Indigo Girls

Indigo Girls - Hammer & A Nail guitar tab

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HAMMER AND A NAIL (Emily Saliers)

---------------------------------

[Actually in B; capo 4.]

[Each chord is about half a measure, except in the instrumental parts.

"Ds" is really Dsus4; "Cs9" is Csus9.]

[See the tablature at the end of the file for chord fingerings in the verse.]

G Ds Em7|Em7 C(9) G|G Ds Cs9|Cs9 | G Ds Em7|Em7 C(9) G|G Ds Cs9|Cs9 |

[intro; see tab at bottom]

G Dsus Em7 C(9) G Dsus Em7 C(9)

Clearing webs from a hovel a blistered hand on the handle of a shovel

G Dsus Em7 Em7 Csus9 Csus9 Csus9 Csus9

I've been digging too deep, I always do

G Dsus Em7 C(9) G Dsus Em7 C(9)

I see my face on the surface; I look a lot like Narcissus

G Dsus Em7 Em7 Csus9 Csus9 Csus9 Csus9

A dark abyss of an emptiness standing on the edge of a drowning blue

Em9 Em9 C(9) C(9) Em9 Em9 C(9) C(9)/B

I look behind my ears for the green, and even my sweat smells clean

Am Am/B C A D D(9)/C G/B G/D

Glare off the white hurts my eyes Gotta get out of

G D C(9) D G D C(9) D

bed, get a hammer and a nail, learn how to use my hands; Not just my

G D C(9) C(9) Am Am Em7 Em7

head, I'll think myself into jail; Now I know a refuge never grows from a chin

C C A A C(9) C(9) C(9) C(9)

in a hand in a thoughtful pose; Gotta tend the earth if you want a rose

G Ds Em7|Em7 C(9) G|G Ds Cs9|Cs9 |

[instrumental, same as intro]

I had a lot of good intentions; sit around for fifty years and then

collect a pension

Started seeing the road to hell and just where it starts

But my life is more than a vision; the sweetest part is acting after

making a decision

I started seeing the whole as a sum of its parts

I look behind my ears for the green, and even my sweat smells clean

Glare off the white hurts my eyes

Gotta get out of bed, get a hammer and a nail, learn how to use my hands

Not just my head, I'll think myself into jail; now I know a refuge never grows

From a chin in a hand in a thoughtful pose

Gotta tend the earth if you want a rose

My life is part of the global life; I'd found myself becoming more immobile

When I'd think a little girl in the world can't do anything

A distant nation my community, a street person my responsibility

If I have a care in the world I have a gift to bring

I look behind my ears for the green, and even my sweat smells clean

Glare off the white hurts my eyes

Gotta get out of bed, get a hammer and a nail, learn how to use my hands

Not just my head, I'll think myself into jail; now I know a refuge never grows

From a chin in a hand in a thoughtful pose

Gotta tend the earth if you want a rose

G G/F# | G/F | C | Cm | G | D | G C | G.

[ending; see below]

INTRO:

G Ds Em7 C(9) G Ds Csus9

E 3---3---x-3---3-|----3---x-3---3-|----3---x-3---3-|----3----------- ||

B 3---3---x-3---3-|----3---x-3---3-|----3---x-3---3-|----3-----------.||

G 0---0---x-2---0-|----0---x-0---0-|----0---x-2---5-|----5----------- ||

D 0---0---x-0---2-|----2---x-2---0-|----0---x-0---5-|----5-----------.||

A 2---2---x-0---2-|----2---x-3---2-|----2---x-0---3-|----3----------- ||

E 3---3---------0-|----0---------3-|----3-----------|---------------- ||

^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .

[Note that for most of this, your ring and pinky fingers never move.]

[If you don't like barre chords, play Csus9 as x30033.]

ENDING:

G G/F# G/F C Cm

E --------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|

B --------|3-----3-----3---|3---3---3=5-3---|1-----0-1---1---|1-------1=3-1---|

G ----4---|----4-----4-----|--4-------------|----2-----------|------0---------|

D 5-------|--5-----4-----4-|3-----3---------|2---------------|1---1-----------|

A --------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|

E --------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|

^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .

G D G C G

E ----------------|----------------|----------3-----|3---------------|

B 0-------------0-|----3-----------|------------1---|3---------------|

G ----------0-----|--2-----4=2-0=2-|0---------------|0---------------|

D 0---0-0=2---2---|0-----0---------|----0-0=2-------|0---------------|

A ----------------|----------------|----------------|2---------------|

A ----------------|----------------|----------------|3---------------|

^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .

- Adam Schneider, schneider@pobox.com

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