Cities
written by David Byrne of the Talking Heads
As performed by Phish on "Slip Stitch and Pass"
Transcribed by Jamey Boike (boikej@ibm.net)
Rake strings and start funk...
{Throughout verses: D (x57775) (often followed by open A->C bass walk-up)}
Think of London
small City
dark...
dark in the daytime
people sleep...
[Fishman] sleeps in the daytime
if they want to
if they want to!!
{Then D->C# (x46664)}
I'm checkin 'em out
I'm checkin 'em out
{Back to D}
I got it figured out
I the one that's got it figured out
there's some...
{Then up to high G (x10 12 12 12 10) followed by F->F# (same A-shape, 8 and fret)}
some good points
some bad points
{low F (133211)}
but it all works out
I'm just a little freaked out
{For chorus: F#m->Em->Bm on 9th, 7th, 7th fret respectively}
Find your city
find yourself a city to live in
I will
find a city
find yourself a city to live in
{Back to verse}
A lot of bridges in
Birmingham
a lot of ghosts
and a lot of houses
look over there
dry Ice factory
good place to get some thinking done!
I'm checkin' 'em out
I'm checkin' 'em out
I got it figured out
I'm the one that got it figured out
there's some...
some good points
some bad points
{chorus}
{Jam over chorus chords}
{Still another verse:}
Did I forget to mention...
forget to mention Memphis?
home of Elvis and the
ancient Greeks
do I smell?
I smell home cookin'
it's only the river
it's only the river
I'm checkin 'em out
I'm checkin em out
I got it figured out
I got it figured out
there's some...
some good points
some bad points
are those things real?
NEIN!! *
{chorus to finish}
Adam Healy ( aheadley@iusb.edu ) submitted this version, which he claims is a little more faithful to the
Talking Heads' version:
Intro:
D
Verse:
D
Chorus:
C#->D
("I'm a little freaked out")
Dm->D6
F
F#m Em Bm
repeat and jam!
== Alternate Transcription ==
From: "Dean" <shlongwoodian@cfl.rr.com>
as performed by Phish Verse Bridge Chorus
D C# G F f# e b
E --------------------9---7--7-------|
B --7--6----12--10----10--8--7-------|
G --7--6----12--10----11--9--7-------|
D --7--6----12--10----11--9--9-------|
A --5--4----10--8-----9---7--9-------|
E ---------------------------7-------|I
noticed Trey uses hammer-on's during the f# (minor) and the e (minor) chords of
the chorus, in which you would actually start those chords as a Sus2 bar chord.
Basically, hammer on from the 9th fret to the 10th fret (utilizing your middle
finger) on the B string for the f# chord and then like-wise from the 7th fret
to the 9th fret on the B string as well, for the e chord. It makes for a
funkier voicing. Playing it with a little bit of wah-wah helps too!
Also, while the G (major) chord is going on during the "bridge" (i.e., "Some
good points, some bad points..."), you can "walk" the individual notes D and F
between each accented G chord, then leading into the following F chord. This
would be 10th fret Low E and then 8th fret A.
This is a real loose, light, funky tune. I like to add in what Mike would play,
here and there, try and sort of make up for some of the sparse-ness left when
playing the song by yourself...or not :)
* - Its not "niiiigh", its "NEIN" as in the German word for "no". The show was
recorded in Hamburg, Germany, famous for the St. Pauli Girls. I was at the
show and spoke to Mike. Phish had spent the day drinking where the St.
Pauli's girls serve big beers. The girls are the German equivalent of
Hooters girls, all with big breasts and skimpy German outfits.
Trey asks "Are those things real?" (boobs) and the answer he got from his
German counterparts was "NEIN" (or "no"), meaning that the tits were fake.
I think the lyrics were totally off the cuff.
All factors taken into consideration (setting, venue, vibe, etc.), Hamburg
was one of the best shows ever (certainly out of the 100+ i've seen). The
Markethalle (venue) only held about 500 people. It was awesome.
(from chrisking <chrisking@triad.rr.com>)