Song of the Day: The Western Isles by Josh Rouse

by Stephen Pickering on May 13, 2013

I should warn you. Probably about 90% of these songs are going to be Josh Rouse. He’s been my favorite singer/songwriter for the last going on 7 years now. So I’ve spent a lot of time trying to pick out his chords and enjoying singing his songs. I really should try to broaden out my repertoire though. REM, Smiths, Replacements, Police, really just anytime I hear a song I like, I should at least take a crack at it. Can’t hurt.

Anyway today’s song: “The Western Isles” by Josh Rouse. It’s the 9th track off his most recent album “The Happiness Waltz.”

What made me pick it, was not only did I love the song, but something reminded me that it was a Google Play Music pick of the day a few weeks ago. That’s all I need. Plus I couldn’t get it out of my head.

First off what’s interesting about this song is that it is in the Key of A, but there’s never an A chord in the song. It starts out on a Dmaj7 then to an Emaj. The main riff kind of swings back in forth between those two chords, as well as the verse, with an F#m thrown in for an accent. Another interesting thing about this song: It has a bass driven riff. So, that’s one reason I sort of steered clear of it. I thought that within the context of me just playing with an acoustic, and maybe a harmonica, that I really couldn’t present that main riff motif. But I found that with an A harmonica, I can sort of imitate that bass riff, which itself is echoed, during the songs’ interludes, by a lovely sounding organ in the original recording.

Also, it’s one of those Josh songs where he sings something, I just can’t decipher, and apparently no one else can either, because when I did a lyric search, all the sites that have the lyrics for this song have a “?” by this same passage. The best I can decipher it, and you’ll know the part I’m talking about if you listen to the song, is “Cigarettes and black Greece tea.” Oh, speaking musically, this is on the refrain part of the song, which begins on an F#m, and then kind of stays on that chord with a half step down bass line F#-F-E-Eb- at which point when it arrives at the D it just goes into the D chord itself for the “Could we…” and the “feel at” is on top of the E chord, back to the D chord for “home”

On the second time that it does that refrain it repeats the passage with words I totally can’t understand. I mean the “Cigarettes and black Greece tea” sound like they almost could be right, or have a chance of being right, but this second passage, I just have make something up, which I know is wrong, but still work to get me through the song: “Maybe we’ve been patron leave.”

This leads me to a rant: Why is it so damn hard to get the lyrics and or liner notes to these albums nowadays?! It makes me crazy. Why doesn’t Josh and all the other acts publish these things on their websites or whatever? Damn, it’s frustrating.

Anyway, I’ll publishing the words as I’m doing them at this moment. Maybe these artists think that’s part of the fun of it, part of the “mystery” of being a Shamanesque type of figure. Maybe. Whatever.

 

The Western Isles by Josh Rouse from The Happiness Waltz

Verse 1:

All day, I can see the life from the western isles

Faded in white like a western smile

We could live here, you know.

Nobody’s saved, caught up in a life that is based on lies

Struggle and strife from the nights of fire

Just getting by, you know.

Refrain:

Cigarettes and black greece  tea…

could we feel at home?

Verse 2:

Far, far away,

I can hear the birds on western isles

Singing in the night like an ancient choir

‘Oh how I love you so’

Don’t worry baby,

You’ll be alright with the western smile

Maybe there’s a life on the western isles

In a few years or so.

Refrain #2:

Cigarettes and black green tea

maybe we’ve been patron leave

And we’re almost home (This is sort of a “Middle Eight” part where, instead of going back into that D chord, he uses the F#m with the walk down bass riff)

Almost home…

(And then back in into the Dmaj7-E back and forth for the ending lines to fade out and echo on.)

Headin’ for the western isles

We heading for the western isles

We heading for the western isles

We heading for the western isles

Oh where do we wanna go?

Oh where do we wanna go?

