#-----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE------------------------------#
# This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation #
# of the song. The owner of this website has not reviewed the contents of #
# this file. If you feel that the content of this file may be violating #
# copyright law, you may not use the information displayed here in any way. #
#----------------------------------------------------------------------------#
From: Craig Lawton
THE DEAD HEART
By Midnight Oil
Do intro riff twice (second time with vocals)
[ These two bars three timer ]
e-|--------------------------|--------------------------|--2----------------------------|
B-|--------2-----3-----2-----|--------------------------|--3----------------------------|
G-|--4-----------------------|--4-----2--2--------------|--4----------------------------|
D-|-----4-----4-----4-----4--|-----4--------------------|--4----------------------------|
A-|--------------------------|--------------------------|--2----------------------------|
E-|--------------------------|--------------------------|-------------------------------|
THEN CHORD STRUMMING over vocals is:
(each vert line is one beat)
B E A B E A B E A B(no 3rd)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Do Do Do Do Do Do Do
VERSE 1: (over bass and drums)
We don't serve your country
Don't serve your king
Know your custom don't speak your tongue
White man came took everyone
(With intro riff over top)
Do do do do do do do
VERSE 2:
We don't server your country
Don't serve your king
White man listen to the songs we sing
White man came took everything
(With intro riff)
Do do do do do do do
CHORUS:
Bm A G
We carry in our hearts the true country
F#m D A/C#
And that cannot be sto - len
Bm A G
We follow in the steps of our ancestry
F#m A D A/C#
And that cannot be bro - ken
(With intro riff)
Do do do do do do do
Repeat earlier verse then:
VERSE 3:
We don't need protection
Don't need your land
Keep your promise on where we stand
We will listen we'll understand
CHORUS (TWICE) - Finish second chorus on B(no 3rd)
With intro riff(over top)
Mining companies, pastoral companies
Uranium companies
Collected companies
Got more right than people
Got more say than people
THEN CHORD STRUMMING over vocals is:
(each vert line is one beat)
B E A B E A B E A B(no 3rd)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Forty thousand years can make a difference to the state of things
The dead heart lives here
END song on B Major Chord
CHORDS:
Bm : x24432
A : x02220
G : 320003
F#m : 244222
B(no 3rd): x24400
A/C# : x4222x
D : xx0232
/^^^^^ o o
( / ) Craig Lawton o
# / o ______ o
| | BHP Research _/ ( _
|_/| _ _/ ( _ O
___/ // | _ _/ ( ( 0
| / / / |== _/ ( ( |
___+___/ / / / |=== _ ( ( ( |
| / / / / |==_/ _ ( ( |
| / / / / |_/ _ ( ( __/
/ / / / _ ( _/
| | /// | |___/
| | /__/
/ E-mail : craigl@resmel.bhp.com.au
Brought to you by the GUITARMASTA - http://www.guitarmasta.net
Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
|
No Picture
Jeremy Average |
#1 by Jeremy Rees at Dec 23, 1972 at 6:51 PM EST |
| "We carry in our hearts the true country." I love this line purely for the reason that no matter how Americanized Australian society is becoming, deep in our hearts we can only be Australian and what it stands for. | |
|
No Picture
connor Average |
#2 by connor gooley at Apr 21, 1981 at 5:31 AM EST |
| Its the plight of Indigenous Australians from their point of view. The song brilliantly captures not only their plight, but their use of English as a pidgin language. If you've ever heard an Aboriginie speak, especially one from the centre of Australia (more so than the cities), you'll know that they speak in an interesting way. "White man came took everything", not only a great lyric, but a very accurate representation of how an Aboriginie would communicate in the English language. Hooray for Midnight Oil! | |
|
No Picture
jamie Lead Player |
#3 by jamie mordue at Jul 1, 1982 at 2:35 PM EST |
| Great song...I love how Midnight Oil make anthems like this which are damn catchy and have a great meaning. Also, check out the video clip for this song, it's very powerful..especially the shots of hundreds of tourists walking over the Aboriginal sacred site, Uluru, in fast-foward. | |
|
No Picture
ToRRi Average |
#4 by ToRRi L at May 20, 1992 at 1:22 PM EST |
| the song is regarding a more specific issue than just the development of "civillization". its echoing the plight of the Austrailian Aborigines, whose situation is mucht the same as that of the American Indian--"White man came took everything". this is a strident song calling for a reemergence of aboriginal pride and cultural heritage; a heritage repressed for many years by the Australian government and populace. the lines regarding industry are targeted specifically at those industries which have recieved favors from the government at the expense of the Aboriginal people. the Aborigines have been repeatedly shunted aside to accomodate these "collected companies" without any recompense in many instances. this is not a song condeming the development of society. this a song decrying the abuse of men. | |
|
No Picture
MelissA Average |
#5 by MelissA at Apr 2, 1996 at 8:37 PM EST |
| Forty thousand years ago was about when anthropologists believe humanity developed the concept of language and, with it, symbolic thought. What the band is trying to say, I believe, is that Western society, somehow, has fallen off the track, that we no longer live the way nature/God/whatever meant us to live. To some degree, he's right. The question is, is that entirely a bad thing? Sure, corporations have far too much power and influence over our daily lives. While we don't live simple hunter/gatherer lifestyles, humanity's legacy is technological advance. Without these advances, which are the legacy of language and symbolic thought, our fate will be no different than any other species on this planet - we'll spend our time here, then disappear. Personally, I'm not too fond of that idea. | |
|
No Picture
jamie Lead Player |
#6 by jamie soad at Dec 27, 2004 at 7:11 AM EST |
| I believe that 40,000 years ago refers to when aboriginals first moved into Australia - well before whites. A song that can make you cry. | |
|
No Picture
jim Professional |
#7 by jim d.f at Oct 26, 2005 at 8:19 PM EST |
| when i first heard this song, i thought it was about native americans. i'm a us citizen, and midnight oils' australian accents didn't really come across in the music. kind of sad that the same fate captured both aboriginies and american indians... | |
Top 7 Midnight Oil Guitar Tabs
Popular Guitar Tabs