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The Village Green Preservation Society by The Kinks - Guitar Chords
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Version 1 Version 1
Side one
"The Village Green Preservation Society" – 2:45
"Do You Remember Walter?" – 2:23
"Picture Book" – 2:34
"Johnny Thunder" – 2:28
"Last of the Steam-Powered Trains" – 4:03
"Big Sky" – 2:49
"Sitting by the Riverside" – 2:21
Side two
"Animal Farm" – 2:57
"Village Green" – 2:08
"Starstruck" – 2:18
"Phenomenal Cat" (misspelled "Phenominal" on the LP sleeve) – 2:34
"All of My Friends Were There" – 2:23
"Wicked Annabella" – 2:40
"Monica" – 2:13
"People Take Pictures of Each Other" – 2:10
1. The Village Green Preservation Society
[Verse]
C G F G riff 1 C G F C riff 1
C G F G riff 1
We are the the Village Green Preservation Society
C G F C riff 1
God save Donald Duck, vaudeville and variety
C G F G riff 1
We are the Desperate Dan Appreciation Society
C G F C riff 1
God save strawberry jam and all the different varieties
[Chorus]
C G F C riff 1
Preserving the old ways from being abused
C G F G
Protecting the new ways for me and for you
F C
What more can we do?
[Verse]
C G F G riff 1
We are the Draught Beer Preservation society
C G F C riff 1
God save Mrs. Mopp and good old Mother Riley
C G F G riff 1
We are the Custard Pie Appreciation Consortium
C G F C
God save the George Cross and all those who were awarded them
C G F G riff 1 C G F G
Oo-wo-oo oo-wo-oo
D A G A riff 2
We are the Sherlock Holmes English Speaking Vernacular
D A G D riff 2
Help save Fu Manchu, Moriarty and Dracula
D A G A riff 2
We are the Office Block Persecution Affinity
D A G D riff 2
God save little shops, china cups and virginity
D A G A riff 2
We are the Skyscraper Condemnation Affilliate
D A G D riff 2
God save Tudor houses, antique tables and billiards
[Chorus]
D A G D riff 2
Preserving the old ways from being abused
D A G A
Protecting the new ways for me and for you
G D
What more can we do?
[Verse]
D A G D riff 2
We are the Village Green Preservation Society
D A G D riff 2
God save Donald Duck, vaudeville and variety
D A G D riff 2
We are the Village Green Preservation Society
D A G D riff 2
God save Donald Duck, vaudeville and variety
D A G D D
G D
God save the Village Green
2. Do You Remember Walter?
(Intro is a C chord. It’s just a C scale, starting on G.)
[Verse]
C
Walter, remember when the world was young
Eb Bb
And all the girls knew Walter's name?
F Cm F Bb
Walter, isn't it a shame the way our little world has changed?
Cm7 D G
Do you remember, Walter, playing cricket in the thunder and the rain?
Cm7 D G
Do you remember, Walter, smoking cigarettes behind your garden gate?
Ab Eb
Yes, Walter was my mate,
G F C
But Walter, my old friend, where are you now?
(cool drum fill over bouncing C chord)
(melody plays over C chord, then)
Eb Bb
Walter's name
F Cm F Bb
Walter, isn't it a shame the way our little world has changed?
Cm7 D G
Do you remember, Walter, how we said we'd fight the world so we'd be free.
Cm7 D G
We'd save up all our money and we'd buy a boat and sail away to sea.
Ab Eb
But it was not to be.
G F C
I knew you then but do I know you now?
C Eb Bb
Walter, you are just an echo of the world we knew so long ago
F Cm7 F Bb
If you saw me now you wouldn't even know my name.
Cm7
I bet you're fat and married and
D G
you're always home in bed by half-past eight.
Cm7
And if I talked about the old times
D G
you'd get bored and you'll have nothing left to say.
Ab Eb G F C
Yes people often change, but memories of people can remain.
