A Summer Wasting Chords

Capo 2nd fret

Standard (EADGBE)

DSummer in winter

Winter in springtime

You heard the birds sing

Everything will be fine

Em I spent the Asummer wasting

Em The time was Apassed so easilyG

Em But if the Asummer's wasted

Em How come that AI could feel so--G free

Em I spent the Asummer wasting

Em The sky was Ablue beyond comparGe

Em A photogAraph of myself

Em Is all I hAave to show for

DSeven years of G/Driver walkways

DSeven weeks of Cstaying up all _ _

Emnight. A Em(Two bars inAstrumental)

Em I spent the Asummer wasting

Em The time was Apassed so pleasantlGy

Em Say cheeriAo to books now

Em The only tAhings I'll read are Gfaces

Em I spent the Asummer wasting

Em Under a Acanopy of

DSeven weeks of G/Dreading papers

DSeven weeks of G/Driver walkways

DSeven weeks of G/Dfeeling guilty

DSeven weeks of Cstaying up all _ _

Emnight A Em A

Em A Em A

DSummer in winter

Winter is springtime

You heard the bird say

Everything will be fine

1) Firstly, the start (and finish) of the song. On the recording the guitar plays the

in unison with the voice. If you want

to do this then this is a perfectly adequate way of doing it.

Any complete beginners should note that this can all be played without moving from the

of the chord of D major

(concert E major), save for the high E (concert F#).

The rhythm isn't exactly readable here, though the phrasing is quite obvious and, as of

you know, the rhythm is the same as the

words anyway so it's easy enough.

2) For a solo performance it can be nice to add a little bit of movement to your bass

to give more of a feel of polyphony. I'm

not a proficient guitar player AT ALL and I'm not just being modest, believe me, so I

to do anything I can possibly manage to

add to the musical interest of a performance.

A simple example would be to add something between the Em and A chords during the

On your low E-string add this phrase,

 one note on each beat to take you from the Em to the A via the notes E E F♯ G

 pitch F♯ F♯ G♯ A)

Little things like this, when used sensitively and sensibly will really enhance your performance.

3) The chord of C on "staying up all night" has a lot of room in the harmonic context of

song for flexibility.

Possibilities include a Cmaj7, a C9, a C6, a Caug4 or a D7/C to name but a few.

to find something you like (and there's

nothing wrong with liking the ordinary C major) and don't forget to consult with your

- if you play with one - to make sure that

you're all aware of what the others are doing so that any dissonances sound like

and not like mistakes.

4) The 8-bar instrumental that precedes the final verse has a solo in it played by what

memory) sounds like a melodica.

Possibly a violin, but I can't remember. Anyway it plays this tune (each note is a

crotchet/quarter-note):

If you play with a band, you can give this to the lead guitarist. If you want a

notation for a pianist or a classically

trained musician, just send me an email and I'll do one for you.

If you are not in a band and intend to play this song on your own then you can just add

notes into your chords as you play.

In essence, it will mean that the chords you will be playing are these:

Em Em Em Em7 A6 A

A Em Em Em Em7 Asus4 A

A

HOWEVER, I encourage you not to play this with the mindset of just playing through this

of chords. You need to think of it as

you adding a second line - a melodic line - over your basic chordal accompaniment. Play

as if it's just Em A Em A like

in the verses, but you've added a tune as well. If you don't understand what I mean it's

it's very hard to explain.

Just, if it sounds shit, don't do it. Stick to the basic chords and leave out the 'solo'.

Don't forget to rate, and comment if you've spotted something I haven't so I can amend it.