Slack Key Guitar chords by Allen Ginsberg
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Verse 1
(G major) Now a series of songs,
March 1972, leaving
San
Francisco, flying over the
Pacific to
Hawaii and thence to the island of
Fiji.
Songs written on that trip,
the first for slack key guitar to the tune of
Sweet
Leilani
after visiting the
Bishop
Museum in
Honolulu.
Sweet
O 'ahu, got petroleum, super (F major) high (G major) ways,
(D major) (G major) glass hotels, (B flat major) (F sharp major) (G major) old
(B major) Hawai 'is (C major) buried un (G major) der
steamboat (D major) mu seums, sugar hills, (G major)
bishop es (B major) tates, (C major) leases, (G major) homesites, to the
Kaiser (D major) industry.
(G major) (F sharp major) An (G major) d the milit (C major) ary (B major) high (C major) ways
closed (G major) off to the ocean (D major) over (G major)
Koli
Koli.
Sweet
O (C major) 'ahu, (G major) got petroleum,
superhigh (D major) ways, (G major) glass ho (F sharp major) tels.
Old
(G major) Hawaii's (B major) (G major) buried under steamboat museums,
(D major) sugar hill (F sharp major) (G major) s, bishop es (B major) tates, (C major) leases, (G major) homesites
To the
(D major) Kaiser in (G major) the stream (F sharp major)
(G major) And the (B major) military highways (C major) (G major) closed off
To the (D major) ocean (G major) over
Koli
Koli
Sweet
O (C major) 'ahu, (B major) (G major) got petroleum,
superhigh (D major) ways, glass (G major) ho tels.
Old (F sharp major)
(B major) Hawaii's (C major) buried un (G major) der
Steamboat
Museum's (D major) sugar (F sharp major) hills
Bishop
(B major) Es tates (C major) leases home (G major) sites to the
Kaiser (D major) in dustry
(G major) (F sharp major) And the milit (B major) ary high (G major) ways (C major)
(G major) closed off to the ocean over
Coley,
Coley.
Ciritoka
Beach
Croon, quatrains, mirror image, two poems,
four quatrains each, written sitting
on the beach, no particular music in mind,
(D major) or what music was in mind disappeared, so
now re -improvised. (G major)
(C major) I (G major) closed (C major) my eyes (B major) on
Fiji (G major) sand (C major) s and what (G major) did I think (F sharp major) of next?
(C major) You, (G major) big -eared listener,
and the
Prajnaparamita texts,
(C major) I thought of
Herman
(G major) Melville's (C major) rhyme on (G major) olden
Marquesa shore,
(C major) And dead
Jack
(G major) Kerouac's choo -choo time in
mod (B major) ern microphone roar.
(C major) A light rose up (G major) my body (F major) and spine
as (C major) children (G major) ripples fell
Smiling head that consciousness
reached (F sharp major) all (B major) my teachers (G major) in hell
(B major) Oh (C major) music that washes from shore (F major) to shore
Oh rhyth (C major) m turned centur (G major) ies old
Sing through our mouths and
(C major) wake the (B major) great mind,
The (F major) bard's first chant (C major) ing fore (G major) told. (C major)
I opened my eyes on
Fiji (F major) sands,
What does (C major) the sunlight reveal?
Coral (G major) bones on the tiny beach, grass,
flies on my hand, (C major) wash and kneel.
Crabs in brown (F major) valleys of sand,
tree (C major) elbows leaned on the sea.
Aus (B major) tralian children (E flat minor) yelling at (F sharp major) wavelets,
a rowboat in (G major) shade (C major) of the tree.
Peaceful chatter of (F major) baby waves, white caps distant (C major) reef roar,
(B major) birds whistling through (G major) (F sharp major) green palm arms, jeep tires speeding the (B major) shore.
Oh, presence as timid as (F major) a white dog
that swims on the shallow tide
Salute, blue (G major) ocean in heaven,
through which our war bombers ride
Thank you.
Slack Key Guitar
Allen Ginsberg
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