John Allyn Smith Sails Okkervil River
This is all my original work. It was transcribed both by ear
and by examining live performances of Will Sheff and his band
playing this song, so naturally it is consistent with what he
plays live. This is a fantastic song despite the dark subject
matter and I hope all of you enjoy playing and singing this song!
At the beginning I've drawn up a general outline of the chord
progressions for each part, to ease memorization. This song can
get a little convoluted given Will Sheff's writing style, but
I've tried to minimize that as much as possible. To do this, I
have attempted to label the parts as verses, choruses, etc.
but don't hold it against me if those aren't the correct names
of the parts, this song is a little unconventional in that it's
hard to determine the parts of it.
IMPORTANT: Capo at 2nd fret
Tuning: Standard
Verses:
[D] [A] [Bm] [G] [A] [D]
Ending of each verse:
[Em]
Bridge:
[Bm] [G] [A]
Ending of 3rd bridge:
[Em] [F#] [G] [A]
Pre-chorus and chorus:
[D] [G] [D] [G]
[D] [G] [D] [G]
[D] [G] [D] [A]
[D] [G] [D] [G]
[D] [A] [D]
Intro:
e|--------------------| B|--------------------| G|--------------------| D|--------------0-----| A|--0--2--4--0--------| E|--------------------|
Verse 1:
[D]By the second [A]verse, dear friends
My [Bm]head will burst, my [G]life will end
So, I'd [A]like to start this one off by saying
[D]"Live and love"
[D]I was young and at [A]home in bed
And I was [Bm]hanging on the words [G]some poem said
In [A]'31
I was [D]impressionable
I was [Em]upsettable
Bridge:
I tried to [Bm]make my breathing s[G]top, my heart beat s[A]low
So, when my [Bm]mom and John came in[G], I would be co[A]ld
Verse 2:
[D]From a bridge on Washington [A]Avenue,
The [Bm]year of 19[G]72
Broke my[A] bones and skull,
and it was[D] memorable
It was [D]half a second in; I was [A]halfway down-
Do you [Bm]think I wanted to [G]turn back around
and [A]teach a class
Where you [D]kiss the ass
that I've ex[Em]posed to you?
Bridge:
And at the [Bm]funeral, the [G]Universi[A]ty
Cried at three [Bm]poems they'd [G]present in place of a[A] broken me
Verse 3:
[D]I was breaking in a [A]case of suds
At the [Bm]Brass Rail, a [G]fall-down drunk
with his [A]tongue torn out
and his [D]balls removed
And I [D]knew that my last [A]lines were gone,
while [Bm]stupidly I [G]lingered on,
Oh, but [A]wise men know
when it's [D]time to go
And so [Em]I should, too
Bridge:
And so I [Bm]fly into the [G]brightest winter [A]sun
Of this [Bm]frozen town. I'm [G]stripped down to move [A]on,
my friends: I'm [Em]gone[F#] [G] [A]
Pre-chorus and Chorus:
Well, [D]I hear my fa[G]ther [D]fall[G]
And [D]I hear my mo[G]ther [D]call[G]
And [D]I hear the o[G]thers [D]all whisper "Come [A]home"
I'm sorry to [D]go[G] [D]
[D]I loved you all[G] so
But [D]this is the worst trip[A] I've ever been [D]on[G] [D]
So, [D]hoist up the John [G]B. [D]sail[G]
[D]See how the main [G]sail [D]sets[G]
I'm [D]full in my heart and [G]my [D]head and I wanna go [A]home
With a book in each [D]hand[G] [D]
[D]In the way I had [G]planned
Well, [D]this is the worst trip[A] I've ever been [D]on
So, [D]hoist up the John [G]B. [D]sail[G]
[D]See how the main [G]sail [D]sets[G]
I'm [D]full in my heart and [G]my [D]head and I wanna go [A]home
With a book in each [D]hand[G] [D]
[D]In the way I had [G]planned
I [D]feel so broke up,[A] I wanna go [D]home.
That's it, enjoy!
Important: The song above is NOT stored on the Chordie server. The original song is hosted at www.guitaretab.com. Chordie works as a search engine and provides on-the-fly formatting. Chordie does not index songs against artists'/composers' will. To remove this song please click here.
