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CHICKENMAN (Amy Ray)
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[Tuning: DADGBD]
[Each chord is one measure.]
[I mostly got these chords from the songbook, but I'm not sure they're
right. The songbook had some blatant errors, so I can't really trust it.]
D5: 000230 D7sus: 000210, or maybe 005530? Csus9: 030030 G: 020000
D(4): 000030? D: 000234 Dsus: 000235
[Play the D5 (and possibly the D7sus, if you use the 000210 fingering)
with hammer-ons from 0 to 2 on the G string every now and then.]
D5 D7sus D5
I am an only child born of the wild
D7sus D5 D7sus D5
Riddled to spend my time defending my land
D5 D7sus
You are the only one born in the sun
D5 D7sus D7sus D5
Riddled to spend your time defending my plan
D5 D5 D5 D5 D5 D5 D5 D5
[instrumental]
D5 D7sus D5 D7sus
Dead dog on the highway, median cats are growling at me
D5 D5 D7sus D5 D5
I turn my lights on brighter, I'm counting through the night ride
Csus9 G D5 D5
And it's one more life for the taker, Chickenman
Csus9 G D5 D5
One more song for the maker, Chickenman
D5 D5 D5 D7sus
On the road to Athens, I saw a dead deer on the highway
D5 D5 D7sus D5 D5
I slipped into a desert, five prairie dogs and a rabbit
I was running down on Queen Street, I saw a woman on the sidewalk
She was beaten by a stranger, danger danger danger
Csus9 G D5 D5
And it's one more life for the taker, Chickenman, hold my hand
Csus9 G D5 D5
One more song for the maker (Hold my hand, Chickenman)
D(4) D5 D(4) D5 D(4) D5 D(4) D5
[Instrumental]
D5 D5 D - Dsus D - Dsus D - Dsus D - Dsus
[instrumental]
I was on the road to Austin, I met a man on the highway
He sold me junk and conversation, he was wise and dirty from the weather
I said, "darkness into darkness, all the carnage of my journeys
Makes it harder to be living;" he said, "it's a long road to be forgiven"
Csus9 G D5 D5
And it's one more life for the taker, Chickenman, hold my hand
Csus9 G D5 D5 D5 [stop]
One more song for the maker (Chickenman, Chickenman, hold my hand)
I am an only child born of the wild
Riddled to spend my time defending my land
You are the only one born in the sun
Riddled to spend your time defending my plan
n.c. n.c. D5 D5
[instrumental]
D5 D5
I went looking for a car, found myself beneath the stars
D5 D5
I went looking for a girl, found a man and his world
D5 - D5/E D5/F# - D5/C
Chickenman, chickenman, chickenman, hold my hand
D5 - D5/E D5/F# - D5/C
Chickenman, chickenman, chickenman, hold my hand [repeat until ending]
- Adam Schneider, schneider@pobox.com
Brought to you by the GUITARMASTA - http://www.guitarmasta.net
Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
|
No Picture
|
#1 by at Dec 2, 1979 at 1:04 PM EST |
| When I was delivering pizzas in Austin around about 1995, an old homeless drifter came into our pizza joint and was hanging out talking to us in the kitchen. I happened to have Indigo Girls playing on the house sound system and this sound came on. Out of nowhere, this man turns to me all excited and says "This song is about me!! I met them!! They're gay you know." LOL I honestly cannot attest to the truth of his statement, but he did know lots of details about them, including the fact they they were touring in an old van. I kind of like to think that he was telling the truth... :) 1 | |
|
No Picture
Hobey Average |
#2 by Hobey Bass at Dec 1, 1983 at 12:52 AM EST |
| I saw them play this live and Amy explained the song during an instrumental break. It was amazing because it was the first time the song made any sense to me. The chicken man was an old guy selling stuff on the side of the highway. I remember she started her explanation by saying that, when they were first touring, she was driving around in a beat up VW(?) and she was saddened seeing so many dead animals (roadkill: "median" cat(?), dead deer, prairie dogs, rabbit). She said something about the woman who was beaten in Austin; again, another reflection from life on the road at the time, I think. She then said something about how "all the carnage" can upset a person so much that she would end up walking around the street with a loaded gun not knowing what to do but feeling desperate; sounded like something she really did one day ("darkness into darkness/all the carnage of my journey/makes it harder to be living"). But without the explanation, the song would have made no sense. | |
|
No Picture
Jordan Wanna Be |
#3 by Jordan Ivory-Marcotte at Mar 28, 1989 at 2:30 AM EST |
| Is the chickenman supposed to signify/be a reference to someone in particular? the rest of the song? | |
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