Canola Fields — James McMurtry

Chords and lyrics for Canola Fields by James McMurtry (key of C).

Verse 1

by James McMurtry
2x0233 [Cadd9]Dsus4/F#
These chords are derived from listening to the released single, backed up
by watching James
play this on his Facebook livestreams whenever things weren't clear.
Sometimes I hear the
F# in the bass of the D chords on the album version, sometimes it's just D.
He definitely puts
an F# in the bass on the Facebook livestreams, so that's what I've done
here.
Either is probably fine.
Figure 1:
The figure above is what is actually played at the tail end of the first
half of each verse, when
the chord changes quickly move between G-Dsus4/F#-Em7/Dsus4/F#-Cadd9. The
chords shown are what is
implied harmonically. It sounds okay to play these, but it is better to
just hold the Cadd9 shape
and use your index finger to play the bass note movement as shown above.
This happens a lot in
this song - hold and ring certain chords, move your index finger to hit the
bass notes or throw
in fills, as James does.

Verse 1

I was [Cadd9]thinking 'bout you, crossing [G]Southern Alberta
Canola [Cadd9]fields on a July [Dsus4/F#]day
Are about the same [Cadd9]chartreuse as that [G]sixty-nine [Dsus4/F#]bug
You used to [Em7]drive [Dsus4/F#]around San Jose[Cadd9]
You never [Cadd9]knew where my old white [G]Lincoln might take you
[Cadd9]Party on wheels with [Dsus4/F#]suicide doors
Bring the [Cadd9]kids and the dogs and your [G]grandma [Dsus4/F#]too
We [Em7]always had [Dsus4/F#]room for more[Cadd9]

Verse 2

Til that [Cadd9]white-knuckle ride back from [G]Santa Cruz
[Cadd9]Second-best surfer on the [Dsus4/F#]central coast
Had you [Cadd9]wrapped up all the way [G]back to Los [Dsus4/F#]Gatos
And [Em7]I could've [Dsus4/F#]cut his throat[Cadd9]
And it [Cadd9]wasn't like we were an [G]item to start with
It had [Dsus4/F#]no basis in [Em7]fact
But the [Cadd9]whiskey could push me to [G]sudden extremes
[G]I don't want to think about [Dsus4/F#]that,
I don't want to think [Cadd9]about [G]that

Chorus

Bridge

[Cadd9] [G] [Dsus4/F#] [Em7]
[Cadd9] [G] [Dsus4/F#]

Verse 3

We all [Cadd9]filtered away with the [G]days getting shorter
[Cadd9]Seeking our place in the [Dsus4/F#]greater scheme
[Cadd9]Kids and careers and a [G]vague [Dsus4/F#]sense of [Em7]order
[Dsus4/F#]Busting apart at the [Cadd9]seams
[Cadd9]I heard you switched coasts, moved [G]in with your sister
[Cadd9]I doubt you'd have called it [Dsus4/F#]familial bliss
We [Cadd9]met up in Brooklyn [G]before it went [Dsus4/F#]hipster
You [Em7]carried your [Dsus4/F#]keys in your [Cadd9]fist
In a[Cadd9] way back corner of a [G]cross-town bus
We were [Dsus4/F#]hiding out under my [Em7]hat
[Cadd9]Cashing in on a [G]thirty-year crush
[G]You can't be young and [Dsus4/F#]do that
You can't be young and [Cadd9]do that[G]

Chorus

[Cadd9]Take my [Em7]hand [D]Marie
[Cadd9]Take a [G]death grip on [Dsus4/F#]some part [G]of [Cadd9]me
[Cadd9]Keep me from [G]drifting [Dsus4/F#]far out to [Em7]sea
Or I'll be [Em7]lost [Dsus4/F#]out [Cadd9]there
Or I'll be [Em7]lost [Dsus4/F#]out [Cadd9]there

Solo

[Em7] [Dsus4/F#] [G] [D] [Cadd9] [D]
[Em7] [Dsus4/F#] [G] [D] [Cadd9]
[Em7] [Dsus4/F#] [G] [D] [Cadd9]
[D] [D]

Verse 4

I was [Cadd9]thinking 'bout you crossing [G]Southern Alberta
[Cadd9]Canola fields at [Dsus4/F#]harvest time
Look like [Cadd9]tumbleweeds all raked [G]up into [Dsus4/F#]rows
[Em7]Brown rusty [Dsus4/F#]contour lines[Cadd9]
And there's [Cadd9]not much moving on the [G]romance radar
Not that I'm [Cadd9]craving it all that [Dsus4/F#]much
But I [Cadd9]still need to feel every [G]once in a [Dsus4/F#]while
The [Em7]warmth of a [Dsus4/F#]smile and a [Cadd9]touch
[Cadd9]In a way back corner [G]of a cross-town bus
We were [Dsus4/F#]hiding out under my [Em7]hat
[Cadd9]Cashing in on a [G]thirty-year crush
[G]You can't be young and do [Dsus4/F#]that
[Dsus4/F#]You can't be young and[Cadd9] do that[G]
[G]You can't be young and do [Dsus4/F#]that
[Dsus4/F#]You can't be young and[Cadd9] do that[G]

Canola Fields — James McMurtry

Verse 1

Verse 1

Verse 2

Chorus

Bridge

Verse 3

Chorus

Solo

Verse 4

Chorus

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