The Beach Song - lyrics and chords

Rhythmically, this is essentially a very slow 12/8 shuffle, though the metre shifts a bit. Intro: Cmaj9 - Dsus2/C (D in first inversion: F#, A, D, E/C)

Jo's verse and chorus:

Cmaj 9 Dsus2/C I was sitting in an empty playground Cmaj 9 Dsus2/C Amid signs of inclement weather Cluster (C#, D, G, D#, E) Watching the sun get swallowed B minor 6sus4 By the darkening clouds (A, D, G, D, E) Before trudging home at last

Cmaj 9 Dsus2/C I walked back the very next morning, Cmaj 9 Dsus2/C But was stopped by an uprooted tree. Cluster (C#, D, G, D#, E) I thought: 'how long 'till the Council B minor 6sus4 Destroys this, (A, D, G, D, E) The legacy of a storm just passed?

E minor 9 (6th string ... E5 plus the open G string and D on the third fret of the B string) They tell us renewal's a cycle: Eb minor 9 The background becoming foreground E minor 9 To saw we're losing more ground Emaj7/D (Emaj7 shell in 4th inversion: D, D#, G#, E).

As the Anthropocene grinds on

E minor 9 (6th string) So I pray my electric bike'll Eb minor 9 Affect the gas clouds in New Delhi, E minor 9 But the planet's growing smelly F# minor 11

While the wheel of my bike winds on... F#maj7/D

And it's far beyond my pay grade Abmaj7/D To be part of the solution

[didn't write the chords down] So I dream of revolution, As that tree gets carted away.

Repeat intro chords for the dialogue (C maj 9 - Dsus2/C).

Cmaj 9 Dsus2/C As a kid, Mum brewed pots of coffee Cmaj 9 Dsus2/C Doing chores for the local MP...

Pandora's verse B minor 7 C# minor 7

My whānau come from Southeast Asia, Eb7/Ab Db7/Gb

But they've stayed for a hundred years. D C#m

Now I'm too Kiwi to really get them: B minor E minor

The bananafied Weetbix kid.

B minor 7 C# minor 7

Oh, sure, I can speak the language, Eb7/Ab Db7/Gb

So long as it's Cantonese;           Cluster (C#, D, G, D#, E)

But their antics amuse and disgust me, (A, D, G, D, E) Like those tiles on a mahjong grid.

E minor 9 (6th string) When you grow up disconnected Eb minor 9 From the fabric of our cities E minor 9 You ignore the dumb committees Emaj7/D

That tell you that you've gotta fit in

E minor 9 (6th string) And you're always unexpected, Eb minor 9 So the bosses who employ you E minor 9 Become dicks that can destroy you F# minor 11

Cos of the colour of your skin. F#maj7/D

And I don't give a fuck about paygrades, Abmaj7/D Or dreams of revolution, But I want some retribution, For the lies I take on the chin.

Repeat intro chords for the dialogue (C maj 9 - Dsus2/C).

Final verse (Pandora):

Cmaj 9 Dsus2/C

So I really hope we make a difference,

Cmaj 9 Dsus2/C

Instead of dying in the rising sea,

Cluster (C#, D, G, D#, E)

Cos the road ahead

B minor 6sus4 Is getting cloudy (A, D, G, D, E)

And who knows if we're going to swim?

Cmaj 9 Dsus2/C

It's nice you can stare out at the ocean,

Cmaj 9 Dsus2/C

But I can't get my Mum to bail me out.

Cluster (C#, D, G, D#, E)

So grow up and become

B minor 6sus4

A new leader,

(A, D, G, D, E)

Instead of living from whim to whim.

Climax: (Eb minor 9 - Em 9 - F# minor 11 ... bridge chords).

Outro: same as the intro (C maj 9, Dsus2/C).

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In terms of the picking pattern, this actually is largely reverse sweeps mixed with the clawhammer-type technique that I use. It's in 4, but you count 3 between the beats (that's what 12/8 means).

So, it goes Thumb, sweep, 3, Thumb, sweep, 3 ... I'm not going to indicate them, but not all of the strums use the top string, so sometimes it's sweeping from the B string instead.