PJs Guitar Chords and Lyrics - LAST GREAT AMERICAN WHALE LOU REED Guitar Song Chords

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Guitar Chords for LAST GREAT AMERICAN WHALE LOU REED    

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"Last Great American Whale"
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album _New York_
(Lou Reed, 1989)

album _Greenpeace - Rainbow Warriors_
(Various Artists, 1989)

written by Lou Reed
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        They say he didn't have an enemy
        his was a greatness to behold
        He was the last surviving progeny
        the last one on this side of the world

        He measured a half mile from tip to tail
        silver and black with powerful fins
        They say he could split a mountain in two
        that's how we got the Grand Canyon

        Last great American whale
        last great American whale
        Last great American whale
        last great American whale

        Some say they saw him at the Great Lakes
        some say they saw him off of Florida
        My mother said she saw him in Chinatown
        but you can't always trust your mother

        Off the Carolinas the sun shines brightly in the day
        the lighthouse glows ghostly there at night
        The chief of a local tribe had killed a racist mayor's son
        and he'd been on death row since 1958

        The mayor's kid was a rowdy pig
        spit on Indians and lots worse
        The old chief buried a hatchet in his head
        life compared to death for him seemed worse

        The tribal brothers gathered in the lighthouse to sing
        and tried to conjure up a storm or rain
        The harbor parted, the great whale sprang full up
        and caused a hugh tidal wave

        The wave crushed the jail and freed the chief
        the tribe let out a roar
        The whites were drowned, the browns and reds set free
        but sadly one thing more

        Some local yokel member of the NRA
        kept a bazooka in his living room
        And thinking he had the chief in his sight
        blew the whale's brains out with a lead harpoon

        Last great American whale
        last great American whale
        Last great American whale
        last great American whale

        Well Americans don't care for much of anything
        land and water the least
        And animal life is low on the totem pole
        with human life not worth more than infected yeast

        Americans don't care too much for beauty
        they'll shit in a river, dump battery acid in a stream
        They'll watch dead rats wash up on the beach
        and complain if they can't swim

        They say things are done for the majority
        don't believe half of what you see and none of what you hear
        It's like what my painter friend Donald said to me
        "Stick a fork in their ass and turn them over, they're done"



        {D/A}{G/G.A}{D/A}{G}    (They say he didn't have an ...)
        {D/A}{G/G.A}{D/A}{G}    (He was the last surviving progeny)

        {D/A}{G/G.A}{D/A}{G}    (He measured a half mile from ...)
        {D/A}{G/G.A}{D/A}{G}    (They say he could split a ...)

        {D/A}{G/G.A}{D/A}{G}    (Last great American whale ...)
        {D/A}{G/G.A}{D/A}{G}    (Last great American whale ...)

        ....




* riff (left channel: Lou Reed)

     {D    / A     }  {G  / G .A} {D    / A   } {G}
 1e --2--2-------------3..--3------2--2----------3...--------
 2B --3--3---2-3-2--2--0..--0--2---3--3---2-3-2--0...--------
 3G --2--2---2-2-2--2--0..--0--2---2--2---2-2-2--0...--------
 4D --0--0---2-2-2--2--0..--0--2---0--0---2-2-2--0...--------
 5A ---------0-0-0--0--2..--2--0----------0-0-0--2...--------
 6E -------------------3..--3--------------------3...--------



* riff (right channel: Mike Rathke)

     {D    / A    }  {G  / G .A} {D    / A   } {G}
 1e ---------5---5--7/9--5----5-x----------------------------
 2B -----7-----7---------------------------------------------
 3G ---------------------------------------------------------
 4D ---------------------------------------------------------
 5A ---------------------------------------------------------
 6E ---------------------------------------------------------



*** please note ***

h - hammer on
p - pull off
b - bend string up
r - release bend
/ - slide up
\ - slide down
v - vibrato
^ - harmonics




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transcribed by Shiroh KOUCHI (wildside@mtci.ne.jp)
http://w3.mtci.ne.jp/~wildside/lou_reed/index.html
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The above is solely MY INTERPRETATION of this great song, in a format aimed at learning guitarists.
No attempt has been made to copy or reproduce the artist's or publisher's sheet music for the song, 
if such exists.

It can be used for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. To play the song as it should be played, you should 
purchase the official sheetmusic for the song. You should also purchase and listen to the song to learn 
the rhythm and timing of the song - this is essential if you wish to play the song with any degree of accuracy

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