You or a Reasonable Facsimile

Specs

• Genre: guitar song with words
• written: late 1980s
• recorded: Carrington Ave., Providence, 1988 or 1989
• download: MP3 (original mix)

Notes

The words came first. The last bit (about the rodents) always makes me think about my friend Hilary, so I always say I wrote it about her before I met her. Dave Fawcett played the real drums (the crash cymbal comes through the most clearly); I played and sang (I use the terms lightly) everything else.

I need to post a picture of the guitar I played when recording this. It's an absolutely horrible-looking beast that's almost impossible to play, but something about the way it sounded -- kind of punchy and resonant -- made this song happen. I started playing chords on it, and then I realized that these words went with the rhythm, and suddenly there was a song.

Lyrics

intro

Em . D . Am . C D

Em . D . Am . C D

verse 1

Em . D . Am . C D	And so I filled my nose with toothpaste
Em . D . A . . .	And I proceeded to partake
Am . G . D . . .	Of your ridiculous iguana
Dm . C G Am . B7 .	For all the difference it would make

verse 2

Em . D . Am . C D	You could not know about my toadstools
Em . D . A . . .	And all the luxury therein
Am . G . D . . .	I never made you pay attention
Dm . C G Am . G .	And so you wandered out again

interlude

Dm . F G Am . G .

Dm . F G Am . B7 .

verse 3

Em . D . Am . C D	You wasted all my extra placemats
Em . D . A . . .	It did not mean a thing to me
Am . G . D . . .	You did not notice after zero
Dm . C G Am . B7 .	Because of your philosophy

verse 4

Em . D . Am . C D	There were no holes in my begonia
Em . D . A . . .	We couldn't find a single one
Am . G . D . . .	You took your bags into the jungle
Dm . C G Am . B7 .	And pretty soon it had begun

verse 5

Em . D . Am . C D	I couldn't smell the way you pondered
Em . D . A . . .	Upon your rusty mandolin
Am . G . D . . .	You should have known it wasn't easy
Dm . C G Am . G .	You're playing chess with Gunga Din

solo

Dm . F G Am . G .

Dm . F G Am . G .

Dm . F G Am . G .

Dm . F G Am . B7 .

verse 6

Em . D . Am . C D	I took my bat back to the garage
Em . D . A . . .	Where it had been the night before
Am . G . D . . .	And was it you who took my poncho
Dm . C G Am . B7 .	And left it on the bedroom door

verse 7

Em . D . Am . C D	So let me answer this distraction
Em . D . A . . .	I cannot think what it could be
Am . G . D . . .	I often think about your rodents
Dm . C G Am	Would you have done the same for me

outro

(hold Am for 8 beats)

Em . D . Am . C D

Em . D . Am . C D

Em