3. Picture Book
[Intro]
e|-------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------|
G|------------------------------------0------------------|
D|--------------------------0-0--2-4-----4---------------|
A|----------------0-0--2-4-------------------------------|
E|-12/--0-0--2-4-----------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------|
G|------------------------------0------------------------|
D|---------------------0-0-2-4---------------------------|
A|-----------0-0--2-4------------------------------------|
E|-0-0--2-4----------------------------------------------|
[Verse]
E A D G E-A-G-D
Picture yourself when you're getting on
E A D G E-A-G-D
Sit by the fireside pondering on
C F C
Picture book, pictures of your mama
F C F C
Taken by your papa a long time ago
C F C
Picture book, of people with each other
F C F C
To prove they loved each other a long time ago
Bb C
La la la la la la
Bb C
La la la la la la
E-A-D-G E-A-D-G
Picture book, picture book
E-A-D-G E-A-D-G
Picture book, picture book
4. Johnny Thunder
[Intro]
e|---2-2-2-5-3----|
B|---3-3-3-2-0----|
G|---2-2-2-2-2----|
D|---0-0-0-0-0----|
A|x---------------|
E|x---------------|
[Intro]
D A G (x2)
[Verse]
G D F C A
A G D A G
Johnny Thunder lives on water, feeds on lightning.
G D F C A
D A G D A G
Johnny Thunder don't need no one, don't want money.
G A D
And all the people of the town,
G A D
They can't get through to Johnny,
D A Bm D7
They will never, ever break him down.
G D F C A
A G D A G
Johnny Thunder speaks for no one, goes on fighting.
A7 (n.C) A7 G (D
A G D A G) x2
And Sweet Helena De Mane(?) prays for Johnny.
[Chorus] (x2)
G D
Ba ba-ba ba ba-ba ba,
F C
Ba ba-ba ba ba-ba ba,
A D ([D] A G ) x2
Thunder and lightning. la la la la la
[Verse]
G A D
Though everybody tried their best,
G A D A
Bm
Old Johnny vowed that he would never, ever end up like the rest.
G D F C A
D A G D A G
Johnny Thunder rides the highway, moves like lightning.
A7 (n.C) A G D
A G D A G
But sweet Helena just says, "God bless Johnny."
[Chorus]
G D
Ba ba-ba ba ba-ba ba,
F C
Ba ba-ba ba ba-ba ba,
A D ([D] A G ) x2
Thunder and lightning. la la la la la
[Outro]
Dsus4 D Dsus2 D
5. Last of the steam-powered trains
[Intro] (x2)
e|------0--0-----------------------------|
B|-------------0--3---0------------------|
G|------------------------2----0---------|
D|------2--2------0-----------------(2)--|
A|-------------2------2---0--------------|
E|--0--------------------------3---------|
[Verse]
E A7 E Riff
I'm the last of the good old puffer trains
E A7 E Riff
I'm the last of the blood and sweat brigade
A A7 E Riff
And I don't know where I'm going (going).... or why I came
G A A7 E Riffx2
I'm the last of the good old fashioned steam...powered trains
E A7 E Riff
I'm the last of the good old renegades
E A7 E Riff
All my friends are of middle class degree
A A7 E Riff
But I live in a museum (museum).... so I'm okay
G A A7 E Riffx2
I'm the last of the good old fashioned steam...powered trains
[Instrumental] (x2)
e|------0--0-----------------------------|
B|-------------0--3---0------------------|
G|------------------------2----0---------|
D|------2--2------0-----------------(2)--|
A|-------------2------2---0--------------|
E|--0--------------------------3---------|
[Verse]
E A7 E Riff
Like the last of the good old choo-choo trains
E A7 E Riff
I'm the last of the blood and sweat brigade
A A7 E Riff
And I gonna keep on going (going)...till my dying day
G A A7 E Riffx2
I'm the last of the good old fashioned steam...powered trains
Solo Riff x12 (getting faster on 10) Then a chromatic ascent from E to E,
sliding down, leading to... Silence, Riff x2
[Verse]
E A7 E Riff
I'm the last of the good old puffer trains
E A7 E Riff
I'm the last of the soot and scum brigade
A A7 E Riff
And all this peaceful living (living).... drives me insane
G A A7 E Riffx2
I'm the last of the good old fashioned steam...powered trains
[Instrumental] (x2)
e|------0--0-----------------------------|
B|-------------0--3---0------------------|
G|------------------------2----0---------|
D|------2--2------0-----------------(2)--|
A|-------------2------2---0--------------|
E|--0--------------------------3---------|
[Outro]
G A A7 EA7 G A7 E
I'm the last of the good old fashioned steam........powered trains
(steam steam)
6. Big sky
[Intro]
D C G (riff 1) F C G (riff 2)
[Verse]
D C G (riff 1)
Big Sky looked down on all the people looking up at The Big Sky
F C G (riff 2)
Everybody's pushing one another around
D C G (riff 1)
Big Sky feels sad when he sees the children scream and cry
