Soft As Chalk Chords

by Joanna Newsom
33,676 views, added to favorites 410 times
Difficulty: intermediate
Tuning: E A D G B E
Capo: no capo
Author reservoirdog [a] 405. Last edit on Jul 12, 2024

Chords

D
C
G
Bb
Eb
Dm
F
Gm
Db
Ab
Fm
Cm
Am

Strumming

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D      C
So, so long ago
G            D
And so far away
D        C
When time was just a line
           G
That you fed me
                  D
When you wanted to stay
 
D             C
We'd talk as soft as chalk
       G                      D
Till morning came, as pale as a pearl
 
D          C
No time, no, no time
       G                         D
Now, I have got all the time in the world
 
D                Bb
Say, honey, did you belong to me
 Eb                      Dm                   F
Tell me, honey, was your heart at rest when, darling
                 C
All the mourning doves were howling us
  Bb                    Dm           C      Dm F  Dm
A song of love's oh god-awful lawlessness, law-less-ness!
D               Bb
Say, honey, did you belong to me
Eb                    Dm
Tell me, honey, did I pass your test
    F                         C
I lay, as still as death, until the dawn
            Bb                     Dm           C
Whereupon I wrested from your god-awful lawlessness,
Dm  F    Dm
Law-less-ness!
 
  D                 C
I roam around the tidy grounds
         G           D
Of my dappled sanatorium
D                           C
Coatless, I sit amongst the motes, adrift
       G                  D
And I dote upon my pinesap gum
        D                           C
And the light, through the pines in brassy tines
     G               D
Lays over me, dim as rum
      D                    C
And thick as molasses, and so time passes
    G                      D
And so, my heart, tomorrow comes
 
D
I feel you, leaning
     Bb
Out back with the crickets
      Eb                Dm
Loyal heart marking the soon-ness darkness
 
 F                         C
Tonight, still the mourning doves
                     Bb
Will summon us their song
               Dm             C      Dm  F  Dm
Of love's neverdoneing lawlessness, law-less-ness!
 
       D
While, over and over
     Bb
Rear up, stand down, lay round
  Eb                      Dm
Trying to sound-out or guess the reasons
   F                     C
To sleep like a soldier, without rest
                   Bb
But there is no treason
               Dm          C     Dm F   Dm
Where there is only lawlessness, law-less-ness!
Dm
 
MIDDLE SECTION:
Dm  Bb  Gm  C
Dm  Bb  Gm  C
faster
Dm  Bb  Gm  C
Dm  Bb  Gm  C
 
       Eb
In the last week
                  Gm
Of the last year I was aware
            Db
I took a blind shot, across the creek
       Ab
At the black bear
          Eb
When he roused me in the night
            Db
And left me cowering with my light
 
Calling out
 Ab      Fm
Who is there
      Cm
Who's there
       Eb
Who is there
 
Bb  Fm  Am  C
Dm  Bb  Gm  C
Dm  Bb  Gm  C
Dm  Bb  Gm  C
Dm  Bb  Gm  C
 
   Eb
I watched you sleep
 Gm
Repeating my prayer
 Db
Give love a little shove
          Ab
And it becomes terror
             Eb
And now I am calling
 
In a sadness beyond anger
           Db
And beyond fear
Ab     Fm
Who is there
      Cm
Who's there
      Eb
Who is there
 
Bb  Fm  Am  C  D
 
D  C  G  D
D  C  G  D
 
 D
I glare and nod
         C
Like the character, God
        G                        D
Bearing down upon the houses and lawns
   D
I knew a little bit,
      C
But, darling, you were it
       G                          D
And, darling, now it is long gone
D                   C
Sweetheart, in your clean, bright start
G                                D
Back there, behind a hill, and a dell
       D                        C
And a state line or two, I'll be thinking of you
              G                         D
Yes, I’ll be thinking and be wishing you well
 D             C                 G                 D
We land, I stand, but I wait for the sound of the bell
D          C                   G             D
I have to catch a cab and my bags are at the carousel
     D             C                  D
And then Lord, just then, time alone will only tell
 
You morning dove
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4 comments
NoPossum
This is a great tab thank you! Only thing is In certain parts where it says D C G C I think it should be D C G D. "Thick as molasses, and so time passes" those parts.
+4
Shamanator
So great! If you want to avoid Eb like I do you can transpose down 3 and put the capo on :-)
+1
angelomm527
Or you can use the other form of the note, if you dislike the standart Eb and capos like me. Sound as good as the standart. ;)
0