Chord/Tab song: What's the Matter Here?

Chord,Tablature, lyric, sheet, guitar, ukulele song: What's the Matter Here? - ( What's the Matter Here? 10,000 Maniacs - My Tribe (1987 ...)

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What's the Matter Here?

10,000 Maniacs - My Tribe (1987 album)

Verse:
G |
That young boy without a name
G |
anywhere, I'd know his face.
G (Em) | If solo acoustic, Em sounds better
In the city, than just playing 4 bars of G, but
G (Em) | ?do as you see fit.?
The kid's my favorite. I?ve
C |
seen him, seen him.
D G |
Oh, I see him every day.
G |

G | G |
I?ve seen him run outside looking for a place to hide
G (Em) | G (Em) |
from his father, the kid half naked made me
C | D G |
say to myself, ?Oh, what's the matter here?"
G |
I am...
Chorus:
C D | G (Em) |
tired of the ex-c-u-s-e-s everybody uses, he's their
C D | G |
kid, (so) I stay out of it, but..
C D | G (Em) |
who gave you the right to do
[C]this?

Verse:
[G]We live on Morgan Street,
just ten feet between.
[(Em)] And his mother,
I never see her, but her
[C]screams and curses,
[D] I hear them every d[G]ay.
[G]
[G]Threats like: "If you don't mind
I will beat on your behind,"
[(Em)] "Slap you, I?ll
slap you silly." Made me
[C]say-ay-ay-ay,
[D]?Oh, what's the matter h[G]ere?!" I?m..

Chorus 2:
[C]tired of the exc-[D]u-s-e-s [G]everybody uses,[(Em)] he's your
[C]kid, (so) d[D]o as you see f[G]it, but
[C]get this th[D]rough that [G]I don't approve[(Em)] of what you
[C]did to your o[D]wn flesh and b[G]lood.
Solo: (over) G |C D |

Chorus 3:
[C]I'm tired of [D]the excuses [G]everybody uses,[(Em)] he's your
[C]kid, so d[D]o as you see[G] fit, but
[C]get this thro[D]ugh that I d[G]on't approve [(Em)]of what you
[C]did to your o[D]wn flesh and[G] blood.

Interlude:
[Em]"If you do[G]n't sit in y[C]our chair st[G]raight, I?ll
[Em]take this [G]belt from a[C]round my w[G]aist and
[Em]don't you [G]think that [C]I won't [G]use it!"

(chorus chords continued through end)
[C]Answer me and ta[D]ke your time, [G]what could be th[(Em)]e awful crime he
[C]could do at s[D]o young an a[G]ge? And if I?m the
[C]only witness t[D]o your madness[G] offer me some [(Em)]words to balance
[C]out what I se[D]e and what I [G]hear. Ohhh, these
[C]cold and c[D]ruel th[G]ings that you [(Em)] do, I sup(pose)
[C]you do them beca[D]use he belongs[G] to you. And, in-st(ead)
[C]of love and the f[D]eeling of warmth, you [G]offer him these[(Em)] cuts and sores that
[C]don?t heal with t[D]ime or with a[G]ge.
[C] And, [D]I want [G]to say I want to
(switch to chorus chords played like verse endings)
[C]say-ay-ay-ay
[D]?Oh, what?s the matter h[G]ere?!? But, I don?t dare
[C]say-ay-ay-ay
[D] ?What?s the matter he[G]re?!? No, I don?t dare
[C]say-ay-ayyyyyyyy-ayyyyyyyyyy
D G (1 strum, let ring)
-AYYYYY! it.

[(End)]
Notes:
I am shocked that this song isn?t available on major tab sites, so here?s a version
to get you started. This song can be played more accurately with a Capo on the 2nd
fret. However, I think it sounds great if played lower (matches my male vocals way
better anyway).

Also, I found myself getting lazy and playing the C as a Cadd9 (x32030) and the Em
as Em7 (022030). Since the other chords are D (x00232) and G (320033), this makes
sense in switching as you can just leave you ring finger on the B (2nd) string the
entire time. Similarly, the Em can be played as Em7 for the same reason.

I made up the ?interlude? section from memory without the CD to verify--so you may
be able to workout a better chord progression. If you do, please share the information.

Chords - suggested variants in parens ?()?:
G 320003 (320033)
D x00232
C(add9) x32010 (x32033 or x32030)
Em(7) 022000 (022033 or 022030)
note the 3 is always played on 2nd string if suggested chords used.

And, I say ?suggested? because I play a regular C in the verses and use the add9
variant in the chorus when the pace picks up. I think this tab is more than helpful
towards getting you started and playing this great song. You can play around with the
chords to suite your own taste/flavor or to try to match 10,000 Maniacs more precisely.

Enjoy!
-Chris

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Chord: What's the Matter Here? - tab, song lyric, sheet, guitar, ukulele
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