Harlem River Blues Chords
by Justin Townes Earle49,886 views, added to favorites 736 times
| Difficulty: | intermediate |
|---|---|
| Tuning: | E A D G B E |
| Capo: | 3rd fret |
Author Unregistered. Last edit on Oct 19, 2021
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Harlem River Blues by Justin Townes Earle
Tabbed by Wade Lewis (contact wmlewis1@gmail.com) - corrections/additions welcome
JTE plays with capo on 3rd fret (see Youtube and Letterman), but I play it on the
1st fret, or even without
INTRO: G / G/C / G / G/C / G / G/C / G
CHORUS
G C
Lord, I'm goin' uptown to the Harlem River to drown
G D G
Dirty water's gonna cover me over and I'm not gonna make a sound
VERSE 1
G C
I'm on a roll, mama, I gotta go, I gotta get there while I still can
G D
Troubled days are behind me now and I know they're gonna let me in [melody rises]
G C
So when you see me walkin' up the FDR, just a-singin' and a-clappin' my hands
G D G G/C G G/C G
Tell my mama I love her, tell my father I tried, give my money to my baby to spend
CHORUS
'cause Lord, I'm goin' uptown to the Harlem River to drown
Dirty water's gonna cover me over and I'm not gonna make a sound
VERSE 2
G C
Good times come and they go, even a good man'll break
G D
He'll let his troubles bury him whole even though he knows what's at stake [melody rises]
G C
So I'm taking no chances, carrying over while I'm still good in His grace
G D G G/C G G/C G
I'm no fool, mama, I know the difference between tempting and choosing my fate
CHORUS
'cause Lord, I'm goin' uptown to the Harlem River to drown
Dirty water's gonna cover me over and I'm not gonna make a sound
Lord, I'm goin' uptown to the Harlem River to drown
Dirty water gonna cover me over and I'm not gonna make a sound
[No chords, or just lightly only strummed on last chorus]
Lord, I'm goin' uptown to the Harlem River to drown
Dirty water gonna cover me over and I'm not gonna make a sound
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Harlem River Blues – Justin Townes Earle
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4 comments
change:
"see me walkin' up the empty yard,"
to
"see me walkin' up the F.D.R.,"
+4
I don't think that playing alongside the album version sounds quite right with Capo 3 on; it seems to match up best if you leave the capo off.
Also, the overall chords are correct, but the placement is a bit more like this:
G C
Lord, I'm goin' uptown to the Harlem River to drown
G D G
Dirty water's gonna cover me over and I'm not gonna make a sound
(In case that doesn't come out right, hold the C chord until "cover me over" rather than switching to G at the beginning of the line.)
+2
The capo at 3 and E A7 and B7 chords sound right and I watched a bunch of vids of him too/ so it is just in the key of G, but pitch the song to your voice and vocal range , that's the most important thing . folks in my jam are always changings keys. it is good practice to play a song in any key, even though it gets annoying. I have lead and fills for lots of songs and it is a challenge to figure out where the lead goes when the dots keep shifting. I do think some songs have a natural key they sound best in as far as inversions. open chords, etc. but the the guitar is the accompanying thing the vocalist needs to set the key for his or her range.
+1
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