Sufjan Stevens – Illinois chords
Chords:
--------------------------------------------- Sufjan Steven's "Illinois" --------------------------------------------- About ----- I sincerely hope you enjoy playing through this album as much as I did transcribing & compiling it. It is truly a masterpiece, especially when considered as a complete work. I cannot take credit for every song below: many of these were from other Ultimate Guitar tabs. Thanks to everyone whose contributions helped me compile this. Many of the instrumentals that I transcribed are hard to approximate on guitar, and present only an outline of the actual track. For that reason as well, although this is listed as chords, there are many tabs, to try to present the most accurate depiction of the music as possible. All essential parts that are listed with tableture are also listed with chords however, so don't fear if you cannot read tabs. With that in mind, have fun and happy playing & feeling the Illinoise! --------------------------------------------- Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, IL --------------------------------------------- G Am Em Bm C G Am Em Bm CG Am When the revenantEm came downBm C We couldn't imagine what it wasG Am In the spirit ofEm three starsBm C The alien thing that took its formG D Am Then to LebanonEm Oh, GodBm C The flashing at night, the sirens grow and growG D Am Em Oooooooooooo, History involved itselfBm C Mysterious shade that took its formG D Am Or what it was, incarnationEm three starsBm CDelivering signs and dusting from their eyesG D Am G D A Ooooooooooooooooooo--------------------------------------------- The Black Hawk War, or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning, or, We Apologize for the Inconvenience But You're Going to Have to Leave Now, or, 'I have fought the Big Knives and will continue to fight them until they are off our lands!' ---------------------------------------------A F D Dm Am D DmAhh Ahh Ahh Ahh Ahh Ahh Ahh--------------------------------------------- Come On! Feel the Illinoise! ---------------------------------------------Ce|-------------------------------|B|------1---1------------1---1---|G|----0---0---0--------0---0-----| x2D|-------------------------------|A|--3---------------3------------|E|-------------------------------|Cmaj7Oh great intentionsI've got the best of interventions But when the ads come I think about it now In my infliction Entrepreneurial conditions Take us to glory I think about it now Cannot conversations cull united nations? If you got the patience, celebrate the ancients Cannot all creation call it celebration? Or united nation. Put it to your head. Oh great white city I've got the adequate committee Where have your walls gone? I think about it nowF Am C EChicago, in fashion, the soft drinks, expansionF C Oh Columbi-a!F Am C EFrom Paris, incentive, like Cream of Wheat invented,F CThe Ferris Wheel!Oh great intentions Covenant with the imitation Have you no conscience? I think about it now Oh God of Progress Have you degraded or forgot us? Where have your laws gone? I think about it now Ancient hieroglyphic or the South Pacific Typically terrific, busy and prolific Classical devotion, architect promotion Lacking in emotion. Think about it now. Chicago, the New Age, but what would Frank Lloyd Wright say? Oh Columbia! Amusement or treasure, these optimistic pleasures Like the Ferris Wheel! Cannot conversations cull united nations? If you got the patience, celebrate the ancients F D Columbi-a!D Bm F#m AI cried myself to sleep last nightD Bm F#m AAnd the ghost of Carl, he approached my windowD Bm F#m AI was hypnotized, I was asked, To im-pro-viseD BmOn the attitude, the regretF#m AOf a thousand centuries of deathD BmEven with the heart of terror and the superstitious wearerF#mI am riding all aloneAI am writing all aloneEven in my best condition, counting all the superstition I am riding all alone I am running all alone And we laughed at the beatitudes of a thousand lines We were asked at the attitudes They reminded us of death Even with the rest belated, everything is antiquated Are you writing from the heart? Are you writing from the heart? Even in his heart the Devil has to know the water level Are you writing from the heart? Are you writing from the heart? And I cried myself to sleep last night For the Earth, and materials, they may sound just right to me Even with the rest belated, everything is antiquated Are you writing from the heart? Are you writing from the heart? Even in his heart the Devil has to know the water level Are you writing from the heart? Are you writing from the heart? --------------------------------------------- John Wayne Gacy, Jr. --------------------------------------------- Capo IIIDm Cadd9 Am Fe|-----1-------1--------------------------------------------------|B|---3---3---3---3---3---3---3---1---1---1---1---1---1---1---1---1|G|-2-------2-------0---0---0---0---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2--|D|0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2-----------------|A|----------------3---3---3---3---0---0---0---0-------------------|E|------------------------------------------------1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-|His