Tag Archives: lyrics

“Heavy Metal Drummer” (Wilco Cover)

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For Wilco chords & lyrics, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to another week of all-new material here at the Laptop Sessions blog, your source for excellent acoustic cover song music videos!

Well, it’s that and then some this week, as the next seven days are jam-packed with posts.

Let’s just say we’re partying like it’s 2008!

Here’s the low-down:  After my Chris Moore Monday post tonight, I’ll be back tomorrow with a full-length article.  Then, you can look forward to three videos in a row: an Original Wednesday post, Thursday’s regularly scheduled programming, and Friday’s Guest Session.  And the weekend isn’t a time of rest, as you can look forward to the second installment in the Saturday “Playlists on Parade” series and Sunday’s “Weekend Review.”

For my video tonight, I’ve gone back to one of my favorites: Wilco.  I heard this Yankee Hotel Foxtrot deep track on a colleague’s iPod over the weekend before band practice, and I took a moment to figure it out.  It’s a straightforward progression, which makes it a lot of fun to play and sing along to.  So, it was a no-brainer when I thought about my session for the week.  I’ve made it my business to cover a wide range of Wilco material.  Thus far, I’ve translated songs from their 1995 debut A.M., the following year’s Being There, Summerteeth (albeit a members-only video), Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and last year’s Wilco (the album).  I’ve also pulled from both collaborations with Billy Bragg, 1998’s Mermaid Avenue and 2000’s Mermaid Avenue Vol. II.  This leaves A Ghost is Born and Sky Blue Sky.

However, instead of filling in the gaps, I had to go with a fun track from one of my favorite albums of all time.  “Heavy Metal Drummer” starts with a beat machine, and builds up to an all-out rock song.  What I like about it is how well it evokes a sense of fond memories for one’s past, particularly with reference to music.  Now, my nostalgia is not for heavy metal bands and Kiss cover songs, but I will never forget the enjoyable outings my friends and I made to concerts, starting with my first Bob Dylan concert back in high school and on from there — Brian Wilson, Barenaked Ladies, and so many more…

…including an amazing two and a half hour performance by Wilco last summer!

So, it is with great pleasure that I bring you “Heavy Metal Drummer,” hoping to stir some of your own fond memories of the past.  It is, after all, inevitable that the years pass and our lives change.  Still, there will always be songs and experiences that we harken back to for years and years to come.  Which are yours?

See you next session!

“The End” by Pearl Jam – Chords, Tabs, & How to Play

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“The End”
Pearl Jam

F#                            C#
What were all those dreams we shared
C#       Ebm              F#
Those many years ago?
What were all those plans we made
Now left beside the road?
F#   B                    F#
Be – hind us in the road.

More than friends I always pledged
Cause friends they come and go
People change as does everything
I wanted to grow old
Just want to grow old

F#          B         F#
Slide on next to me
F#  B                    Ab
I’m  just a human being
B                   Ebm
I will take the blame
Ebm           C#
But just the same
C#             B
This is not me
You see
Believe
B                     F#
I’m better than this

F#     B                  F#
Don’t leave me so cold
F#   B                            Ab
Or   buried beneath the stones
B                   Ebm
I just want to hold on
Ebm  C#                            B
And   know I’m worth your love
Enough
I don’t think
B                                      F#
There’s such a thing…

It’s my fault, now I been caught
A sickness in my bones
How it pains to leave you here
With the kids on your own
Just don’t let me go

Help me see myself
Cause I can no longer tell
Looking out from the inside of
The bottom of a well
It’s hell
I yell
But no one hears

Before I disappear
Whisper in my ear
Give me something to echo
In my unknown future’s ear

My dear
The end
Comes near
I’m here
But not much longer

** These chords and lyrics are interpretations and transcriptions, respectively, and are the sole property of the copyright holder(s). They are posted on this website free of charge for no profit for the purpose of study and commentary, as allowed for under the “fair use” provision of U.S. copyright law, and should only be used for such personal and/or academic work. **

“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” (Traditional/Brian Wilson acoustic rock cover)

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For Brian Wilson chords & lyrics, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

If you have found yourself suffering from a “pernicious case of the Mondays” and need something to turn your week around, then look no further than the best cover song music video blog on the Internet today!

This week, as with all weeks, there’s a lot to look forward to.

Tonight, there’s Chris Moore Monday.  Tomorrow, there’s Jim Fusco Tuesday.  On Saturday, there’s chords to one of the most classic Christmas songs of all time.  And, finally, there’s The Weekend Review on Sunday, a very special edition during which I’ll reveal my pick for the #3 best rock album of the decade, 2000-2009.  Thus far, it’s been The Barenaked Ladies’ Maroon at #5 and, as of yesterday, Elliott Smith’s Figure 8 at #4.

But that’s enough about the future.  For now, let’s live in the moment.

“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is a traditional song, which basically means that no one knows who wrote the song.  I learned tonight that the song is more accurately referred to as “God rest you merry, gentlemen,” even though it is often incorrectly punctuated as “God rest you, merry gentlemen.”  Of course, as an English teacher, I found this fascinating.  Don’t you?

