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Date: Wed, 27 May 1998 10:39:18 +0900
From: Hisao Chida
Subject: m/mike_and_the_mechanics/the_living_years.crd
The Living Years
---------------
Written by Mike Rutherford and B.A. Robertson
>From the album, Living Years (Mike & The Mechanics), 1988
Transcribed by Hisao Chida (hchida@be.mbn.or.jp)
http://plaza20.mbn.or.jp/~hisao_chida/index.html
Key: A-Flat Major, Time: 4/4, Tempo: 98
Intro:
~~~~~~
|Ab | |Gm | |
|Bbm | |Eb | ||
|Ab | | | |
Verse 1: (0:30-)
~~~~~~~~
|Ab | |
Every generation______
|Dbmaj7 |
Blames the one before___
|Ab |
And all of their frustrations____
|Dbmaj7 |
Come beating on your door._____
|Ebm/Gb
I know that I'm a prisoner
|
To all my father held so dear
|Bbm
I know that I'm a hostage
|
To all his hopes and fears
|Eb |
I just wish I could have told him
|Db/Eb Eb |Ab | |
In the living years. oh,
[Verse 2] (1:08-)
Crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
I'm afraid that's all we've got.
You say you just don't see it
He says it's perfect sense
You just can't get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defence.
Chorus: (1:48-)
~~~~~~
|Ab | |Db |
Say it loud, say it clear
|Bbm |Eb |Ab |
You can listen as well as you hear
|Ab | |Db |
It's too late when we die
|Bbm |Eb |Ab |
To ad-mit we don't see eye to eye.
[Verse 3] (2:27-)
So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
It's the bitterness that lasts.
So don't yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different day
And if you don't give up, and don't give in
You may just be OK.
(Chorus) (3:06-)
[Verse 4] (3:45-)
I wasn't there that morning
When my father passed away
I didn't get to tell him
All the things I had to say
I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I'm sure I heard his echo
In my baby's new born tears
I just with I could have told him
In the living years
(Chorus) (4:23-)
Coda: (5:02-)
~~~~~
|| |Ab | |Db ||
Say it loud, say it clear
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Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
|
No Picture
niles Wanna Be |
#1 by niles lewis at Nov 26, 1970 at 5:21 AM EST |
| This song means so much to me b/c my dad died when I was 7 and this song had come out pretty close to that time. Even though I was only 7 I still have very fond memories of him and videos. Even time I hear I get goosebumps. | |
|
No Picture
Courtney Wanna Be |
#2 by Courtney L. at Jun 22, 1972 at 8:29 AM EST |
| this song is great, mike and the mechanics are true legends :) | |
|
No Picture
health risk Rhythm Player |
#3 by health risk at Feb 10, 1974 at 4:59 PM EST |
| the lyrics in this song are so deep and true. me and my mum are always arguing and theres always one bit i will remember and which gives me goosebumps: its too late when we die, to admit we dont see eye to eye. | |
|
No Picture
Freddy Badass |
#4 by Freddy Timmons at Sep 8, 1975 at 10:53 PM EST |
| this is such a great, sad song i heard it on the radio last night for the first time in years, so i downloaded it, ha! now i have to comment on it. | |
|
No Picture
h4c|< Average |
#5 by h4c|< ☺ at May 24, 1980 at 8:35 PM EST |
| this song has been my absolute favourite for over ten years now. I had trouble finding it but a friend knew it was Mike and the Mechanics and I've been a great fan of theirs ever since. The song makes me want to cry every time I hear it and to me it's just saying how important it is to tell people how you feel and get things out into the open, because life is just too short for misunderstanding, and harbouring grudges. | |
|
No Picture
Lee Professional Badass |
#6 by Lee the bass player, known as blacktooth90™ at Mar 6, 1984 at 2:36 AM EST |
| This song is one of my favorites from the 80's. The lyrics are so deep. The music today can't touch this song. One of the best of all time... | |
|
No Picture
Zach Rhythm Player |
#7 by Zach at Nov 5, 1988 at 9:14 PM EST |
| tjf4375 and worlebird, you two are so right. My mom can especially best relate to this song. She never had a very good father/daughter relationship with my one grandfather. | |
|
No Picture
Kevin Average |
#8 by Kevin Fournier at Feb 19, 1994 at 5:29 PM EST |
| Worlebird, you are right on track. I'm sure many people can relate to this song. I am 42 years young and my father was never really close to me , but we never argued nor did we ever really have differences. He was a good, hard working man who loved his children but for some reason I just never became close with him, perhaps because when I was young (20) I moved out west and started a family. We would correspond via phone and he became a very loving grandparent to my children. He wasn't much of a talker, but I always fet he truly respected me for who I was and I knew he was extremely proud of me. While I was away starting my family, my two brothers became very close to my father. I always resented them for that because for some ridiculous reason I always felt that they were becoming closer and tighter with our father and since I was away raising a family of my own, I just felt left out, like I was missing out on something. Anyway, to make a long story short, my dad passed away suddenly, when I was 30 years old, he was only 54. This song sums up everything I feel about my relationship with my Dad. | |
|
No Picture
Manu Professional Badass |
#9 by Manu at May 7, 1996 at 2:27 AM EST |
| My father passed away 3 months ago, this song makes so much more sense to me now & it helps me understand myself a little bit better. | |
|
No Picture
Trevor Average |
#10 by Trevor fun with drugs at Oct 19, 1999 at 12:48 AM EST |
| Very good point IronHale shame many people dont realise it though. | |
|
No Picture
by fires light Rhythm Player |
#11 by by fires light she cried at May 28, 2000 at 4:22 PM EST |
| The song's meaning is deep, but should be fairly clear. The singer is expressing his regret that he was never able to be close to his father, to express his love for his father, before his father died. Now that his fatehr is dead, it's too late to try and make up for past differences. It is implied that the relationship between the father and son was not good, and the son is now regretting his lost opportunities to make amends. | |
|
No Picture
Meaty Average |
#12 by Meaty at Dec 9, 2003 at 6:02 PM EST |
| Fact: This song made Rolf Harris cry! | |
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