father was a drinker And his mother cried in bed Folding John Wayne's t-shirts When the swingset hit his head The neighbors they adored him For his humor and his conversation Look underneath the house there Find the few living things, rotting fast, in their sleep Oh, the dead Twenty-seven people Even more, they were boys With their cars, summer jobs Oh my God Are you one of them? He dressed up like a clown for them With his face paint white and red And on his best behavior In a dark room on the bed He kissed them all He'd kill ten thousand people With a sleight of his hand Running far, running fast To the dead He took off all their clothes for them He put a cloth on their lips Quiet hands, quiet kiss On the mouth And in my best behavior I am really just like him Look beneath the floor boards For the secrets I have hid --------------------------------------------- Jacksonville --------------------------------------------- Capo III [D]I'm not afraid of the [Bm]black man running He's [F]got it right he's got a [Am7] better life coming [D]I don't care what the [Bm]captain said I [F]fold it right at the [Am7]top of my head [D]I lost my sight and the [Bm]state packs in I [F]follow my heart and it [Am7]leads me right to Jackson Oh Keller oh oh oh She gave us a medal she gave us a map Oh Canner Row, oh oh oh If seeing is right, then look where you're at I'm not afraid of Nichol's Park I ride the train and I ride it after dark I'm not afraid to get it right I turn around and I give it one more try I said things that I meant to say The bandstand chairs and the Dewey Day parade I go out to the golden age The spirit is right and the spirit doesn't change Oh Keller oh oh oh She gave us mirror she gave us a map Oh Canner Row, oh oh oh If seeing is right then look where you're at [D]Andrew Jackson, [Bm]all I'm asking [F]Show us the wheel and[Am7] give us the wine [D][Bm]Woohoo! [F]Woohoo[Am7]! [D]Raise the banner,[Bm]Jackson hammer [F]Everyone goes to the [Am7]capitol line [D][Bm]Woohoo! [F]woohoo[Am7]! [D]Colored preacher,[Bm] nice to meet you! [F]The spirit is here and the [Am7]spirit is fine! [D][Bm]Woohoo! [F]Woohoo[Am7]! [D]Education,[Bm]ask the nation [F]You gave us our sight and the[Am7] hearing is fine [D][Bm]Woohoo! [F]Woohoo[Am7]! [D]Andrew Jackson [Bm]all I'm asking [F]Give us the wheel [Am7] and give us the wine Very End: D Bm F Am7 --------------------------------------------- A Short Reprise For Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, But For Very Good Reasons --------------------------------------------- Capo IIID Dsus2 D6sus2 Dm6 Dm Dsus2 D6sus2 D|-2---0-----0------1---1---0-----0------2---------------||-3---3-----0------0---3---3-----0------3---------------||-2---2-----2------2---2---2-----2------2---------------||-0---0-----0------0---0---0-----0------0---------------||-------------------------------------------------------||-------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------- Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Stepmother! --------------------------------------------- Capo VIntro C G Am G C De|---0-0----3-3----0-0-----3-3|---0-0----3-3---2-----------|b|---1-1----3------1-------3--|---1-1----3-----3-----------|g|---0------0------2-------0--|---0------0-----2-----------|d|--2--------------------0----|--2-----------0-------------|a|3------2------0------2------|3------2--------------------|E|----------------------------|----------------------------|Verse C G Am Ge|---0-0----3-3----0-0-----3-3|b|---1-1----3------1-------3--|g|---0------0------2-------0--|x4 Then back to introd|--2--------------------0----|a|3------2------0------2------|E|----------------------------|End C G De|---0-0----3-3---2-|b|---1-1----3-----3-|g|---0------0-----2-|d|--2-----------0---|a|3------2----------|E|------------------|Our stepmom, we did everything to hate her She took us down to the edge of Decatur We saw the lion and the kangaroo take her Down to the river where they caught a wild alligator Sangamon River, it overflowed It caused a mudslide on the banks of the operator Civil War skeletons in their graves They came up clapping in the spirit of the aviator The sound of the engines and the smell of the grain We go riding on the abolition grain train Steven A. Douglas was a great debater But Abraham Lincoln was the great emancipator Chickenmobile with your rooster tail I had my fill and I know how bad it feels Stay awake and watch for the data No small caterpillar, go congratulate her Denominator, go Decatur, go Decatur It's the great I Am Abominate her, go Decatur, why did we hate her? It's the great I Am Denominator, go Decatur, anticipate her It's the great I Am Appreciate her, appreciate her Stand up and thank her [just end] Stand up and thank her It's the great I Am Stand up and thank her It's the great I Am Stand up and thank her It's the great I Am Stand up and thank herà C D Em D7 --------------------------------------------- One Last 'Whoo-Hoo!' for the Pullman --------------------------------------------- Capo VG N.C. Whoo-hoo!