#-----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE------------------------------------#
# This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the #
# song. The owner of this website has not reviewed the contents of this file and #
# does not support copyright infringement or violating the rights of any artist #
# or legal entity. If you feel that the content of this file may be violating #
# copyright law, you may not use the information displayed here in any way. #
#----------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
This song follows a 12 bar blues for the first few verses
Ostinato I chord
G----------------------------------
D----------------------------------
A----------------------------------
E--0-0-------3-3-5-5---------------
IV chord
G----------------------------------
D----------------------------------
A--0-0-------3-3-5-5---------------
E----------------------------------
V-IV-I
G----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------------------
E--7-7-7-7-7-7-7-6-5-5-5-5-5-5-3-5--0-0---------3-3-5-5--0-0---------3-3-5-5-
Bridge
G-----------------------------------
D-----------------------------------
A-----------------------------------
E--5-5-5-3---3-5-3--5-5-5-3---3-5-6-
After bridge
G------------------
D------------------
A------7-7-5-5-----
E--0-0---------7-7-
Pretty simple just listen to it to get the tempo, as long as you can count a 12 bar blues
you'll be fine.
Brought to you by the BassMasta - http://www.bassmasta.net
|
No Picture
Jezirae Wanna Be |
#1 by Jezirae Williams at Jan 19, 2006 at 2:29 AM EST |
| I heard a version of this live and Gord did an interlude I call "Killer Whale Tank". It went something like this: I had a job before this I had a job before this Ultimately it was that job that drove me into this I worked at an aquarium An aquarium with lots of money from the government So it was HUGE I was clean & scrub man, they called us in the CNS Union I scrubbed the inside of the killer whale tank And after a while the boys in the CNS, the Clean & Scrub, we just sorta made it one word The Killerwhaletank, the killerwhaletank, the killerwhaletank, i'm goin into the killerwhaletank I got along with these two big beasts so well, it was like they knew me they'd look at me with their 100 year old eyes and it was like they knew me I'd put on my scuba gear, my mask, my regulator and I'd fall into the tank with nary a sound and I was underwater sometimes -- I'd JUMP OUT -- right in front of the window when people were expecting a killer whale and they'd see a human and they'd get spooked ... SPOOKED. yeah I'd do that but I was in the water this particular day unbeknownst to me, Shamu and Bartholomew, their relationship had gone stale seems I was going in there so much and I was looking so good Shamu took a shining to me And their so smart those things you know they've got all these human emotions love, lust, green 100 year old jealousy, Bartholomew... WAS LIVID! Unbeknownst to me I can't hear a goddamn thing underwater He was bumping up against me The stale killer whale bumping up against someone so pale and frail how was I to know the killerwhalerelationship had gone stale he bumpedup against me his skin was like sandpaper and he circled around I thought we were all patched up and I was cleanin and scrubbin and he took my... he came up and... he ripped my left arm off... and their quite docile and friendly in captivity but he took my left arm he took my fuckin left arm | |
|
No Picture
Josh Wanna Be |
#2 by Josh at Feb 8, 2006 at 11:55 AM EST |
| Don't take at face value the things Downie may have said while introducing a song. He is usually making a joke, sometimes an in-joke for his bandmates. Is there anything actually in the lyric that would make you think it's about a battleship, other than the fact that New Orleans is Sinking? First off, there was no battleship New Orleans. There was a heavy cruiser New Orleans, which was built in 1931, but it never sank. It was scrapped in 1959. So ... do you think Gordie might have been poking fun at all the people who try to tie Nautical Disaster to a specific event? This seems to be a song about New Orleans as party town, and the confusing state of mind in being there. New Orleans is, in fact, sinking very slowly, and Downie has spun this into lines that should make perfect sense to anyone who has ever been drunk, confused, and struck with the sense that things are going wrong: My memory is muddy, what's this river that I'm in? New Orleans is sinking man, and I don't wanna swim. The first and third verses are pretty straightforward, but the second is odd. "Colonel Tom" in the second verse could be Colonel Tom Parker, who was Elvis Presley's manager. That puts a double entendre on "deal," which could refer to a hand of cards ("Hey north, you're south" suggests bridge or a similar game) or a contract. "Hey north, you're south, shut your big mouth, etc." has Colonel Tom respond by telling us to shut up and play, and not only on the obvious level. Downie as a Canadian (north) is south in New O, so we may not be talking bridge; we may just be saying, stop asking questions and party. Colonel Tom himself was actually an illegal immigrant, which puts a different spin on his instruction to a fellow outsider to shut up and party, on the question that prompts it, and on the impending doom implied by "New Orleans is sinking." "Party while you can," the song seems to say, but a sense of doom is as much a product of partying too hard as a reason to do it. So in the end it seems he does the sensible thing and clears out of New O, without bringing any souvenirs. | |
|
No Picture
juleon Average |
#3 by juleon at Feb 28, 2006 at 7:52 PM EST |
| Pardon me if I'm wrong, but I heard somewhere that the City of New Orleans is actually itself sinking slowly. | |
|
No Picture
R0vyJ Rhythm Player |
#4 by R0vyJ Rovtar at May 6, 2006 at 3:40 PM EST |
| What I like most about this song is the bass work of Gord Sinclair. It drives this song into legendary status with its menacing sound to you keep guessing as to has the actually melody. The bridge between the second and third verses is the best place to hear his fingerwork. While it does seem to be as inspiring like anything by McCartney, Claypool, Pastorius, or Wooten, this man can play and his silece can be heard in between the dual guitars of Gord Downie and Paul Langolis. He does well here and on many other songs. | |
|
No Picture
Julian Wanna Be |
#5 by Julian Gleneske at Feb 28, 2007 at 7:13 PM EST |
| I got two words for y'all: Hurricane Katrina! | |
