Swans Life After Death Guitar Tab

Swans (Life After Death)
intro: this can be played multiple ways and it sounds alright, but this is the way that
find sounds the best and is most convenient. some of the notes are played softer than
and listen to the song for timing(its fairly straight-forward). ive put larger spaces
the timing skips a beat.
part 1
F                               C
e|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------9------10-------9---------------4-------5-------4---------|
D|-----7-------7-------7-------7-------2-------2-------2-------2-----|
A|-8-----8---8---8---8---8---8---8-3-----3---3---3---3---3---3---3---|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
part 2
Am                              Em              G
e|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------0-------4---0-------0-----------------------0---4b5---0---|
D|-------------2---------2-----------------0-------------------------|
A|---0-3-0---3---3---3-----3-0---2-----2-------2---------------------|
E|-3-------------------------------0-----0---0---0-3-----------------|
this riff is played four times, but the last 3 times are played slightly differently on
2
part 2(switch to this after going through the riff once)
Am                              Em              G
e|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------0-----------4---0---4-----------------------0---4b5---0---|
D|-------------2---2-----------------------0-------------------------|
A|---0-3-0---3---3---3---3---3---2-----2-------2---------------------|
E|-3-------------------------------0-----0---0---0-3-----------------|
(Lyrics Taken From Disc Booklet)
C
swans, swans, swans sing songs
F                                              C
all night long, who know how warm the islands were?
C
while the frogs look on
F                                                                C     F  G
its what the birds prefer, and it's still warm after the sun has gone
Am         F                 C                      G
i woke up thirsty the day i died and the tide was swirling
E               Am                    Dm  G E            Am  F  G
my mouth is so dry, and all i see is sea,   two shining seas
C
swans, swans, swans sing songs
F                                                   C
all night long, who knew how warm the islands would be?
C
and who knew just how much the
F                                                        C
sky covers me, it makes you forget what it means to be free
Am                        F                             C
i climbed in through the blowhole, in the ribs i found you
Am                      F               G
with a wick we lit a flame, now look at the smoke that it blew
E                 Am                    Dm    G     E       Am
the mouth is so wide, yet all i see is sea   and     azure sky
F            G
a little wave and ebb tide
E      Am      F
ladadada
riff 1
this riff changes around a bit on certain parts when it reapeats, just listen for the
or play it like this the whole time
C                      Am
e|-3--0----------------------------|
B|-------3--1--3--3h5--1--1--------|
G|--------------------------2------|
D|-----------------------------2---|
A|---------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------|
F
e|--------------------------------------------------------------|
B|--------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-2-2-2-5----2-0-2-2s5----2--0--2-2--0--2-2--0--2-2-0-2-0h2s5--|
D|--------------------------------------------------------------|
A|--------------------------------------------------------------|
E|--------------------------------------------------------------|
C (repeat riff 1
rivers leak, salt seeps in
Am            F                  X3
heals wounds, winds pry apart
C     E        Am
ladadadada
F    G     E             Am    F           G
ladadadadada da   ooooooooooooooooh   oooooooooooooooooooooooooh
riff 2
e|--------------------------------------------------|
B|-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5------------------|
G|-5-5-5-5-5-5-4-4-5-5-5-5-5-5-4-4------------------|
D|-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5------------------|
A|-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3------------------|
E|--------------------------------------------------|
riff 3
e|----------0--3--0--5--0-----------0--3--0--5--0---|
B|-0--1--3-----------------0--1--3------------------|
G|--------------------------------------------------|
D|--------------------------------------------------|
A|--------------------------------------------------|
E|--------------------------------------------------|
(repeat riff 2 lightly)
C
swans, swans, swans sung songs
F (repeat riff 3)                                                        C
til the morning dawned on us, and the sun-smudged peach moon still hung loose
C (repeat riff 3)
bones, bones, grown homes
F (repeat riff 2)                                                C
with the sparrows in the trees we leave them for, they love the marrow
C
lada lada lada lada
F          G
lada lada lada lada
riff 4
C                           Em        G
e|--------------------------------------------------|
B|--------------------------------------------------|
G|---------5-------4-------5s4---------0---4b5---0--|
D|-----2-------2-------2-------2---2-0--------------|
A|-3-----3-------3-------3--------------------------|
E|--------------------------------------------------|
play riff 4 four times, then play
C                          Dm            G
I'm  thankful  for  my    life
e|---------0---------------0--------1---1-------------------|
B|-----------------4------------------------1--0-------3-0--|
G|----------------------------2~~-----2----------0---2------|
D|-----2-------2-------2---------------------------3--------|
A|-3-----3-------3-------3----------------------------------|
E|----------------------------------------------------------|
C                          Dm            G
I'm  thankful    for       my           life
e|------------------------------------------1---------------|
B|---------5-------4-------5--------1---1-----3---3---------|
G|----------------------------2~~-----2---------2---------0-|
D|-----2-------2-------2--------------------------------0---|
A|-3-----3-------3-------3----------------------------2-----|
E|--------------------------------------------------3-------|
start riff 4 again, and then move into the outro
Outro
e|-------------------------|
B|-------------------------|
G|-------------------------|
D|----------0-0h2-0--------|
A|-0--0-2-3----------------|
E|-----------------1---0---|
play this riff till the end. a solo starts in, with two other guitars, and its a bit
to tab so im going to leave that alone.
the end.

