     -0-
-3-     -5- pinky             -3-     -0-
-3-     -5- ring              -x-     -2-
-1-     -3- thumb             -x-     -3-

Other chords:
Use thumb to fret low-E string for D9/F#. Use pinky for Am/G. Use ring for C/G.
  D9/F#           Am/G           C/G            C/B
   -0-            -0-            -0-            -0-
   -1- pointer    -1- pointer    -1- pointer    -1- pointer
   -2- middle     -2- ring       -0-            -0-
   -0-            -2- middle     -2- middle     -2- ring
    x             -0-            -3- pinky      -2- middle
   -2- thumb      -3- pinky      -3- ring        x
If you intend to play it finger style like the record, this is the pattern for the intro:
  C
e ---------0--------------
B ---------------1--------
G ---0-----------------0--
D ------2-----------2-----    x3
A -3----------3-----------
E ------------------------

  C/B
e ---------0---------------
B ---1-----------1---------
G --------------------0----
D ------2-----------2------
A -2----------2------------
E -------------------------
The picking pattern is pretty similar throughout. If you learn the pattern that is played on the C chord above (the one repeated 3 times, not the C/B), you can use that for the rest of the chords. Just remember to pick the low E-string rather than the A-string when fingerpicking the F and G chords so you’re getting the root. [Intro] C C/B C C/B [Verse 1]
C
This shirt is old and faded

                C/B         C
All the color's washed away
I've had it now for more damn years
                 C/B    Am
Than I can count anyway

             Am/G           F
I wear it beneath my jacket

                G             Am
With the collar turned up high

         Am/G               F
So old I should replace it

    G                C
But I'm not about to try
C/B [Verse 2]
C
This shirt's got silver buttons

              C/B           C
And a place upon the sleeve
Where I used to set my heart up
             C/B            Am
Right there anyone could see

                  Am/G
This shirt is the one I wore to

F             G                Am
every boring high school dance

                  Am/G
Where the boys ignored the girls

        F               G             C
And we all pretended to like the band
C/B [Bridge]
Em                 F             C
This shirt was a pillow for my head

                   G
On a train through Italy

Em                F                  C
This shirt was a blanket beneath the love

           G
We made in Argeles

Em              F                    C
This shirt was lost for three whole days

              G
In a town near Buffalo

Am                 C/G
'Till I found the locker key

     D9/F#        G            C
In a downtown Trailways bus depot
C/B C C/B [Verse 4]
C
This shirt was the one I lent you

             C/B          C
And when you gave it back
It had a rip inside the sleeve
                      C/B        Am
Where you rolled your cigarettes

                   Am/G
It was the place I put my heart

F                     G          Am
Now look at where you put a tear

               Am/G
I forgave your thoughtlessness

    F               G
But not the boy who put it there
[Bridge]
Em                 C
This shirt was the place your cat

F               G             Em
Decided to give birth to five

                  C
And we stayed up all night watching

       F              G             Em
And we wept when the last one died

               C           F
This shirt is just an old faded

         G
piece of cotton

Am               C/G      D9/F#
Shining like the memories

      G              C
Inside those silver buttons
C/B C C/B [Verse 5]
C
This shirt is a grand old relic

                  C/B    C
With a grand old history
I wear it now for Sunday chores
                    C/B          Am
Cleaning house and raking leaves

          Am/G               F
I wear it beneath my jacket

                G              Am
With the collar turned up high

         Am/G               F
So old I should replace it

        G            C
But I'm not about to try
[Outro] C/B | C | C/B | C | C/B | C | C/B | C | C/B | C Tab by ARTIE SIMON