Monkey & Bear — Joanna Newsom
Chords and lyrics for Monkey & Bear by Joanna Newsom (key of F).
Verse 1
This one takes a bit of practise.
If the chords don’t sound quite right, have a listen to the individual
notes that Joanna
The Cm section is technically correct, it’s just a little difficult to
explain. Don’t
the Cm as a barre chord, play it like this : x310xx so that the Eb (or the
‘1’) moves up
an E when you play the C chord. That entire chord section is used to
illustrate that
bit of work.
(Am G F
down in the green hay
where [A]monkey and [G]bear [D)]usually lay
they [Am]woke from a [F]stable-boy's[Am] cry
he said; [Am]someone [G]come [F]quick!
the [A]horses got [G]loose, got [D]grass-sick!
they'll [Am]founder! [F]fain, they'll [Am]die
[Cm]what is [C]now known [Cadd9]by the [E]sorrel [Esus4]and the [E]roan?
[Esus4] [E] [Esus4] [Eadd9] [E]
[E]by the chestnut, and the bay, and the gelding grey?
it is: [Am]stay by the [G]gate you are [D]given
and [C]remain in your[G] place, for your [F]season
and had the [Am]overfed [G]dead but [C]listened
to that [F]high-fence, [G]horse-sense, [A]wisdom...
[Am]"did you hear [G]that, [F]Bear?" said [D]monkey
we'll [G]get out [D]of here, fair and [D/A]square
they've [Am]left the [F]gate open[Am] wide!
[Am]so;
my [D]bride
[Am]here is my hand, where [D]is your paw?
[Am]try and understand my [D]plan, Ursala
[Am]my heart is a [D]furnace
[Am]full of love that's just, and [D]earnest
now; [Am]you know that we must [D]unlearn this
[Am]allegiance to a life of [D]service
and no [Am]longer answer to that [D]heartless
[Am]hay-monger, nor be his [D]accomplice
(that [Am]charlatan, with artless [D]hustling!)
but; [Am]Ursala, we've got to eat [D]something
and [Am]earn our keep, while [D]still within
the [Am]borders[D] of the land that man has girded
(all [Am]double-bolted and [D]tightfisted!)
[Am]until we reach the [D]open country
[Am]a-steeped in milk and [D]honey
[Am]will you [D]keep your fancy clothes on, for me?
[Am]can you [D]bear a little longer to wear that leash?
[Am]my love, I[D] swear by the air I breathe:
[Am]sooner or [C]later, you'll [F]bare your [Am]teeth
but for [Am]now, just dance, [D]darling
[Am]c'mon, will you dance, my [E]darling?
[Am]darling, there's a [C]place for us
can we [F]go, before I [D]turn to dust?
[Am]oh my [C]darling, there's a [F]place for [Am]us
[Am]oh [D]darling
[Am]c'mon [E]will you dance, my darling?
oh, [Am]the hills are groaning[C] with excess
like a[F] table ceaselessly [D]being set
[Am]oh my [C]darling, we will [F]get there [Am]yet
[Am]they trooped [G]past the [F]guards,
past the [A]coops, and the [G]fields, and the [D]farmyards[G)]
all[Am] night, till [F][Am]finally:
the [Am]space they [G]gained [F]grew
much [A]farther than the [G]stone that bear [D]threw[G)]
to [Am]mark where they'd [F]stop for [Am]tea
but[Cm] walk a [C]little [Cadd9]faster
and [E]don't [Esus4]look [E][Esus4]backwards
[E] [Esus4] [E] [Eadd9] [E]
[Eadd9]your feast is to the East, which lies a little past the
[E]pasture
when the [Am]blackbirds hear tea [G]whistling, they [F]rise and clap
and their [C]applause caws the [G]kettle [F]black
and we [Am]can't have [G]none of [C]that!
move [Am]along, Bear; [G]there, there; [D]that�s that
(though[Am] cast in [G][F]plaster
our [A]Ursala's [G]heart beat [D]faster[G)]
than [Am]monkey's [F]ever [Am]will)
[Am]but [D]still;
[Am]they [D]have got to pay the bills
[Am]hadn't [D]they?
[Am]that is what the [D]monkey'd say
[Am]so, with the [D]courage of a [Am]clown, or a cur
or a [D]kite, jerking tight at its [Am]tether
in her[D] dun-brown gown of[Am] fur
and her jerkin of[D] swan's down and [Am]leather
Bear would [D]sway on her hind [Am]legs;
the organ would grind [D]dregs of song, for the [Am]pleasure
of the [D]children, who'd shriek
[Am]throwing coins at her feet
then [D]recoiling in [Am]terror
sing, dance, [D]darling
[Am]c'mon, will you dance, [E]my darling?
[Am]oh darling, there's a [C]place for us
can we [F]go, before I [D]turn to dust?
[Am]oh my [C]darling, there�s a [F]place for us[Am]
[Am]oh [D]darling
[Am]c'mon, will [E]you dance, my darling?
you keep your[Am] eyes fixed on the highest [C]hill
where you'll [F]ever-after [D]eat your fill
[Am]oh my [C]darling, [F]dear, [D]mine
if you [Am]dance
dance, [C]darling, and i [F]love you [Am]still
[Am]deep in the night
shone a weak and miserly light
where the monkey shouldered his lamp
someone had told him
the bear had been wandering
a fair piece away from where they were camped
someone had told him
the bear'd been sneaking away
to the seaside caverns, to bathe
and the thought troubled the monkey
for he was afraid of spelunking down in those caves
also afraid what the village people would say
if they saw the bear in that state;
lolling and splashing obscenely
well, it seemed irrational, really; washing that face
washing that matted and flea-bit pelt
in some sea-spit-shine, old kelp dripping with brine
but monkey just laughed, and he muttered;
when she comes back, Ursala will be bursting with pride
'til I jump up!
saying: you've been rolling in muck!
saying: you smell of garbage and grime!
but far out
far out
by now
by now
far out, by now, Bear ploughed
'cause she would not drown:
first the outside-legs of the bear
up and fell down, in the water, like knobby garters
then the outside-arms of the bear
fell off, as easy as if sloughed from boiled tomatoes
low'red in a genteel curtsy
bear shed the mantle of her diluvian shoulders;
and, with a sigh, she allowed the burden of belly
to drop like an apronfull of boulders
if you could hold up her threadbare coat to the light
where it's worn translucent in places
you'd see spots where almost every night of the year
Bear had been mending suspending that baseness
now her coat drags through the water
bagging, with a life's-worth of hunger, limitless minnows
in the magnetic embrace
balletic and glacial of Bear's insatiable shadow
left there!
left there!
when Bear left Bear
left there!
left there!
when Bear stepped clear of Bear
Am, G, F, A, G, D (F,
Am, F, G
[Am](sooner or [C]later, you'll [F]bare your [Am]teeth...)
X