Source: GuitarMasta.net
http://www.guitarmasta.net/i/islands/.html

Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques


No Picture Andrew Average	#1 by Andrew Shevchenko at Sep 27, 2007 at 1:33 PM EST
	this song is just fantastic. it's amazing that they open their album with a nine-and-a-half minute track.

No Picture Average	#2 by Riqu - at Sep 27, 2007 at 11:13 PM EST
	i love it when he tthey sing this line "And the sun-smudged peach moon still hung loose" unicorns all over!

No Picture Brad Lead Player	#3 by Brad Vincent at Sep 30, 2007 at 6:52 AM EST
	A "swan song" is described as a farewell or final appearance. Perhaps, through context, Nick is describing the process of letting go and leaving the Unicorns behind. In addition to the "Thunder and Lightning" preamble, notice several allusions to projects that the Unicorns have done: I'm Ready to Die: "I woke up thirsty the day I died And the tide was swirling My mouth is so dry And all I see is sea Two shining seas" Ebb Tide, Azure Sky: "The mouth is so wide Yet all I see is sea And azure sky A little wave and ebb tide" Peach Moon: "Swans Swans Swans sung songs Till the morning dawned on us And the sun-smudged peach moon still hung loose" "Bones Bones Bones Grown homes With the sparrows in the trees we leave them for They love the marrow " In Unicorns as well as Islands songs, bones seem to be a favorite item to refer to, as was done in "Jellybones" and "Haunted House." Nick is probably making a statement that he enjoys his current musical career, but he's not ashamed of what he's done in the past, since it is what has helped him get to where he is now.

No Picture matt Badass	#4 by matt sears, Just Like The Store at Sep 30, 2007 at 2:18 PM EST
	it's about adream where we live in aworld that's not ruled by capitalism.they/he dreams of a world where we are raised to live as real humans without Capitalim and we're just free roaming creatures.but the way he sings thes ong is whiny because he/they wih dor a better life than the one we lie in (not in the"system").They/he only can drem of living in this life with animals and it's a purer form of life

No Picture Gallows Wanna Be	#5 by Gallows Pole at Oct 1, 2007 at 1:06 PM EST
	Ok my theory on Swans / the album as a whole: Swans is the overture. A person (nick) wakes up on an island the day he was supposed to die (see: who will cut our hair when we're gone?) It covers all the action of the album (waking up, going into a whale, cannibalism etc..) Humans: they're running out of food, resort to cannibalism don't call me whitney, bobby: after the cannibalism, he's regretful and talks to the skeleton as his only friend on the tropical island Rough Gem: doesn't really fit in except the "who lives in those lights.." verse. That verse can be thought of as "wow look there are lights.. we should go there because it's people" Tsuxiit: traveling music Where there's...: Get into a whale.. hanging out in a whale.. traveling in a whale.. fun times Jogging Gorgeous Summer: Having met people inside the whale and eaten a few, the hero falls in love. Volcanoes: Their island is a volcano. Lots of people die because they think they angered the gods. Alaska melts. If: getting tired of the person that the hero is with, he threatens that if they're not sweet to him, he'll "salt you to make you savory", implying he'd eat them, too Ones: depressed about the whole thing, the hero retreats into his mind. please note that half of this is sarcastic, the other half i believe.

