Like at least a couple other Grass Roots hits, someone else did this first -
in this case the Forum , whose 1967 semi-hit version I much prefer.
Intro:
F5 Eb5 F5
v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v
-/----------- | -x--x--x--x-- | -/----------- | -/--------X--
^^^^^^^^^^ bass drum ^ snare
Verse 1:
Bb5 Eb5 Bb5 Eb5
v v v v v v v v
-/-----/-/---/--- | -/-----/-/---/---
Bb5 Eb5 Bb5 Eb5 Bb5 Eb5 Bb5 Eb5
The sky was clear on that windy day
Bb5 Eb5 Bb5 Eb5 Bb5 Eb5 Bb5 Eb5
'Til the clear blue sky began to turn to gray
Eb5 /Bb5 Eb5 /Bb5 Eb5 /Bb5 Eb5 /Bb5
The lightning flashed, the thunder roared above
F5 /C5 F5 /C5 F5 /C5 F5
Then fell a drop of rain to start our love
Chorus:
Eb5 Ab5
[1: Let the river get wide], the river gets long, now
[2: And the river gets wide]
C#5 Bb5
The water runs deep as our love gets strong now
Eb5 Ab5
So baby, don't you fight and say you belong now
1: Fm7/Bb [hold 2 bars]
2: Fm7/Bb [hold 6 bars]
3-5: F5 Bb5
To me
Verse 2:
Upon the roof we heard the gentle rain
With the rhythm of our heartbeats, down it came
As it hit each drop our hearts could feel the pain
No one on earth can stop a drop of rain
[repeat chorus 3X; fade 3rd time]
-- another ace 60's tab from Andrew Rogers