F C G
But Big Sky's too big to let it get him down
(riff 2) D C G
Big Sky's too big to cry
(riff 2) D C G
Big Sky's too high to see
(riff 2) D C G F
People like you and me
Bb Gm Eb Bb
One day we'll be free
Eb Bb Eb Bb
We won't care just you see
Bb Gm Eb Bb Eb
Till that day can be don't let it get you down
Eb Bb
And when I see that the world's too much for me
Eb Bb
I think of The Big Sky and nothing matters much to me
D C G
Big Sky looked down on all the people who think they've got problems
They get depressed and they hold their heads in their hands and they cry
The people lift up their hands and they look up to The Big Sky
But The Big Sky's too big to sympathize
(riff 2) D C G
Big Sky's too occupied
Though he would like to try
When he feels glad inside
Big Sky's too big to cry
Bb Gm Eb Bb
One day we'll be free
We won't care just you wait and see Bb
Till that day can be don't let it get you down
RIFF 1: RIFF 2:
e|--3--1p0--1--------------------|
B|-------------------------------|
G|--while------------------------|
D|---strumming----------------0--|
A|------G chord-----------2-3----|
E|------------------3-1-3--------|
7. Sitting By The Riverside
[Intro]
G7 C7 F6
[Verse]
G7 C7 F6
Just sitting down by the riverside,
G7 C7 F6
Spreading my arms to the open wide.
Gm D7 Bb F
Now I am free and the world's at my feet
C7 F
I can close my eyes.
G7 C7 F6
Oh love, keep me warm, keep me satisfied.
G7 C7 F6
Please keep me calm, keep me pacified.
Gm D7 Bb F
Now I'm content and my life is complete.
C7 F C7 F C7 F
I can close my eyes. (enter psychadelia a la "day in a life")
Am C7 F D7
C7 F6
Sitting by the riverside with you.
G7 C7 F6
I love sitting down by the riverside,
G7 C7 F6
Watching the water go flowing by.
Gm D7 Bb F
Oh, golly-gee, it is heaven to be
C7 F C7 F C7
Like a willow tree.
F E D C Bb
Gm F
Spend my time just drinking wine while looking at the view.
8. Animal farm
[Intro]
A G D A A G D A
[Verse]
E A
This world is big and wild and half insane
E A
Take me where real animals are playing
E A E A
Just a dirty old shack, where the hound dogs bark
G D A D
That we called our home, I wanna be back there
G D A D
Among the cats and dogs and the pigs and the goats
[Chorus]
A G D A
On animal farm my animal home
A G D A
On animal farm my animal home
[Verse]
While I lay my head upon my pillow
Little girl can play beneath my window
Though she's far from home, she is free from harm
And she need not fear, she is by my side
And the sky is wide, so let the sun shine bright ...CHORUS
[Bridge]
A D A G D
Girl it's a hard hard world if it gets you down
A D A G D
Dreams often fade and die in a bad bad world
[Verse]
I'll take you where real animals are playing
And people are real people not just playing
It's a quiet quiet life, by a dirty old shack
That we called our home, I want to be back there
Among the cats and dogs and the pigs and the goats ...CHORUS
[Outro]
A G D A
On animal farm
A G D A
Animal farm
[Riff]
(1st, 2nd line of 1st verse, 1st line of 3rd verse):
(this) world... insane...
E A
e|----------------------------|
B|-----------2-0---3-3-2------|
G|(2)---2-1-------------------|
D|----2-----2-----2-----------|
A|----------------------------|
E|----------------------------|
[Chorus]
(emphasize these notes)
A G D A
e|------------------------------------------|-------------|
B|-----5-----------3-----------7----------5-|-------------|
G|----6--6--------4--4--------7--7-------6--|7-6h7p6------| (repeat once until |)
D|---7-----7-----5-----5-----5-----5----7---|-------------|
A|--7-----------5-----------5----------7----|-------------|
E|------------------------------------------|-------------|
9. Village green
[Verse]
Cm Fm
Out in the country
Bb Eb G# Fm
Far from all the soot and noise of the city
G7 Cm
There's a village green
Cm Fm
It's been a long time
Bb Eb G# Fm
Since I last set eyes on the church with the steeple
G7 Cm
Down by the village green
Cm Fm
Ah la la la la
Bb Eb G# Fm
'Twas there I met a girl call Daisy
G7 Cm
And kissed her by the old oak tree
Cm Fm
Ah la la la la
Bb Eb G# Fm
Although I loved my Daisy, I sought fame
G7 Cm
And so I left the village green
[Chorus]
Fm Fm/E Fm/Eb Fm/D
I miss the village green, And all the simple people
Cm Cm/B Cm/Bb Cm/A
I miss the village green, The church, the clock, the steeple
D G
I miss the morning dew, fresh air and Sunday school
[Verse]
And now all the houses are rare antiquities
American tourists flock to see the village green
They snap their photographs and say "Gol' darn it
Isn't it a pretty scene?"
