WE DO WHAT WE CAN
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E7 Am E7 Am
Downstairs they're playing Kenton, the house set to swing
E7+9 E7-9 Am E7* Am11
I lay in my bed and listen to everything
E7-9 E7 Am E7-9 E7 Am
Cause Leo's in rare form tonight, his trombone sings so sweet
E7+9 E7-9 Am A
This is the room where they all come to meet
Dm A/C# C G/B
He said "I do what I can, I live for the moment
Bb9-5 E' A *NB-see below*
and that's who I am, yeah that's who I am"
Dm A/C# C G/B
And isn't it good if we could freeze moments in time
Bb9-5 E' Am
We all would, but I do what I can, I do what I can
E7 E7-9 Am E7 E7+9 E7-9 Am
Downstairs he's playing Kenton, the Magnavox sighs
E7 Am E7 Am
But oh how the music has changed in all of our lives
E7 Am E7-9 E7 Am6
He says "nobody listens to modern jazz
E7+9 E7-9 Am A
and I'll never have what those guys have"
He says "I do what I can, I work for a living
and that's who I am, yeah that's who I am"
And it's good to be alive, but everything's different
Since Leo died, I do what I can
E7-9 E7 Asus4 Am E7 Asus4 Am
Dm Asus4 Am
Is this the end of the modern world
E7 Asus4 Am
What could it mean for a young girl
E7-9 E7 Asus4 Am
Who sees the pain on his face?
E7 Am
He does what he can
Dm Asus4 Am
The procession on the TV screen
E7 Asus4 Am
What could it possibly mean
Dm Asus4 Am
For a man who's come this far
E7 Asus4 Am
just to turn around
Dm Asus4 Am } these two lines are
Could there still be life in Kenton's swing }-played in 4/4 time
E7 Asus4 Am } rather than 6/8
With the Kennedys gone and everything }
Dsus4 Dm Cadd9 C
Those sad rows of houses with their optimistic colours
Dsus4 Dm Cadd9 C
Democrat grandparents and draft dodging brothers
Bbadd9 Bb E7sus4 E7
Riots down the street and discontented mothers
Am E7* Am E7+9 E7-9 Am
We do what we can
E7 Am E7 E7+9 E7-9 Am
Downstairs it's quiet - less alive, somehow
E7 Am A
Somehow he was everything that I am now
And he says "I do what I can, I work for a living
And that's who I am, and that's who I am"
But it's good to be alive, and these are the choices
We make to survive - you do what you can
................
Weird jazzy chord city! I've tried to transcribe an accurate representation
of most of the chords, but understand that most of the chords for the verse
would have been improvised over the vague guidelines of Am followed by E7.
Note that I have just called all the weird Am chords "Am", so they can be
played as Am-002210, 577555, or 007555; Asus2-002200; A7sus2-002000,
Amadd9-577500 or 007500; or Am7add9-575555 or 005500. I have, however, noted
a couple of especially weird ones - Am11-00543x and Am6 002212.
The E type chords are E7-020130, 020100(E'), 076750 or 076707(E*);
E7+9-07678x; and E7-9 - 07676x.
The chords for the chorus are Dm-xx0231 or x57765; A/C#-x42225 or x42255;
C-x32010; Bb9-5 (my favourite!)-010110; then E7' and Am as shown above.
There is a chord progression in the first two choruses (but not the last)
at the point marked with asterisks - goodness knows what the chords should
be called: A-x07655, ?-x07676, ?-x07565, ?-x05433.
The chords for the bridge ("Is this the end of..") go along these lines
|-------|-------|-------|-0--0--|-------|-------|-4-----|-5--5--|
|-6-----|-5--5--|-3--0--|-3--1--|-6-----|-5--5--|-3-----|-5--5--|
|-7--7--|-7--5--|-1--1--|-2--2--|-7--7--|-7--5--|-4--4--|-7--5--|
|-6--6--|-7--7--|-0--0--|-2--2--|-7--7--|-7--7--|-2--2--|-7--7--|
|-7--7--|-7--7--|-2--2--|-0--0--|-5--5--|-7--7--|-2--2--|-7--7--|
|-0--0--|-5--5--|-0--0--|-------|-------|-5--5--|-0--0--|-5--5--|
|-------|-------|-4-----|-5--5--|
|-6-----|-5--5--|-3-----|-5--5--|
|-7--7--|-7--5--|-4--4--|-7--5--| etc
|-6--6--|-7--7--|-2--2--|-7--7--|
|-7--7--|-7--7--|-2--2--|-7--7--|
|-0--0--|-5--5--|-0--0--|-5--5--|
The chords for the line "Those sad rows of houses.." onwards are:
Dsus4-xx0233, Dm-xx0231, Cadd9-x32030, C-x32010, Bbadd9-688768, Bb-688766
E7sus4-022435, E7-022434.
..........
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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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