Standard tuning.
Fun 4 chord song, intermediate only for the voicings, but if you got bar chords down, it should be easy.
Play A F#m and D as bar chords, E open.
Rhythm is down, up-down-up-down, up-down-up-down, up for each chord during the breaks ("elephants and
zebras," "be with you always," etc.) and Chorus ("and it de-fi-NIT-ly matters...").
Verse, bridge, and coda are just downstrokes, with palm-muting...
...or play it how like. Have fun!
A E F#m D
E--5----0----2----5--|
B--5----0----2----7--|
G--6----1----2----7--|
D--7----2----4----7--|
A--7----2----4----5--|
E--5----0----2----5--|
Verse I:
A E
Every cell is transforming.
F#m D
And returning to original concepts to construct,
A E
And then I started to shapeshift,
F#m D
And the animals within me grew tails and the talons
A E
I hitched a ride on the back of a whale,
F#m D
To the darkest of the ocean and ate off the bottom,
A E
And then I traveled dimensions,
F#m D
In the places I rode upon elephants and zebras
Break I:
A E F#m D
Elephants and zebras
Verse II:
A E
Well I dreamed of my future big time, yeah
F#m D
What it would be like to always have clean water,
A E
And if you left the trees standing,
F#m D
And they filtered the air and we breathed it in deeply
A E
Well I traveled across Native America,
F#m D
I saw the sickness taking form in all the small children
A E
Well if I could give you my people, yeah,
F#m D
Well a piece of my peace will be with you always,
A E
If I could give you my people, yeah,
F#m D
Well a piece of my peace will be with you always,
Break II:
A E F#m D
Be with you always
A E F#m D
Be with you always
Bridge:
D E D
I never thought I needed medicine but I was spiritually dying,
E
I needed some healing,
D E
So I opened my mouth and took a dose of the music,
D E
Then I stopped and prayed for guidance now teach me to use it,
D E
I prayed for guidance yeah teach me to use it,
D E
I prayed for guidance now give me the music
A E
And it definitely matters how you look at it,
F#m D
And it definitely matters how you look at it,
A E
So if you think you can risk it, well,
F#m D
What an opportunity to be free of it,
A E
Well if you think you can risk it, well,
F#m D
What an opportunity to be free of it
Break:
A E F#m D
A E F#m D
Verse III:
A E
I heard, I heard yeah the wild horses,
F#m D
I were blazing trails through uncertain territory,
A E
I take a toke and reflect with coyote,
F#m D
and were dreaming up new ways to bring all the outcasts home,
A E
I take my place in the choir,
F#m D
I was singing the songs of freedom and progress
A E
And we're delivering the babies yeah,
F#m D
And we're building up the next seven generations
A E
Said we're delivering the babies yeah,
F#m E
And we're building up the next seven generations
Break:
A E F#m D
Seven generations
A E F#m D
Seven generations
Bridge:
D E D
I never thought I needed medicine but I was spiritually dying,
E
I needed some healing,
D E
So I opened my mouth and took a dose of the music,
D E
Then I stopped and prayed for guidance now teach me to use it,
D E
I prayed for guidance yeah teach me to use it,
D E
I prayed for guidance now give me the music
A E
And it definitely matters how you look at it,
F#m D
And it definitely matters how you look at it,
A E
So if you think you can risk it, well,
F#m D
What an opportunity to be free of it,
A E
Well if you think you can risk it, well,
F#m D
What an opportunity to be free of it
Break:
A E F#m D
A E F#m D
Coda:
A E
Mouthing off,
F#m D
Such aggressive behavior,
A E
I'm sounding off,
F#m D
Holding my temper,
A E
It comes in waves,
F#m D
My enemies swim close to me,
A E
My heart's displaced,
F#m D
Connected to such bravery,
A E
My hunger waits,
F#m D
I cannot swallow, I cannot swallow,
A D
I am all over the place,
F#m D
My spirit bellows, My spirt bellows,
A E
I am on my way,
F#m D
My body follows, my body follows,
A E
Written on my face,
F#m D
Well do not follow, do not follow... me
...if you like, you can play a break and go into a rendition of Matisyahu's "One Day" using the same chords,
like Nahko does in the live youtube videos...