--------------------------------------------- Chicago --------------------------------------------- Capo V|----------------2-----------------------------------------------||----2-----3--0-----------3--------------------------------------||-------0--------------------------------------------------------||-2-----------------0-2-4----------------------------------------||----------------------------------------------------------------||----------------------------------------------------------------|Chorus: Asus Em7 G Bm - D/F# Verses: Asus Em7 G D - D/F# I fell in love again All things go, all things go Drove to Chicago All things know, all things know We sold our clothes to the state I don't mind, I don't mind I made a lot of mistakes In my mind, in my mind You came to take us All things go, all things go To recreate us All things grow, all things grow We had our mindset All things know, all things know You had to find it All things go, all things go I drove to New York In the van, with my friend We slept in parking lots I don't mind, I don't mind I was in love with the place In my mind, in my mind I made a lot of mistakes In my mind, in my mind You came to take us All things go, all things go To recreate us All things grow, all things grow We had our mindset All things know, all things know You had to find it All things go, all things go If I was crying In the van, with my friend It was for freedom From myself and from the land I made a lot of mistakes I made a lot of mistakes I made a lot of mistakes I made a lot of mistakes You came to take us All things go, all things go To recreate us All things grow, all things grow We had our mindset All things know, all things know You had to find it All things go, all things go You came to take us All things go, all things go To recreate us All things grow, all things grow We had our mindset (I made a lot of mistakes) All things know, all things know (I made a lot of mistakes) You had to find it (I made a lot of mistakes) All things go, all things go (I made a lot of mistakes) --------------------------------------------- Casimir Pulaski Day --------------------------------------------- CAPO III Chord Progression for (almost) the entire song: D Csus Am G Goldenrod and the 4H stone The things I brought you When I found out you had cancer of the bone Your father cried on the telephone And he drove his car into the Navy yard Just to prove that he was sorry In the morning, through the window shade When the light pressed up against your shoulderblade I could see what you were reading All the glory that the Lord has made And the complications you could do without When I kissed you on the mouth Tuesday night at the Bible study We lift our hands and pray over your body But nothing ever happens I remember at Michael's house In the living room when you kissed my neck And I almost touched your blouse In the morning at the top of the stairs When your father found out what we did that night And you told me you were scared All the glory when you ran outside With your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied And you told me not to follow you Sunday night when I cleaned the house I found the card where you wrote it out With the pictures of you mother On the floor at the great divide With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied I am crying in the bathroom In the morning when you finally go And the nurse runs in with her head hung low And the cardinal hits the window In the morning in the winter shade On the first of March, on the holiday I thought I saw you breathing All the glory that the Lord has made And the complications when I see His face In the morning in the window All the glory when He took our place But He took my shoulders and He shook my face And He takes and He takes and He takes Ending chords: D Csus Am Em --------------------------------------------- To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament --------------------------------------------- Dm C Gm F Dm C Gm F Dm Am Gm F Dm Am Gm F --------------------------------------------- Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts --------------------------------------------- Intro/Chorus (power chords or similar) E5 A5 D5 F#5 x2 Verse E A D F#m (fingerpick) Trouble falls in my home Troubled man, troubled stone Turn a mountain of lies Turn a card for my life Man of Steel, Man of Heart Tame our ways, if we start To devise something more Something halfways Only a steel man came to recover If he had run from gold, carry over We celebrate our sense of each other We have a lot to give one another I took a bus to the lake Saw the monument face Yellow tides, golden eyes Red and white, red and wise Raise the flag, summer home Parted hair, part unknown If I knew what I read I'll send it half ways [back to powerchords, repeat intro x2] Only a real man can be a lover If he had hands to lend us all over We celebrate our sense of each other We have a lot to give one another [back to fingerpicking, repeat progression x4] Took my bags, Illinois Dreamt the lake took my boy Man of Steel, Man of Heart Turn your ear to my part There are things you have said Raise the boat, and raise the dead If you take us away Still can we say: Only a steel man can be a lover If he had hands to tremble all over We celebrate our sense of each other We have a lot to give one another [back