The Owl And The Tanager by Sufjan Stevens, tabs and chords at PlayUkuleleNET

The Owl And The Tanager

Biography:

Sufjan Stevens (Born July 1, 1975) is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Petoskey, Michigan. He is known for his lyrically focused and instrumentally rich songs that often relate to faith and family. He has enjoyed wide critical success in the United States. He is considered part of the folk revival through indie pop, but his influences are very broad, including experimental electronic music, the jazz of Vince Guaraldi, and the academic minimalism of Steve Reich and Philip Glass.

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This is a guitar transcription of this piano song

Tuning: E A Db G B e (tune the D string down 1/2 step so that it matches the 4th fret of
the A string)
Key of Bb minor

Chords:
Bbm Cm Fm Ab
e|--------------------------|
B|--------------------------|
G|--------------------------|
Db|- --5------7----0-----2---|
A|----6------6----1-----3---|
E|----6------8----1-----4---|
He arpeggiates these triads in the beginning and later on during the build-up you can
strum them.

The melody that plays in some verses (first at 1:11):
e|-------------------------|
B|-------------------------|
G|-------------------------|
Db|--9-11h12-9--9-11h12-9---|
A|-------------------------|
E|---------------------6---|

the melody that plays between some of the verses (first at 1:30):
e|------------------------------------------------------------|
B|------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------6--------------------------------------|
Db|-7h9-7--9-7---7h9-7-9--9p7---7h9-7-9-7----------------------|
A|-----------------------------------------9-8-6--------------|
E|------------------------------------------------9-8-6-8-9-6-|

lyrics:
Bbm Cm
All I had hoped for
Fm
I kept inside your car
Ab
The rabbit in the barn
Bbm Cm
Most of all I wait
Fm Ab
I wait beside the door; I wait beside the door

etc

Oh! I was wrong! trembling in the cage
I was diamonds in the cage
In seven hours I consider death
And your father called to yell at me
You little boy, you little boy

Found out you cheated me
I ran behind the barn and cut my hands somehow
Blood in the meadowlark
I punched your ears instead
I punched you in the head
You only laughed and laughed and laughed

How I was wrong! tingling from the kill
Tickle me until you devil bird you evil still
Slept on my arms, I was sleeping in the sill
I was sleeping in the room with you
You little boy, you little boy

How could you run from me now?
The loneliest chime in the house
The loneliest chime in the house
You let it out you let it out
Come to me Calvary still
I'm weeding and raking until
I'm bleeding in spite of my love for you
It bruised and bruised my will

Counting alluvial plains
The breathing inside of the range
You touched me inside of my cage
Beneath my shirt your hands embraced me
Come to me feathered and frayed
For I am the ugliest prey,
For I am the ugliest prey
The owl, the reckless reckless praise

You said you'd wait for me
Down by the Tannery Creek
Far out by the clothesline where we used to kiss behind the sheets
Wrapped in a blanket of red
The Owl and the Tanager said
The Owl and the Tanager said
One waits until the hour is death

Apollo