Dream Academy
Life in a Northern Town
(Nick Laird-Clowes/Gilbert Gabriel)
Album: The Dream Academy/1985

Capo on 2nd fret

Chords:
 D     xx0232
 A/D   xx0220
 Gmaj7 320002
 Gmaj6 320000


Intro riff (w/wind):
    D   A/D   D   A/D    Gmaj7  Gmaj6     G  A/G
E---2---0--------------|--2-------0----------------|
B-------------3---2----|------------------3---2----|
G----------------------|---------------------------|
D---0---0-----0---0----|---------------------------|
A----------------------|---------------------------|
E----------------------|--3-------3-------3---3----|
2x

verse 1 (continue riff):

   D       A/D     D     A/D
A salvation army band played
        D         A/D   D   A/D
And the children drank lemon-ade.
         Gmaj7   Gmaj6     G  A/G
And the morning lasted all day,
 D   A/D   D   A/D
 All day.
       D              A/D   D    A/D
And through an open window came,
       D         A/D   D    A/D
Like Sinatra in a younger day.
 Gmaj7      Gmaj6   G    A/G
 Pushing the town  a-way
 D   A/D   D   A/D

Chorus:

   D     A/D  D    A/D
Ah hey ma ma ma ma, n-ny-ay
  D      A/D   D      A/D
 Hey ma ma ma, hey-ay-ay-ay
  Gmaj6   Gmaj7
 Ah
 Gmaj6    Gmaj7  [D]   A/D  D A/D
 Life in a northern town

Verse 2:
They sat on the stony ground.
And he took a cigarette out.
And everyone else came down to listen.
He said in Winter 1963
It felt like the world would freeze,
With John F. Kennedy and the Beatles.
...Life in a northern town.
All of the world struck down.

Chorus:
Ah hey ma ma ma ma, n-ny-ay
Hey ma ma ma, hey-ay-ay-ay
Ah,
Life in a northern town
Ah hey ma ma ma ma, n-ny-ay
Hey ma ma ma, hey-ay-ay-ay
Ah,
All of the work shut down

Verse 3:
The evening had turned to rain.
Watch the water roll down the drain.
As we followed him down to the station.
Although he never would've waved goodbye.
You could see it written in his eyes
As the train rolled out of sight, bye bye.