And Daisy's married Tom the grocer boy
And now he owns a grocery ...CHORUS
And I will return there
And I'll see Daisy
And we'll sit and laugh
And talk about the village green
[Outro]
Cm Fm Bb Eb
La la la la la
G# Fm G7 Cm
We will laugh and talk about the village green
10. Starstruck
[Verse]
F C F
Baby, you don't know what you're saying
C Bb Am Gm F
Because you're a victim of pride's city lights
Bb Am Gm F
And your mind is not right
C F Bb
You think the world's at your feet
'Cos you're starstruck baby starstruck
F
You're starstruck baby starstruck
Bb
Starstruck baby starstruck
Am Gm F
You know that you're starstruck on me
Baby, you're runnin' around like you're crazy
You go to a party and dance through the night
And you'll drink 'til you're tied
And then you're out on your feet
[Instrumental]
F-C-Bb C-Bb-Am-Gm C-Bb-Am-Gm
[Outro]
Baby, watch out or else you'll be blue
'Cos once you're addicted to wine and champagne
It's gonna drive you insane
Because the world's not so tame
10. Phenomenal cat
[Intro]
C Bb F D G D G
[Verse]
D G D D G D
A long, long time ago, in a land of idiot boys
G D F C
There lived the cat, a phenomenal cat
Bb F
Who loved to wallow all day
No one bothered him as he sat, content in his tree
He just lived to eat cos it kept him fat
And that's how he wanted to stay
[Chorus 1]
Dm A C
F
Though he was big and fat, all the world was good to him
Dm A C Fsus4
And he pointed out on the map all the places he had been
Dm Dm/G Dm/F Dm/E
Dm/C Dm/Bb A
Cowes, Sardinia, Katmandu, The Scilly Isles and Sahara, too
Fum, fum, diddle-um di
La la la la, la-la la la
La la la la, la-la la la la
La la la la-la la la
[Chorus 2]
Once when he was thin, he had flown to old Hong Kong
And had learned the secret of life, and the sea and the sky beyond
So he gave up his diet and sat in a tree
And ate himself through eternity
Fum, fum, diddle-um di
La la la la la-la la la
La la la la, la-la la la la
La la la la-la la la
Fum, fum, diddle-um di
Fum, fum, diddle-um di
11. All of my friends were there
Capo 1st fret
[Verse]
E A
My big day, it was the biggest day of my life
F#m A
It was the summit of my long career
E A
But I felt so down, and I drank too much beer
F#m A
And my manager said that I should not appear
I walked out onto the stage and started to speak
The first night I've missed for a couple of years
I explained to the crowed and they started to jeer
And just when I wanted no one to be there
[Chorus 1]
E E7 A A/G# F#m
All of my friends were there
F#m/E D D/C#
Bm7/A
Not just my friends, but their best friends too
G# G#7 C#7 F# B
All of my friends were there to stand and stare
B7 E E7 A
A/G# F#m
Say what they may, all of their friends need not stare
F#m/E D D/C#
Bm7/A
Those who laughed were not friends anyway
G# G#7 C#7 F# B
All of my friends were there to stand and stare
[Verse]
Days went by, I walked around dressed in a disguise
I wore a mustache and I parted my hair
And gave the impression that I did not care
But oh, the embarrassment, oh, the dispair
Came the day, helped with a few last glasses of gin
I nervously mounted the stage once again
Got through my performance and no one complained
Thank God I can go back to normal again
[Chorus 2]
I went to that old cafe
Where I had been in much happier days
And all of my friends were there, and no one cared
Say what they may, all of my friends were there
Not just my friends, but their best friends too
All of my friends were there, now I don't care
12. Wicked Annabella
[Intro]
E|--4-4-4-4-6-6-7--| (repeat)
[Verse]
G# F# E
In a dark and misty house
G# F# E
Where no Christian man has been
A E A E
Wicked Annabella mixes a brew
G# F# E
That no one's ever seen
Relatives have passed her by
Too scared to even say hello
She's in perpetual midnight
She shuts out the day
And goes about her sinful ways
[Bridge]
A
I, I've seen her hair, I've seen her face
E RIFF 1
Look towards mine
A
I, I've felt her eyes burning my soul
E D A
Twisting my mind
[Verse]
Little children who are good
Should always go to sleep at night
'Cause Wicked Annabella is up in the sky
Hopin' they will open their eyes
Don't go into woods tonight
'Cause underneath the sticks and stones
Are lots of little demons enslaved by Annabella
Waiting just to carry you home
E E E
Ja ja, ja ja ja ja ja, ja ja ja...
