• Song:

    Chocolate Girl

  • Artist:

    Animal Collective

  • Album:

    Spirit They're Gone, Sp...

So most of this is right, or at least sounds right to me, except for the very end; 
I kinda just made up chords for the 'Little chocolate girl, won't you leave your 
name' part. You could probably figure out your own thing to do there if you 
wanted, because I find it hard to segue from there into the final part. I'm also 
not sure if that last part is in F#m or Fm; F#m makes sense, although the key 
change sounds kind of cool. Just wing it in whatever way you want, haha, that's 
the true Animal Collective spirit, anyway. Also the lyrics should be right, 
although I kind of used what I liked best from a few different versions. 

Chocolate Girl
By Animal Collective

------------Verse:

A
In cycles
Amaj7
I'll lead you around the excavation
A
Where grass grows
Amaj7
And remnants of you in placation
A
Your breath sounds
Amaj7
Inhaling a portrait, it's frozen
A
In blue gowns
Amaj7
You trace along the house which you have chosen
Amaj7
And holding tightly
When sound is dead we'll sing in time
Bb         A
And lie
A
When life meets child, your only pride
Bb          A
You lie
A
When ceilings smile, we'll sleep a while
Bb          A
And lie
Amaj7
I'll take you for walks on the ocean

--------Chorus:
(everything cuts out but guitar, half/time)

A
She had a pretty dad
G
But she was growing out of play-school
Still she could kick and scream and play
D
Until she wanted to
A   (drums kick back in)
My little chocolate girl
G
Her brother barely out of high school
Lived in a place where he could scream
D
Until he wanted to
A
Oh fuzzy tabby cat
G
And she could bury him in apples
and curl around a bowl of cotton
D
'Til she wanted to

----------(Back to verse, regular time)

A
Still she had to speak loud
Amaj7
'Cause hearing isn't hiding the widows
A
And eats in
Amaj7
And picks her Sunday flowers in the garden
A
And cries late
Amaj7
Still drinking with the boys until it's ran out
A
And prays long
Amaj7
In hopes of something better for the children

A
And holding tightly
When sound is dead we'll sing in time
Bb        A
And lie
A
When life meets child, your only pride
Bb         A
Can lie
A
When ceilings smile, we'll sleep a while
Bb          A
And lie
Amaj7
I'll take you for walks on the ocean

----Chorus: (everything cuts out but guitar, half/time)

A
She met a pretty boy
G
And they would dance between their elders
                                                                             D
And she would cream until the wine she bought had settled in
A       (drums kick back in)
Our little chocolate girl
G
She used to love the stars from England
She slept on records and her marble jewelry
D
From her school
A
Her colors matched the room

G
And she would twirl around the curtains
She had a hand to hold her chin up
D
When her friends left town
A
The kid across the street
G
He'll keep around when she was changing
                                                                          D
And he would wait and she would tell her friends about the boy
A
Her mother died at home
G
She had saliva in her pockets
                                                                   D
She gave a go when her last taste had finally gave up the day
Dsus9
Oh little chocolate girl
Asus4add9
Won?t you leave your name

---------Final part: (Repeat til end)

Bm 
So put your lanterns all across the maze
So I won't feast on folly
E      F#m
Better love the rain who brought the stings endear
And who will pop the triggers
A
Cause I can't see you
E     F#m
I'll open up my brain again


It has a lot of lyrics but the music is pretty simple once you listen to
it a few times. There are some pretty cool synth and piano licks
that Avey plays that aren't too hard to figure out either. I haven't 
learned all of them, but I know for the Bb part in the verse, the synth
goes something like:
(bass tab)
------------------|
------------------|
--3--1---3--1--0--|
------------------|
And the 'Ill take you for walks on the ocean' part is something like:
-------------------|
---7--6--4--6------|
-------------------|
-------------------|

Don't quote me on those licks, I just started toying around with those 
parts. Anyway, have fun with this, because I sure as hell do. Now I just 
have to convince my band to cover this, haha. Email me if you have any 
corrections at mattpuhr@gmail.com. Rock on!
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