What's the Matter Here?
10,000 Maniacs - My Tribe (1987 album)
Verse:
G |
That young boy without a name
G |
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
C |
seen him, seen him.
D G |
Oh, I see him every day.
G |
G | G |
I’ve seen him run outside looking for a place to hide
G (Em) | G (Em) |
from his father, the kid half naked made me
| |
say to myself, “Oh, what's the matter here?"
G |
I Am...
Chorus:
| (Em) |
tired of the ex-c-u-s-e-s everybody uses, he's their
| |
kid, (so) I stay out of it, but..
| (Em) |
who gave you the right to do
this?
Verse:
We live on Morgan Street,
just ten feet between.
(Em)
And his mother,
I never see her, but her
screams and curses,
I hear them every day.
Threats like: "If you don't mind
I will beat on your behind,"
(Em)
"Slap you, I’ll
slap you silly." Made me
say-ay-ay-ay,
“Oh, what's the matter here?!" I’m..
Chorus 2:
(Em)
tired of the exc-u-s-e-s everybody uses, he's your
kid, (so) do as you see fit, but
(Em)
get this through that I don't approve of what you
did to your own flesh and blood.
Solo: (over) G |C D |
Chorus 3:
(Em)
I'm tired of the excuses everybody uses, he's your
kid, so do as you see fit, but
(Em)
get this through that I don't approve of what you
did to your own flesh and blood.
Interlude:
"If you don't sit in your chair straight, I’ll
take this belt from around my waist and
don't you think that I won't use it!"
(chorus chords continued through end)
(Em)
Answer me and take your time, what could be the awful crime he
could do at so young an age? And if I’m the
(Em)
only witness to your madness offer me some words to balance
out what I see and what I hear. Ohhh, these
(Em)
cold and cruel things that you do, I sup(pose)
you do them because he belongs to you. And, in-st(ead)
(Em)
of love and the feeling of warmth, you offer him these cuts and sores that
don’t heal with time or with age.
And, I want to say I want to
(switch to chorus chords played like verse endings)
say-ay-ay-ay
“Oh, what’s the matter here?!” But, I don’t dare
say-ay-ay-ay
“What’s the matter here?!” No, I don’t dare
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)
D = x00232
Cadd9 = x32010 (x32033 or x32030)
Em(7) = 022000 (022033 or 022030)
* note the 3 is always played on 2nd string if suggested chords used.
And, I say “suggested” because I play a regular C in the verses and use the add9
variant in the chorus when the pace picks up. I think this tab is more than helpful
towards getting you started and playing this great song. You can play around with the
chords to suite your own taste/flavor or to try to match 10,000 Maniacs more precisely.
Enjoy!
-Chris