F I V E   O ' C L O C K   W O R L D  - The Vogues


Words and music by Allen Reynolds, 1965; as recorded by The Vogues, released as a single in 1965 or 1966.

In A, because it plays well. For singability, consider capo-ing up two frets to B.

    A        D               A      G
1.  Up every morning just to keep a job,
          A        D               A        G
    Gotta fight my way through the hustlin' mob.
    A             D             A     G
    Sounds of the city poundin' in my brain,
            A         D             A    A7
    While another day goes down the drain.


               D            G              D       G 
    But it's a five o'clock world when the whistle blows...
    D             G           D      G
    No one owns a piece of my time.
                  D            G    D       G
    And there's a five o'clock me inside my clothes...
    D                 Bm7         E7    D
    Thinking that the world looks fine, yeah...


            A       G     A   G        A   G  A  G 
    Yodel:    Yodel-ay-ee-hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo...
           A        G     A   G        A   G  A  G
              Yodel-ay-ee-hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo...
			   
			   
2.  Tradin' my time for the pay I get,
    Livin' on the money that I ain't made yet…
    Gotta keep going, gotta make my way,
    But I live for the end of the day...

    'Cause it's a five o'clock world when the whistle blows...
    No one owns a piece of my time.
    And there's a long-haired girl who waits, I know,
    To ease my troubled mind, yeah...

    [Yodel]

3.  In the shelter of her arms everything's OK...
    She talks and the world goes slippin' away.
    I know the reason I can still go on,
    When every other reason is gone...

    'Cause in my five o'clock world she waits for me...
    Nothing else matters at all.
    'Cause every time my baby smiles at me,
    I know that it's all worthwhile, yeah...

    [Yodel to fade...?]


Editor's notes:

LYRICS: From liner notes in Hal Ketchum's album Past the Point of Rescue.  [ ] Did The Vogues sing exactly the same lyrics?  [ ] Is there a yodel after every verse / chorus pair?  [ ] Does the song fade out on the last yodel?

CHORDS: My best guess for the progression, set in the key of A because the chords are so playable there, and the sound of them just seems to work for the melody. 85% confidence. The standard first position varieties sound best, I think. The G chord should be the bright one with the d note on 2nd string, third fret.

For my voice, singability improves by capo-ing up two to B, and even more at up three to C, though the yodel gets to be a bit of a strain.

First position chords work out nicely in the key of D, as well: D G and C for the verses, G and C (and A7) for the different-each-time-chorus, and D and C for the yodel. This puts the yodel up awfully high up in the air, though.

-- Transcribed by WA, 7-9 March 1997, last revised 18 Dec 97.