to powerchords, repeat intro x2, then repeat chorus repeat chorus over la-la-la, then fall apart (recording then revives changes out of time, dreamlike)] --------------------------------------------- Prairie Fire That Wanders About --------------------------------------------- A Am Bb G [twice for intro, then rest of tune] Peoria! Destroyia! Infinity! Divinity! For Lydia! Octavia! And Jack-of-Trades! The Cubs! Hooray! [time feel starts] The Opera House Where Emma sang! America! Oh will it play? And Santa Clause! The Great Parade! Peoria! You have it made!Gm Am F#m DmIn-to the crossfireEdim A7 Dm (Dm/C skipping one beat)Faithfully runMiddle America One on one Peoria! We saddle the fun times Am – Gm (x4) Am – Gm – Dmaj7 --------------------------------------------- A Conjunction of Drones Simulating the Way in Which Sufjan Stevens Has an Existential in the Great Godfrey Maze ---------------------------------------------Absolutely no idea on this one, perhaps:|-0-|-3-|-0-|-0-|-0-|-0---------------------------------------------- The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us! --------------------------------------------- CAPO IID Bmadd11 Gmaj7e|------------------------------------------------------------------------|B|----------3-----------3-----------3-----------3-----------3-----------3-|G|------2-----------2-----------0-----------0-----------0-----------0-----|D|0---0---0---0---0---0-----------4-----------4---------------------------|A|------------------------2---2-------2---2-------------------------------|E|------------------------------------------------3---3---3---3---3---3---|Thinking outrageously I write in cursive I hide in my bed with the Wearing three layers of coats and leg warmers I see my own breath on the Oh I am not quite sleeping Oh I am There on the wall inthe bedroom creeping I see a wasp with herEm9e|------------------------|B|----------3-----------3-|G|------0-----------0-----|D|------------------------|A|------------------------|E|0---0---0---0---0---0---|lights on the floor face of the door fast in bed wings outstretched [first instrumental break over verse chords] North of Savannah we swim in the Palisades I come out wearing my brother's red hat There on his shoulder my best friend is bit seven times he was washing his face in his hands Oh how I meant to tease him Oh how I meant no harm Touching his back with my hand I kiss him I see the wasp on the length of my arm [fingerpick another verse over "la's"; starting on 4th descending]D A Em GOh great sights u---pon this state, HallelujiahWonders bright and river's wake , Hallelujiah Trail of Tears and Horseshoe Lake , Hallelujiah Trusting things be--yond mistake , Hallelujiah (On "Trail of Tears," Sufjan enters)D A Em GWe were in love, we were in love, Palisades, Palisades, I can wait, I can waitWe were in love, we were in love, Palisades, Palisades, I can wait, I can wait We were in love, we were in love, Palisades, Palisades, I can wait, I can wait] overD A Em GLamb of God we sound the horn, Hallelujiahto us your ghost is born, Hallelujiah [fingerpick over new changes] I can't explain the state that I'm in, the state of my heart, he was my best friend. Into the car, from the backseat, oh admiration, in falling asleep. All of my powers, day after day, I can tell you, we swaggered and swayed. Deep in the Tower, the prairies below, I can tell you, but telling gets old. [Here, the chanting resumes from "Oh great sights . . ."] Terrible sting, terrible storm, I can tell you, the day we were born. My friend is gone, he ran away, I can tell you, I love him each day. Though we have sparred, wrestled, and raged, I can tell you, I love him each day. Terrible sting, terrible storm I can tell you [end: long held D5 chord] --------------------------------------------- They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh! --------------------------------------------- Intro: Am Dm Am EmI-|L-L-I-N-O-I-S! Ring the bell and call or write usI-|L-L-I-N-O-I-S! Can you call the Captain Clitus?Logan, Grant, and Ronald ReaganIn the grave with XylophaganDo you know the ghost community?Sound the horn, address the city(Who will save it? Dedicate it? Who will praise it? Commemorate it for you?)Am Dm AmWe are awaken with the axEm AmNight of the Living Dead at lastDm AmThey have begun to shake the dirtEm AmWiping their shoulders from the earthDm AmI know, I know the nations pastEm AmI know, I know they rust at lastDm AmThey tremble with the nervous thoughtEm AmOf having been, at last, forgotI-|L-L-I-N-O-I-S! Ring the bell and call or write usI-|L-L-I-N-O-I-S! Can you call the Captain Clitus?B-|U-D-A! Caledonia! S-E-C-O-R! Magnolia!B-I-R-D-S! And Kankakee! Evansville and Parker CitySpeaking their names, they shake the flag Walking the earth, it lifts and lags We see a thousand rooms to rest Helping us taste the bite of death I know, I know my time has passed I'm not so young, I'm not so fast I tremble with the nervous thought Of having been, at last, forgotI-|L-L-I-N-O-I-S! Ring the bell and call or write usI-|L-L-I-N-O-I-S! Can you call the Captain Clitus?Comer and Potato Peelers! G-R-E-E-N ridge! ReedersM-C-V-E-Y! And Horace! E-N-O-S! Start the chorusCorn and Farms and Tombs