Verse:
G5
That young boy without a name
G5
anywhere, I'd know his face.
G (Em*) | * If solo acoustic, Em sounds better
In the city, than just playing 4 bars of G, but
G (Em ) | ?do as you see fit.?
The kid's my favorite. I?ve
C5
seen him , seen him.
D5 G5
Oh, I see him every day.
G5
G5 G5
I?ve seen him run outside looking for a place to hide
G5 ( E5 ) G5 ( E5 )
from his father, the kid half naked made me
C5 D5 G5
say to myself, ?Oh, what's the matter here?"
G5
I Am...
Chorus:
C5 D5 G5 ( E5 )
tired of the ex-c-u-s-e-s everybody uses, he's their
C5 D5 G5
kid, (so) I stay out of it, but..
C5 D5 G5 ( E5 )
who gave you the right to do
C5
this?
Verse:
G5
We live on Morgan Street,
just ten feet between.
( E5 )
And his mother,
I never see her, but her
C5
screams and curses,
D5 G5
I hear them every day.
G5
G5
Threats like: "If you don't mind
I will beat on your behind,"
( E5 )
"Slap you, I?ll
slap you silly." Made me
C5
say-ay-ay-ay,
D5 G5
?Oh, what's the matter here?!" I?m..
Chorus 2:
C5 D5 G5 ( E5 )
tired of the exc-u-s-e-s everybody uses, he's your
C5 D5 G5
kid, (so) do as you see fit, but
C5 D5 G5 ( E5 )
get this through that I don't approve of what you
C5 D5 G5
did to your own flesh and blood.
Solo: (over) G5 C5 D5
Chorus 3:
C5 D5 G5 ( E5 )
I'm tired of the excuses everybody uses, he's your
C5 D5 G5
kid, so do as you see fit, but
C5 D5 G5 ( E5 )
get this through that I don't approve of what you
C5 D5 G5
did to your own flesh and blood.
Interlude:
E5 G5 C5 G5
"If you don't sit in your chair straight, I?ll
E5 G5 C5 G5
take this belt from around my waist and
E5 G5 C5 G5
don't you think that I won't use it!"
(chorus chords continued through end)
C5 D5 G5 ( E5 )
Answer me and take your time, what could be the awful crime he
C5 D5 G5
could do at so young an age? And if I?m the
C5 D5 G5 ( E5 )
only witness to your madness offer me some words to balance
C5 D5 G5
out what I see and what I hear. Ohhh, these
C5 D5 G5 ( E5 )
cold and cruel things that you do, I sup(pose)
C5 D5 G5
you do them because he belongs to you. And, in-st(ead)
C5 D5 G5 ( E5 )
of love and the feeling of warmth, you offer him these cuts and sores that
C5 D5 G5
don?t heal with time or with age.
C5 D5 G5
And, I want to say I want to
(switch to chorus chords played like verse endings)
C5
say-ay-ay-ay
D5 G5
?Oh, what?s the matter here?!? But, I don?t dare
C5
say-ay-ay-ay
D5 G5
?What?s the matter here?!? No, I don?t dare
C5
say-ay-ayyyyyyyy-ayyyyyyyyyy
D G (1 strum , let ring)
-AYYYYY! it.
(End)
Notes:
I am shocked that this song isn?t available on major tab sites, so here?s a version
to get you started. This song can be played more accurately with a Capo on the 2nd
fret. However, I think it sounds great if played lower (matches my male vocals way
better anyway).
Also, I found myself getting lazy and playing the C as a Cadd9 (x32030) and the Em
as Em7 (022030). Since the other chords are D (x00232) and G (320033), this makes
sense in switching as you can just leave you ring finger on the B (2nd) string the
entire time. Similarly, the Em can be played as Em7 for the same reason.
I made up the ?interlude? section from memory without the CD to verify--so you may
be able to workout a better chord progression. If you do, please share the information.
Chords - suggested variants in parens ?()?:
G = 320003 (320033)
D5 = x00232
C5 = x32010 (x32033 or x32030)
Em(7) = 022000 (022033 or 022030)
* note the 3 is always played on 2nd string if suggested chords used.
