What S The Matter Here chords by 10000 Maniacs

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           G
  I hear them every day.
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            G
“Oh, what's the matter here?!"    I’m..

Chorus 2:
C        D       G       (Em)
tired of the exc-u-s-e-s    everybody uses,  he's your
C        D       G
kid,   (so) do as you see fit,         but
C        D       G       (Em)
get  this  through  that I don't approve of what you
C        D       G
did  to your own flesh and blood.

Solo: (over) G |C D |

Chorus 3:
C      D      G       (Em)
I'm tired of the excuses everybody uses, he's your
C      D      G
kid,   so do as you see fit, but
C      D      G       (Em)
get this through that I don't approve  of what you
C      D      G
did to your own flesh and blood.

Interlude:
Em     G      C      G
"If you don't sit in your chair straight, I’ll
Em     G      C      G
take this belt from  around my waist  and
Em     G      C      G
don't you think that I  won't  use  it!"

(chorus chords continued through end)
C        D       G        (Em)
Answer me and take your time, what could be the awful crime he
C        D       G
could  do at so young an age?       And if I’m the
C        D       G        (Em)
only  witness to your madness offer me some words to balance
C        D       G
out  what I see and what I hear.       Ohhh,  these
C        D       G        (Em)
cold    and cruel    things that you  do,   I sup(pose)
C        D       G
you do them because he belongs to you.      And,  in-st(ead)
C        D           G       (Em)
of love and the feeling of warmth, you offer him these cuts and sores that
C        D       G
don’t heal with time or with age.
C        D       G
     And,  I  want   to say  I      want  to
(switch to chorus chords played like verse endings)
C
say-ay-ay-ay
D            G
“Oh, what’s the matter here?!”      But, I don’t dare
C
say-ay-ay-ay
D            G
  “What’s the matter here?!”       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 (cjhall_99@msn.com)