Words and music by Neil Young. From the Buffalo Springfield album Last Time Around, 1968.
In D / Dm , as recorded (the recording is a bit flat of concert pitch).
Intro chords, with G (not D) harmonica: Dmaj7 Em D G D
Dm C Am F
1. I am a child... I'll last awhile.
Dm F C Em
You can't conceive of the pleasure in my smile.
Dm C Am F
You hold my hand... rough up my hair...
Dm Dm7 D
It's lots of fun to have you there.
REFRAIN:
Dmaj7 Em D
God gave to you, now you give to me.
G D
I'd like to know what you've learned...
Dmaj7 Em D
The sky is blue and so is the sea.
Am7 C
What is the color... when black is burned...?
Am7 D
What is the color...?
Dm C Am F
2. You are a man... you understand.
Dm F C Em
You pick me up and you lay me down again.
Dm C Am F
You make the rules... you say what's fair.
Dm Dm7 D
It's lots of fun to have you there.
REFRAIN:
Dmaj7 Em D
I gave to you, now you give to me.
G D
I'd like to know what you've learned...
Dmaj7 Em D
The sky is blue and so is the sea.
Am7 C
What is the color... when black is burned...?
Am7 D
What is the color...?
Dm C Am F
3. I am a child... I'll last awhile.
Dm F C Em
You can't conceive of the pleasure in my smile. [fade out]
Left to right: Jimmy Messina, Neil Young (with Gretsch White Falcon), Dewey Martin (drums), Richie Furay, Steven Stills.
Editor's notes:
LYRICS: From my several-years-old transcription, which came from a song book. Verified against recording and against transcription on the HyperRust site [ http://hyperrust.org ]. Confidence: 95%
CHORDS: Straightforward, and all are the familiar first-position inversions, save the two treble chords for the refrain. Confidence: 95%
Last Time Around (1968) is Buffalo Springfield's third album, after Buffalo Springfield and Buffalo Springfield Again. It was followed by the posthumous compilation Retrospective, released in 1969.
Chords for refrain: Cross-pick them, starting with the open D string, one note per beat. Try hammering on the note in parentheses () for each of the first two chords, as someone does on the recording. I used to think of the Dmaj7 as F#m/d, but surely it makes better sense as Dmaj7.
Dmaj7(6) Em /d(4) D
x x O x x O x O O
============= ============= =============
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
----------- ----------- -----------
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | O | O
----------- ----------- -----------
| | | | | | | | | | | O | | | | O |
----------- ----------- -----------
| | | | | | | | | O | | | | | | | |
----------- ----------- -----------
| | | | | O | | | | O () | | | | | |
----------- ----------- -----------
| | | O | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
-----------
| | | | O ()
-----------
| | | | | |
Bonus track: I'm Only Waiting Till the Morning Comes (from After the Goldrush)
C F
I'm only waitin' till the mornin' comes...
Dm G
Till the mornin' comes...
Dm G
Till the mornin' comes...
C F
I'm gonna give you till the mornin' comes...
Dm G
Till the mornin' comes...
Dm G
Till the mornin' comes...
- Transcribed by WA, years ago, and 11 Oct 1998. Last edited 12 May 2003. Formatting last tweaked 13 July 2003.
Back to WA's home page |
Back to Song Transcriptions page |
Back to the top of this song