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
C | D G |
say to myself, “Oh, what's the matter here?"
G |
I am...
Chorus:
C D | G (Em) |
tired of the ex-c-u-s-e-s everybody uses, he's their
C D | G |
kid, (so) I stay out of it, but..
C D | G (Em) |
who gave you the right to do
C
this?
Verse:
G
We live on Morgan Street,
just ten feet between.
(Em)
And his mother,
I never see her, but her
C
screams and curses,
D G
I hear them every day.
G
G
Threats like: "If you don't mind
I will beat on your behind,"
(Em)
"Slap you, I’ll
slap you silly." Made me
C
say-ay-ay-ay,
D G
“Oh, what's the matter here?!" I’m..
Chorus 2:
C D G (Em)
tired of the exc-u-s-e-s everybody uses, he's your
C D G
kid, (so) do as you see fit, but
C D G (Em)
get this through that I don't approve of what you
C D G
did to your own flesh and blood.
Solo: (over) G |C D |
Chorus 3:
C D G (Em)
I'm tired of the excuses everybody uses, he's your
C D G
kid, so do as you see fit, but
C D G (Em)
get this through that I don't approve of what you
C D G
did to your own flesh and blood.
[ Tab from: https://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/0-9/10000_maniacs/whats_the_matter_here_crd.html ]
Interlude:
Em G C G
"If you don't sit in your chair straight, I’ll
Em G C G
take this belt from around my waist and
Em G C G
don't you think that I won't use it!"
(chorus chords continued through end)
C D G (Em)
Answer me and take your time, what could be the awful crime he
C D G
could do at so young an age? And if I’m the
C D G (Em)
only witness to your madness offer me some words to balance
C D G
out what I see and what I hear. Ohhh, these
C D G (Em)
cold and cruel things that you do, I sup(pose)
C D G
you do them because he belongs to you. And, in-st(ead)
C D G (Em)
of love and the feeling of warmth, you offer him these cuts and sores that
C D G
don’t heal with time or with age.
C D G
And, I want to say I want to
(switch to chorus chords played like verse endings)
C
say-ay-ay-ay
D G
“Oh, what’s the matter here?!” But, I don’t dare
C
say-ay-ay-ay
D G
“What’s the matter here?!” No, I don’t dare
C
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
C(add9) = 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