in LemmonSailor Springs and all things feminineCenterville and Old MetropolisShawneetownn, you trade and topple usI-|L-L-I-N-O-I-S! Hold your tongue and don't divide usI-|L-L-I-N-O-I-S! Land of God, you hold and guide us--------------------------------------------- Let's Hear That String Part Again, Because I Don't Think They Heard It All the Way Out in Bushnell --------------------------------------------- Am G/B C Dm C/E FAm G/B C Em G Em[repeat pattern 4 times]--------------------------------------------- In This Temple, As in the Hearts of Man, for Whom He Saved the Earth --------------------------------------------- F Am F Am F Am F Am Dm Am F Dm --------------------------------------------- The Seer’s Tower --------------------------------------------- Dm Gm Am/Amsus4 (held for long time) [Intro: pattern repeated several times] In the tower above the earth There is a view that reaches far Where we see the universe I see the fire, I see the end Seven miles above the earth There is Emmanuel of mothersDm Gm Am C With his sword, with his robeHe comes dividing man from brothers In the tower above the earth, we built it for Emmanuel In the powers of the earth, we wait until it rails and rails In the tower above the earth, we built it for Emmanuel Oh, my mother, she betrayed us, but my father loved and bathed usF C Bb Still I go to the deepest graveWhere I go to sleep alone [end on long held Bb to F6 to a cappella humming] --------------------------------------------- The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders ---------------------------------------------Bass line;|----------------------------||----------------------------||-----2-----2------2-----2-2-||---2---2-4------2---2-4-----||-0------------0-------------||----------------------------|Vamps: Amaj Asus2 [keep in mind 11/8 time] Amaj Aadd4 Amaj Amaj Asus2 x3F C Dm [repeat 4 times][bass line] I count the days the Great Frontier Forgiving, faced the seventh year I stand in awe of gratefulness I can and call forgetfulness [first/second vamp] And when I, and when I call The patient, the patient fall The Spirit, the Carpenter Invites us to be with herF DWhat have we become America?Soldiers on the Great Frontier! Carpenter and Soldier, one on one It's the battle, volunteer! [over vamp part II] Run from yourself From your friends, from ya- farm, it's from here Run for your life For your friends, for ya- cornerstone, the baker America, merica, meri- audition and the disher Oh Illinois, Illinois, Illi- gum, dreamcatcher I count the days the Great Frontier Forgiving, faced the seventh year I stand and strain to make ends meet Five Spirits on the Grand Marquee And when I, and when I call The patient, the patient fall The Spirit, the Carpenter Invites us to be with herF A EmThere was a man at the wallCHe was grateful for us allF A EmI saw the Wise Woman singC DShe wasn't asking anythingEShe wasn't asking anythingAm G AHow she made the nations sing!A D E D x2F DWhat have we become America?Soldiers on the Great Frontier! Dm – Em – F – G – D Dm – Em – F – G – N.C. Run from yourself! From your friends, from ya- at the movies Run for your life! For your friends, for ya- wakes the ocean America, merica, meri- architect's rendition Oh Illinois, Illinois, Illi- got at Sears [bass line x4 into vamp I] F – Dm – Am – C Oh, Great Fire of Great Disaster Oh, Great Heaven, oh, Great Master Oh, Great Goat, the curse you gave us Oh, Great Ghost, protect and save us Oh, Great River, green with envy Oh, Jane Addams, spirit send thee Oh, Great Trumpet and the singers Oh, Great Goodman, King of Swingers Oh, Great Bears and Bulls, Joe Jackson Oh, Great Illinois [during “Great Trumpet”] Given what you lost, are you better off? Given what you had, has it made you mad? Celebrate the few, celebrate the new It can only start with you End on : A major chord --------------------------------------------- Riffs And Variations On A Single Note For Jelly Roll, Earl Hines, Louis Armstrong, Baby Dodds, And The King of Swing, To Name A Few --------------------------------------------- Free-form solo, mostly focusing on E in octaves, mixing in other notes from an E minor chord --------------------------------------------- Out Of Egypt, Into The Great Laugh Of Mankind, And I Shake The Dirt From My Sandals As I Run ---------------------------------------------|-----------------|------------------||-----------------|------------------||-----------------|------------------||-----------------|------------------||-----------------|------------------||-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--||-----9---7-------|-----------------|---||-------------9---|-----------------|---||-----------------|-8---------------|---||-----------------|-----9---6-------|---||-----------------|-------------7---|-6-||-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|-0-|...[continue ost. Bass]|-----7-----------|-----------------|---||---------9-------|-----------------|---||-------------9---|-6---------------|---||-----------------|-----6-----------|---||-----------------|---------7---4---|-2-||-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|-0-|...[continue ost. Bass][build on ost. Pattern to an Emaj7add6 chord]