And, as if that wasn’t enough, Charles Dickens referred to this song in his classic holiday novel, A Christmas Carol.  This is a novel that I loved when I first read it in my Charles Dickens class at CCSU, and I loved it even more when I returned to it a couple years ago.  If I wasn’t so busy this month, I would re-read it for a third time.

Instead, I’m grading, getting car work done, attending real estate meetings, and, of course, decorating for Christmas.  We had a lot of fun pulling out old decorations and buying some new ones to complete the Christmas spirit in the apartment.  Even now, I sit bathed in the multi-colored glow of Christmas lights, and really, there’s no better atmosphere for typing a yuletide post.

I’m very proud of tonight’s session for a couple of reasons.  First of all, I couldn’t find any reliable chords on the web to work from, so I essentially started from scratch.  I used a set of lyrics and chords for the traditional arrangement as a foundation from which to transcribe, but Brian Wilson, true to form, added some twists as well as an instrumental middle section that I figured out on my own.  Being that I’m more of a lyrics guy, I always feel excited when I crack a musical code, no matter how simple or complex it might be.

How long it took me, I won’t mention…  🙂

The other main reason I’m happy with this session is that, for whatever reason, this became one of those songs that I just couldn’t relax for.  For instance, for the life of me, I couldn’t remember which line to sing after the instrumental break.  I kept opting for the blending of the first and third bridges, singing, “To save all those who…”  So, I played more takes than I’m willing to admit here, but in the end, I walked away with a complete session that I’m happy with.  I especially enjoyed being able to play my Bb harmonica, a first for the Laptop Sessions!

“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is one of those songs that I’ve known forever.  As I mentioned, it’s a traditional Christmas song that anyone who has gone to church has heard.  I never particularly cared for the song — even the Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan version was one I appreciated but never really loved.

Then, I listened to Brian Wilson’s 2004 Christmas album, What I Really Want for Christmas.  I was immediately drawn to Wilson’s arrangement of this song, and it has become an instant favorite for me these past several years.  The album as a whole has become a favorite of mine, right up there with the Beach Boys’ Christmas album and the Moody Blues’ December.  (And, after five years, another top holiday album has been added in Bob Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart.)

If you’ve heard Brian Wilson’s Christmas album — or even if you haven’t — I strongly recommend you go to YouTube and search “Brian Wilson What I Really Want for Christmas Video Part I.”  I just watched this documentary today, which includes some great behind-the-scenes making-of footage, interviews, and clips from the album.  If you love the album, it will remind you why.  If you haven’t heard the album, it will make you want to.

And, on that note, I hope that my video makes you interested enough to want to hear the Brian Wilson version.

See you next session!

“Good Enough” (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Cover)

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For Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers chords & lyrics, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

Wow! I can’t remember the last time I posted a Laptop Session video on a day other than Monday! Why, you ask? Well, if you’ve come to the blog over the past year or so, you may have noticed the weekly schedule posted above. It’s pretty clear that Mondays are my day…

Unfortunately, I won’t have Internet service at home until Tuesday evening, and I just don’t have the energy on a Sunday night to type a 750 – 1000 word review on my iPhone, even if it IS based on one of my favorite albums of all time. (Wanna know which album I’m referring to? Check back tomorrow at this time…)

So instead of posting the Weekend Review as per usual tonight, I’m flip-flopping the schedule. Tonight, I present to you for your consideration my acoustic rock cover song performance of a track from the upcoming 2010 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album “Mojo.” This is a big deal, as far as I’m concerned, since this will be their first studio album in eight years. That’s a long wait! Mudcrutch was good and I do love Petty’s solo work, but there’s just no substitute for a bona fide Heartbreakers record. It’s been a little over a year since I finally picked up a used copy of “Long After Dark” and thus completed my TPATH (as the band is referred to on their official website’s message board) collection. Just a month ago, I was thinking about how much I’d like to hear a new Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album…

For a few days now, they’ve been streaming “Good Enough” on their website, and although it is heavily electric — bordering on jam band-esque in fact — I thought I might try my hand at translating it to acoustic guitar. While I had more fun playing it on my Washburn electric, I did eventually record it on acoustic guitar for tonight’s session. As you’ll hear, the song is pretty straightforward. Now, you might be thinking: well, so is every other Tom Petty song. The only difference is that this one sounds a bit different than what you’d expect from the band. In fact, it’s caused some disagreements between fans as to whether it is promising or foreboding for the new release. As for me, I think it’s great — fun, loud, and highlighted by a real killer lead guitar by Campbell. That being said, I certainly hope the whole album isn’t variations on this bluesy style.

I’ll just have to wait for “Mojo” to arrive…

That being said, I hope you enjoy my cover of this brand-new, yet to be released song, and that, if you do, you’ll take the time to listen to the real thing. And don’t forget to hurry back tomorrow for this week’s installment of the Weekend Review.

See you next session!