No Picture Brandon Wanna Be	#6 by Brandon Stephenson at Oct 2, 2007 at 12:07 AM EST
	Corrections from liner notes: a. and all i see is sea two shining seas* b. and who knew how much the sky'd cover me? c. bones bones bones grown homes with the sparrows in the trees we leave them for they love the marrow

No Picture Samer Average	#7 by Samer Zouein at Oct 2, 2007 at 2:21 PM EST
	"I woke up thirsty the day I died And the tide was swirling My mouth is so dry And all I see is sea Two shining seas" during life he was "thirsty", or suffered, but that was "the day [he] died" - now, he is in the afterlife, and he can "drink", or have all his ultimate needs satisfied. except the sea/tide might be salty, but I don't think that's the point. I thought that this stanza was "sea / to shining sea", like the American anthem. It's just too strange a stanza, it seemed to me to be a random reference to this at first. 1

No Picture Tim Average	#8 by Tim Zichy-Woinarski at Oct 3, 2007 at 10:53 PM EST
	I knew I recognized that guitar sound from a Unicorns song. The first time I heard it was live and I thought for a minute that they were playing a Unicorns song. Thank you for pointing that out soupcans.

No Picture Joe Average	#9 by Joe Fidler at Oct 4, 2007 at 5:00 AM EST
	It's a well known myth that swans don't sing until the day they die, at which point they sing a beautiful song. The silver Swan, who living had no Note, when Death approached, unlocked her silent throat. Leaning her breast upon the reedy shore, thus sang her first and last, and sang no more: "Farewell, all joys! O Death, come close mine eyes! "More Geese than Swans now live, more Fools than Wise." -Orlando Gibbons Just thought I'd point that out.

No Picture matt Average	#10 by matt rigg at Oct 4, 2007 at 2:19 PM EST
	This song is just a group of unicorns refrences I woke up thirsty the day I died And the tide was swirling My mouth is so dry And all I see is sea Two shining seas Ready to die The mouth is so wide Yet all I see is sea And azure sky A little wave and ebb tide Ebb Tide, Azure Sky Swans Swans Swans sung songs Till the morning dawned on us And the sun-smudged peach moon still hung loose Peach moon. And I am sure there are many others that aren't as obvious.

No Picture tane Wanna Be	#11 by tane at Oct 5, 2007 at 8:52 AM EST
	:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

No Picture Alexander Wanna Be	#12 by Alexander Taule at Oct 5, 2007 at 1:43 PM EST
	Well, there seem to be several Unicorns references in here.. I'm sure Islands are tired of hearing about the Unicorns, but regardless: The intro- the guitar here is in a Unicorns song, "Thunder and Lightning" "I woke up thirsty the day I died"- Similar to a line in "Ready to Die" "sun-smudged peach moon"- line from "Peach Moon" So, similar to what yanquiUXO said, WWCOHWWG had a lot of death themes, and Nick, as a Unicorn was supposed to die... but he didn't, and now he's moving on..? I guess someone who knows more about Islands and the Unicorns would be able to go further with this/prove me completely wrong.

No Picture Sam Wanna Be	#13 by Sam Gageler at Oct 5, 2007 at 7:43 PM EST
	interesting thoughts! I don't really have any ideas as to what it could mean, but goodness gracious is this song amazing. I love it. and I can't wait to see them on Saturday in Philadelphia.

No Picture Chris Rhythm Player	#14 by Chris Marcoux at Oct 6, 2007 at 5:55 PM EST
	I think this is my favorite song on the album. I think of it as being about dieing and waking up in a strange, surreal afterlife. I love the part about climbing into a whale and lighting a fire while looking out of it's mouth.