Bass Riff 1: Bass Riff 2:
(E) (D) (A)
e|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|-2-0-2-0--------------------------0----------------------------2-0-----|
A|---------4-2-4-2--------0-2-0-2-4---4-2-0-----0-2--4-2-4-2-0-2---------|
E|------------------0-2-4-------------------0-2--------------------------|
13. Monica
[Intro]
G D
[Verse]
G D
Under a lamp light, Monica stands at midnight
D D7 D
And every guy think he can buy her love
D D7 D
But money can't buy sweet lovin' from Monica
Morning to moonshine, Monica knows every line
Don't ever propose cos Monica knows, you know
She'll turn up her nose and say what a fool you are
[Chorus]
G G7 G G7 G C
I, I shall die, I, I shall die if I should lose Monica (Oh Monica my love)
G G7 G G7 G
C D D7
People can try, People can try, but they can't buy Monica, my love
[Verse]
You take the sunshine, I'll take the nightly shadows
Cos everyone knows that Monica glows at night
She'll do something wrong and prove to you she is right ...CHORUS
Morning to moonshine, Monica knows every line
Don't ever propose cos Monica knows, you know
She'll turn up her nose and say what a fool you are
G
Monica
14. People Take Pictures of Each Other
[Intro]
G
[Verse]
G
People take pictures of the summer
F
Just in case someone thought they had missed it
D
And to prove that it really existed
Fathers take picture of the mothers
And the sisters take pictures of brothers
Just to show that they love one another
C C7
You can't picture love that you took from me
F C
When we were young and the world was free
C7
Pictures of things as they used to be, don't show me no more please
People take pictures of each other
Just to prove that they really existed
Just to prove that they really existed
People take pictures of each other
And the moment can last them forever
Of the time when they mattered to someone
[Interlude]
C C
Nie na nie na Nie na nie na
D Bb G
Nie na nie na Nie nie nie na
C C
Nie na nie na nie na nie na
D Bb G
Nie na nie na nie nie nie na
Bb G Bb G
nie na nie na nie na nie na
[Verse]
People take pictures of the summer
Just in case someone thought they had missed it
Just to prove that it really existed
People take pictures of each other
And one moment will last them forever
At the time when they mattered to someone
C C7
A picture of me when I was just three
F C
Sat with my ma by the old oak tree
C7
How I love things as they used to be, don't show me no more please
G
la la la la la la la .... etc.
[Outro]
e|----------------------------|
B|----------------------------|
G|----------------------------|
D|-----------------2-4-2-0----|
A|----0-2-3----3-5------------|
E|--3-------------------------|
We also have 50 songs by The Kinks
- 20Th Century Man
- A Well Respected Man
- Afternoon Tea
- All Day And All Of The Night
- All Of The Day And All Of The Night
- Animal Farm
- Apeman
- Arthur
- Autumn Almanac
- Better Things
- Big Sky
- Celluloid Heroes
- Come Dancing
- Dandy
- David Watts
- Days
- Dead End Street
- Death Of A Clown
- Dedicated Follower Of Fashion
- Do You Remember Walter
- Father Christmas
- I Need You
- Im Not Like Everybody Else
- Johnny Thunder
- Little Miss Queen Of Darkness
- Living On A Thin Line
- Lola
- Mr Pleasant
- Nothin In The World Can Stop Me Worryin Bout That Girl
- Picture Book
- Rosie Wont You Please Come Home
- See My Friends
- Set Me Free
- Shangri-La
- Starstruck
- Stop Your Sobbing
- Strangers
- Sunny Afternoon
- Supersonic Rocket Ship
- The Village Green Preservation Society
- This Time Tomorrow
- Till The End Of The Day
- Tired Of Waiting For You
- Victoria
- Village Green
- Waterloo Sunset
- Where Have All The Good Times Gone
- Wonderboy
- Yes Sir No Sir
- You Really Got Me
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