Chords with lyrics
Tuning: Standard (E A D G B E)
Difficulty: Advanced
ABUELA CLAUDIA:
D MajorD D MajorD+ B minorBm
Calor! Calor! Calor!
G/F# A/D F#F#
Calor! Calor! Calor!
B minorBm A augmentedA
Ay Mama!
D MajorD F#F#
The summer's hottest day
B minorBm A augmentedA
Paciencia y fe
D MajorD F# minorF#m B minorBm F#F#
Paciencia y fe
B minorBm A augmentedA
Ay carajo, it's hot!
D MajorD F#F#
But that's okay
B minorBm A augmentedA
Mama would say,
D MajorD F# minorF#m B minorBm F#F#
"Paciencia y fe"
B minorBm A augmentedA
It was hotter at home in La Vibora
D MajorD F# minorF#m B minorBm F#F#
The Washington Heights of Havana
B minorBm A augmentedA D MajorD F# minorF#m B minorBm F#F#
A augmentedA crowded city of faces the same as mine
B minorBm A augmentedA
Back as a child in La Vibora
D MajorD F# minorF#m B minorBm F#F#
I chased the birds in the plaza
B minorBm A augmentedA
Praying, Mama, you would find work
D MajorD D/F#D/F# B minorBm F#F# BsusBsus BB
Combing the stars in the sky for some sort of sign
E minorEm A augmentedA D MajorD
Ay, Mama, so many stars in Cuba
E minorEm A augmentedA D MajorD D7D7
En Nueva York we can't see beyond our streetlights
Gmaj7Gmaj7 A augmentedA F# minorF#m F9F9
To reach the roof you gotta bribe the supa
E minorEm F#F#
Ain't no cassiopia in Washington Heights
E minorEm F#F#
But ain't no food in La Vibora
G+G A augmentedA B minorBm
I remember nights, anger in the streets, hunger at the windows
G+G A augmentedA D MajorD D7D7
Women folding clothes, playing with my friends in the summer rain
G+G A augmentedA D9D9 C9C9 BB
Mama needs a job, Mama says we're poor, one day you say, "Vamos a Nueva York"
E minorEm A augmentedA BB
And Nueva York was far, but Nueva York had work, and so we came
D MajorD B minorBm
And now I'm wide awake
D MajorD BB
A augmentedA million years too late
G+G F#F# B minorBm
I talk to you, imagining what you'd do
G/BG/B C minorCm Bb majorBb Eb MajorEb Bb majorBb C minorCm G7G7
Remembering what we went through
{KEY CHANGE TO Cm}
C minorCm Bb majorBb
Nueva York! Ay Mama!
Eb MajorEb Bb majorBb C minorCm G7G7
It wasn't like today, you'd say,
C minorCm
"Paciencia y fe
NEW YORKERS:
Bb majorBb
Paciencia y fe
ABUELA CLAUDIA:
Eb MajorEb Bb majorBb C minorCm
Paciencia y fe."
NEW YORKERS:
G7G7
Paciencia y -
ABUELA CLAUDIA:
C minorCm Bb majorBb
Fresh off the boat in America
Eb MajorEb G+G C minorCm G+G
Freezing in early December
C minorCm Bb majorBb Eb MajorEb Bb majorBb C minorCm G7G7
A augmentedA crowded city in nineteen forty-three!
C minorCm Bb majorBb
Learning the ropes in America
Eb MajorEb G+G C minorCm G+G
En espanol I remember
C minorCm Bb majorBb
Dancing with Mayor LaGuardia
Eb MajorEb G+G C minorCm G+G C majorC
All of society welcoming Mami and me! Ha!
EMPLOYERS:
C minorCm Bb majorBb
You better clean this mess!
ABUELA CLAUDIA:
Bb majorBb
Paciencia y fe...
EMPLOYERS:
Eb MajorEb G+G C minorCm
You better learn ingles!
ABUELA CLAUDIA:
C minorCm
Paciencia y fe...
EMPLOYERS:
C minorCm Bb majorBb
You better not be late
Eb MajorEb G+G C minorCm
You better pull your weight
F minorFm G7G7
Are you better off then you were with the birds of La Vibora?
ABUELA CLAUDIA:
AbAb Bb majorBb C minorCm
Sharing double beds, trying to catch a break, struggling with English
AbAb Bb majorBb Eb MajorEb
Listening to friends, finally got a job working as a maid
AbAb Bb majorBb Eb MajorEb DbDb C7C7
So we cleaned some homes, polishing with pride, scrubbing the whole of the upper east side
F minorFm Bb majorBb C7C7
The days into weeks, the weeks into years, and here I stayed
NEW YORKERS:
C7C7
Paciencia y fe...
C7C7
Paciencia y fe...
C7C7
Paciencia y fe...
ABUELA CLAUDIA:
Eb MajorEb C minorCm
And as I feed these birds
Eb MajorEb C minorCm
My hands begin to shake
AbAb G+G
And as I say these words
C7C7 Bb majorBb
My heart's about to break
F minorFm
And ay Mama
Bb majorBb Eb MajorEb G+G C minorCm
What do you do when your dreams come true?
AbAb Bb majorBb C minorCm Bb majorBb AbAb
I've spent my life inheriting dreams from you
F minorFm Bb majorBb
What do I do with this winning ticket?
C minorCm G minorGm AbAb
What can I do but pray?
Eb MajorEb C minorCm
I buy my loaf of bread
Eb MajorEb C minorCm
Continue with my day
F minorFm G7G7
And see you in my head
Fm/Ab G7G7
Imagining what you'd say
AbAb Bb majorBb F minorFm
The birds, they fly away
G minorGm AbAb F minorFm G+G (or DdimDdim)
Do they fly to La Vibora?
Spoken:
N.C.
Alright, Mama, Okay.
C majorC C majorC+ A minorAm
Paciencia y fe!
NEIGHBORS:
FF F minorFm C majorC
Calor! Calor Calor!