GBS musicgeeking!

[annathepiper]

So after chugging out 534 words in Shards today, I got ambushed by my guitar, which demanded that I try out the chords sent to me by fredpdx for GBS' "Captain Kidd". The chords he sent me only covered the chorus, so I filled out the chords in all the verses as well, just to identify where all the changes are.


They go like this:

Captain Kidd
Capo 3 for key of F

Starting chords:
D (long) A (short) D (short) (not sure if this riff is actually D-A-D or D-G-D)
D (long) A (short) D (short)

Straight into the first chorus:
My (D)name is (A)Captain (D)Kidd as I sailed, as I (A)sailed
Oh my (D)name is (A)Captain (D)Kidd as I (A)sailed
My (G)name is Captain Kidd and God's (D)law I did (A)forbid,
And most (D)wickedly I (G)did (A)as I (D)sailed.

Another riff goes here, same as the starting chords, then boom right into the verse

My (D)father (A)taught me (D)well To shun the gates of (A)hell,
But a(D)gainst him (A)I re(D)belled as I (A)sailed,
He shoved a (D)bible (A)in my (D)hand But I left it in the (A)sand
And I (D)pulled a(A)way from (D)land, As I (A)sailed

[Chorus]

I (D)murdered (A)William (D)Moore And I left him in his (A)gore
Twenty (D)leagues a(A)way from (D)shore As I (A)sailed,
And (D)being (A)crueler (D)still, the gunner I did (A)kill
All his (D)precious (A)blood did (D)spill, As I (A)sailed,

[Chorus goes here, but then straight into the bridge. The bridge plays just like the chorus, so basically play the chorus twice. Then boom into the next verse.]

I was (D)sick and (A)nigh to (D)death, And I vowed at every (A)breath,
Oh to (D)walk in (A)wisdom's (D)path, As I (A)sailed
But my re(D)pentance (A)lasted (D)not, My vows I soon for(A)got,
Oh dam(D)nation (A)is my (D)lot, As I (A)sailed.

[Chorus]

To the (D)exe(A)cution (D)dock Lay my head upon the (A - but drop all instruments out here HARD)block, (drum does a little riff here)
(D)Laws no (A)more I'll (D)mock as I (A)sail, (the note's held out here for a few extra beats, but I'm not sure how long yet)
So take (D)warning (A)here and (D)heed To shun bad compa(A)ny
Or you'll (D)wind up (A)just like (D)me As I (A)sailed.


As y'all can see, I have a couple of questions I'm not quite able to answer about this ditty. Anybody guitar-inclined able to tell me if the chords in the opening riff are D-A-D, or D-G-D? Also, how many extra beats is "sail" held out on the final verse, on the line "laws no more I'll mock as I sail"? I'm trying to work out how many extra strums to sneak in there before the next line starts.

Comments

[solcita.livejournal.com]

I know very little about guitar chording, and I don't actually have a copy of Captain Kidd (gasp!) but if memory serves me correctly, I think it should be D-A-D.

[annathepiper]

You can hear "Captain Kidd" here--it's GBS's official MySpace page, where they have four songs posted, and that's one of 'em.

That riff at the beginning sounded like it ought to be D-A-D to me, too, except when I do that sequence of chords on my guitar the A chord sounds "lower" than the D's, and the chord in the middle of the riff in the recording sounds like it's "higher", if that makes sense. That's how it comes out if I whistle it, anyway. :)

[solcita.livejournal.com]

Yeah, if I were to play the root note of each chord on my violin, I'd play the A above the D, and the G below it. So I think you're hearing it right, I'm just not sure how it translates to guitar chords.

[annathepiper]

Hrmm. HRMRmmm. I wonder if I ought to be playing the chords further up the neck. I should try that and see how that compares.

(Though I can't remember offhand ever seeing any of the members of GBS play higher up the neck, it'd be fun to try it and see what changes!)