 

{ 0 comments }

Song of the Day: A Lot Like Magic – Josh Rouse

by Stephen Pickering on May 9, 2013

Well, I was cleaning off one of my counters this morning, all the paper and junk mail had piled up. And as I was sorting what I needed to keep from the rubbage, there it was: the hand written lyric sheet for “A Lot Like Magic” that Josh had mailed me last fall. Now, to be fair, I don’t know Josh, but he had been doing these “StageIt” shows on the internet in which audience members could participate as well as donate to the artist. And the highest bidder won a hand written signed lyric sheet. So there it is.

I’d been meaning to get this song down. The first time I heard it, it blew me away. I was like “Damn, that chorus is as good as Van Morrison!” The music, the words, the theme of the song, everything attracted me. But I couldn’t pick out the chords by ear. Then by chance, in March, when Josh was at SxSW, Rhapsody filmed him singing this very tune. I love the production and the sound quality of the video, and what’s even better, most of the video shows his chord frettings, enough that I could pick out the entire arrangement with each chord.

If you’re wanting to learn to play this, then this Rhapsody Video should be all you need:

As you can see from the video, he puts a capo on the fifth fret. The song starts out with a Bm shape. The opening riff, which is the same as most of the verse is: Bm – F#m – G – A – D (That’s not transposed up 5 half steps like it should be. I’m just thinking of the open names for these shapes.) There is one little twist in the verse: On the third line the progression switches to: G – A – G – A – Bm. The Chorus progression is: Em – A – Dmaj7 – Gmaj7 – Em – A – Bm – A. On the solo part it’s almost exactly the chords of the chorus, except it begins on the Gmaj7. So it’s like Gmaj7 – A – Dmaj7 – Gmaj7 – A – Bm – A. You can pick it up pretty fast from that video.

Since I took the time to type out the lyrics (Josh’s handwriting isn’t very legible) I’ll go ahead and publish them:

Lyrics for “A Lot Like Magic” by Josh Rouse from The Happiness Waltz album.

Well I met a man and he gave me advice
I didn’t want it at first then I said alright.
He said you live each day like a very last one
So I took that line and I wrote this song
And he said:

Chorus:

It’s all in the air it’s a lot like magic
We make do with the best that we have
You sit still or you roam something’s bound to happen
So I just shook his hand, forgot about my plans…

So I rode my bike up to Sycamore Hill
I thought long I thought hard on the right way to live
I had a lot of fun with a long legged girl
And we threw our arms ‘round this humdrum world

Chorus:

Forget about those plans, the future’s here a last…

Solo Bars (Over Chorus Chords)

Yeah, the days turn to months and the months into years
My children have grown and I’m still standing here
I still live each day like a very last one
I rise with the birds and I set with the Sun

Chorus

Forget about those plans, forget about those plans…

A few bars of Chorus progression end it out, and finally it end on a slow melody line over the G and A chord.

 

{ 0 comments }

Song of the Day: Ain’t Even Done With the Night – John Mellencamp

May 8, 2013

Well, every once in a while I start making lists of songs that I could actually play live. I always have this romantic notion of being a troubadour, traveling the world with just his guitar, serenading everywhere he goes. Never gonna happen. Well, at the very least it is fun to have a repertoire, so [...]

Read the full article →

Sonnet #9 in Iambic Tetrameter –

May 7, 2013

I think I’m wrong about the song. I didn’t feel that you would come. Please tell the notes that don’t belong That winter’s bone remains unsung. I feel it on the inside grow. So, could a man become a god? Don’t let this meditation go. Just follow it no matter what. This isn’t where I [...]

Read the full article →

Sonnet #11

April 28, 2013

We have eternal ‘monicas that sing. An icy cloud is growing over the South. Out of the woods the Sun creates a ring Though which the river dances in its mouth. We’ve rowed this dream one hundred times before. We’re made of the same blood that’s in the stars. What does it take to sail [...]

Read the full article →

Chords and Lyrics for Simple Pleasure by Josh Rouse

April 23, 2013

Simple Pleasure (By Josh Rouse) Here’s a link to a downloadable .pdf of the Lead Sheet: SimplePleasureLeadSheet.pdf G                             D It’s right here in my face, A                            D but I [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries