#----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE---------------------------------#
#This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the #
#song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. #
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
#
Lizards
From: John Greene <s3583045@titan.ucc.umass.edu>
From: David Douglas McCallum <kcjonz@wam.umd.edu>
From: Hayduke lives! <92MDB@vax.cc.williams.edu> (Mikey ?)
It all started a few days ago while I was noodling on the guitar while watching the boob-tube. I was enjoying a seemingly random chord
progression and thinking I was really onto something cool. Well, a little rational thought uncovered that while the progression was
indeed cool, it wasn't as original as I had thought...it was the middle "Esther-and-her-doll- tumbling-and-diving-through-the-clouds"
chords of one of the first tunes that hooked me to Phish in the first place, good ol' [dead ol'] "Esther". The cleanest version I could think
of is the lead-in to "Lizards" on "The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday". A little careful listening revealed the correct picking pattern:
E
E|------0-------------0-------------0-------------0--------
B|----5---5---------5---5---------5---5---------5---5------
G|--4---------4---4---------4---4---------4---4---------4--
D|6---------6---6---------6---6---------6---6---------6----
A|---------------------------------------------------------
E|---------------------------------------------------------
The picking pattern stays the same, but the chords change in this pattern:
E -> Em -> F#m7 -> F# -> B -> repeat
using these chord forms:
E Em F#m F# B
E|-0--0--0---0---0--
B|-5--5--7---7---7--
G|-4--4--6---6---8--
D|-6--5--7---8---9--
A|------------------
E|------------------
This inevitably led me to the next tune on the tape, and another old favorite, "Lizards". Now, I've tried to play this in the past, by ear and
using the two versions posted by John Greene and Michael Bruce and contained in the CHORDS.PHISH file. But something was wrong
with both versions according to my ear, so I decided to nail it down to my satisfaction once and for all and this is what I came up with...
MONDO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: As you will see, I borrowed heavily from both
both John's and Michael's transcriptions, refining and adding
things here and there as I saw fit. But it was VERY NICE to have
these foundations upon which to build my transcription [particularly
Michael's elegant notation, which makes sense once you get used
to it]. Thank you both for the effort in writing this stuff down
in the first place! I hope you like my iteration...
C (repeat)
E|------------|
B|------8-8---|
G|----------9-| This picking pattern is the basis for the chords
D|10-10-------| with notes on the D, G, and B strings
A|------------|
E|------------|
E|----5-------|
B|------5-----|
G|--5---------| This picking pattern is the basis for the chords
D|4-------4---| with notes on the D, G, B, and E strings
A|------------|
E|------------|
How to read:
--chord: what I believe the chord is, in guitar notation.
--bass: what I feel is the bass note. Note: this note may not
be in the chord! It may be a passing tone to another
chord. So C/B means a C chord with a B in the bass.
--strings: just about the whole song can be played on the
E, D, G, and B strings, so I have included the frets.
INTRO:
--chord: C
--bass: C
--E str:
B str: 8
G str: 9
D str: 10
VERSE: pas...cam...lean..arm....He..way.king...
C: C G Gm F Fm Fm C C-5 G/9 G9 G6/9 E7
B: C B Bb A Ab Ab G Gb G F E E
Es: 5 5 5 5 4
Bs: 8 8 8 6 6 6 5 5 3 3 3 3
Gs: 9 7 7 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4
Ds: 10 9 8 7 6 6 5 4 5 3 2 2
| 1st ending | 2nd ending |
| Wil..Wil..Wil.....| |
C: Fdm Fdm Fdm Fdm| Edim Edim |
B: F Ab Cb Cb | E E |
Es: 4 7 10 10 | 3 3 |
Bs: 3 6 9 9 | 2 2 |
Gs: 4 7 10 10 | 3 3 |
Ds: 3 6 9 9 | 2 2 |
VERSE: led....edge..wand...sprng.kni....sto...lift...turn....sing!
C: F F G G Am Am F F F Fm C C G/9 G9 G6/9 D6 C
B: F F# G G# A A# A A A Ab G G G F E D C
Es: 5 5 5 5 0
Bs: 1 1 3 3 5 5 6 6 6 6 5 5 3 3 3 3 1
Gs: 2 2 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 0
Ds: 3 4 5 6 7 8 7 7 7 6 5 5 5 3 2 0 2
CHORUS:
dark doom boon tried died died !
C: G F C G F C G F C G F G F G F C
Piano solo: |1.-- |2.---
C: C C Dm Dm7 G7 G7|C C |G7 G7
B: C C# D C D D |E E |D D
Es: | |
Bs: 8 8 10 10 12 12 |13 13|12 12
Gs: 9 9 10 10 10 10 |12 12|10 10
Ds: 10 11 12 10 12 12 |14 14|12 12
Repeat Verse and chorus twice more, ending the chorus the second time with the following passage in place of the "died!" in the first
"and the lizards they have died!" lyric
CHORUS III: Whoa whoa whoa...
C: G F G F G F...
Piano solo II: (this part comes after the chorus, but instead of playing that final C, play the first chord of the part below and continue)
PIANO SOLO: WHOAAA
C: G F G F Abmaj7 Gm7 Bbmaj7 Am7
B: G F G F Ab G Bb A
This is what Trey plays towards the last half of Page's piano solo, right into the last "whoa, whoa, whoa, etc."
Chris Temeles <CASUITE211@AOL.COM>
From 5/27/94
The whole thing is played moderately fast, like any other Trey arpeggios.
B Sometimes he pulls off, and sometimes he doesn't
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
b----------------------------------------------------------------------
g---------8----11--8------------11--8---------11--8--------11--8-------
d------9---------------9---------------9-------------9------------9----
a----------------------------------------------------------------------
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
A#m7
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
b----------------------------------------------------------------------
g---------10--13--10-----------13--10---------13--10--------13--10-----
d-----11--------------11---------------11-------------11------------11-
a----------------------------------------------------------------------
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
Amaj7
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
b----------------------------------------------------------------------
g---------9--13--9----------13--9----------13--9----------13--9--------
d-----11------------11-------------11-------------11-------------11----
a----------------------------------------------------------------------
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
G#m7
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
b----------------------------------------------------------------------
g---------8----11--8------------11--8---------11--8--------11--8-------
d------9---------------9---------------9-------------9------------9----
a----------------------------------------------------------------------
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
e-------------------------------------------------
b-------------------------------------------------
g----13--10----------13--10----------13--10-------
d------------11--------------11--------------11---
a-------------------------------------------------
e-------------------------------------------------
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
b----------------------------------------------------------------------
g---14--11--------14--11-------------16--12---------16--12-------------
d-----------12------------12-----------------14-------------14---------
a----------------------------------------------------------------------
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bmaj7 This phrase until the end is played fast!!
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
b----------------------------------------------------------------------
g---15-15--11-----------15-15--11----------15-15--11-------------------
d--------------13------------------13-----------------13---------------
a----------------------------------------------------------------------
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
A#m7
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
b----------------------------------------------------------------------
g---17-17--13-----------17-17--13-----------17-17--13------------------
d--------------15------------------15------------------15--------------
a----------------------------------------------------------------------
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
Amaj7
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
b----------------------------------------------------------------------
g---16-16--13-----------16-16--13-----------16-16--13------------------
d--------------14------------------14------------------14--------------
a----------------------------------------------------------------------
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
b----------------------------------------------------------------------
g---17-17--14------------17-17--14------------18-18--15----------------
d--------------15-------------------15-------------------16------------
a----------------------------------------------------------------------
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
b----------------------------17-17--13------------18-18--14------------
g---20-20--16---------------------------14-------------------15--------
d--------------18------------------------------------------------------
a----------------------------------------------------------------------
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
e----------------------
b---19-19--17----------
g--------------16------
d----------------------
a----------------------
e----------------------
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
b---20-20--16-----------20-20--16----------20-20--16-------------------
g--------------17------------------17-----------------17---------------
d----------------------------------------------------------------------
a-----------------------------repeat a couple of times and then>>>>----
e----------------------------------------------------------------------
WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!!!!This part culminates by playing an Am instead of the Am7, then playing a D > Dsus4 chord figure 4 times, which leads back into the G
F figure as in CHORUS III. End the CHORUS III this time with the staccato C chord, followed by 16th-note bass C notes until the
guitar melody enters. The first time through up until the second ending, only the bass notes of the indicated chords should be played.
Refer to the VERSE section above for the proper notes...
[oh, alright! here they are: C: C G Gm F Fm Fm C C-5 G/9]
[ B: C B Bb A Ab Ab G Gb G ]
OUTRO:
C: |C |G/B |Gm/Bb |F/A
* H-O
E------------|--------|--------|--------------|----------
B------------|8-------|8-----8-|10-8-----8-10-|8-6-5-----
G-------9-10-|------9-|--------|----10--------|------5-5-
D-10-10------|--------|--------|------10------|----------
A------------|--------|--------|--------------|----------
E------------|--------|--------|--------------|----------
1.--------------
|Fm/Ab |Fm C C-5|G/9 |G/9
E-|----------|---------|--------|----------------
B-|8---5-6---|6---5----|3-------|---------------- begin repeat
G-|--7-------|------5--|--------|-----------9-10- at the "*"
D-|--------5-|---------|--------|-----10-10------ above
A-|----------|---------|--------|----------------
E-|----------|---------|--------|----------------
2.---------
|G/9 |Ebmaj7 |Dm7 |Abmaj7
E-|----------|------3-6-|--------|--------------
B-|----------|3---3-----|6-----6-|4-----3-4---4-
G-|--------3-|--5-------|--------|----5---------
D-|----------|----------|--------|--------------
A-|----------|----------|--------|--------------
E-|----------|----------|--------|--------------
|Gm7 |F |Em |Dm7 G
E-|----------|5-------5-|7-----7-|5---5-------|----
B-|3-6-----6-|----6-8---|--8-----|--6---8-----|----
G-|----------|----------|--------|------------|----
D-|----------|----------|--------|------------|5---
A-|----------|----------|--------|------------|----
E-|----------|----------|--------|------------|----
then repeat the entire outro twice more. The second time the outro is repeated, raise the guitar melody up one octave, and instead of
going to the 2nd ending of the repeat, go back into the G F figure as in CHORUS III. End the CHORUS III this time with the staccato C
chord. That's it!
(Alternate view From: John Greene <s3583045@titan.ucc.umass.edu>)
Verse: C -> E -> Edim -> F -> Fm -> C -> F#dim (ALL WITH A C BASS!)
G7 G7 G7 G7 -> Bdim7 (hold this for a while)
C -> E -> Edim -> F -> Fm -> C -> F#dim (ALL WITH A C BASS!)
G7 G7 G7 G7 -> Cdim7 (hold this for a while)
Here's the part where he says "The Lizards would be saved, he said..."
Note: The top line is the chord, and bottom line is the bass to go
with the chord:
chord: F -> D -> G -> G#dim -> Amin -> C7-5 -> F (pause)
bass: F F# G G# A A# F
chord: F -> Fm -> C -> G7 -> G7 -> G7 -> G7 ->C
Chorus: "He said I come from the land of darkness" (G > F > C) x 3
G F G F G F G F C
Neat jam part: (this part comes after the chorus, but instead of playing
that final C, play the first chord of the part below and
continue)
Abmaj7 -> Gm7 -> Bbmaj7 ->Am7 (repeats a whole bunch of times)
This part culmiates by playing an Am instead of the Am7, then
playing a D > D7 > D > D7 which leads back into the G F G F G F G F
THE LIZARDS: A DISSENTING VIEW
From: Hayduke lives! <92MDB@vax.cc.williams.edu> (Mikey ?)
Ok, I have this feeling that this might sound like a flame of some sort, but I rather disagree with John Greene's chords to Lizards. Now I
understand that there are several ways to represent a chord: letter, inversion, figured bass, guitar notation, etc. However, I could make
only a few of his chords match with the ones that I play when my band does the song. So I offer another interpretation.
INTRO:
--chord: C
--bass: C
--B str: 8
G str: 9
D str: 10
| 1st ending |
VERSE: pas... lean... He... king : Wil... |
C: C C Bb Bb Fm Fm C C-5 G G7 E4 E . Fdm Fdm Fdm Fdm|
B: C B Bb A Ab Ab G Gb G F E E . F Ab Cb Ebb|
Bs: 8 8 6 6 6 6 5 5 3 3 8 7 . 3 6 9 12 |
Gs: 9 9 7 7 5 5 5 5 4 4 7 7 . 4 7 10 13 |
Ds: 10 9 8 7 6 6 5 4 5 3 7 7 . 3 6 9 12 |
Repeat to first ending, then go to second ending:
VERSE: led wand sprng lift turn sing!
C: F F G G Am A#d F F F Fm C C G G7 G6 G C
B: F F# G G# A A# A A A Ab G G G F E D D
Bs: 1 1 3 3 5 5 6 6 6 6 5 5 3 3 3 3 1
Gs: 2 2 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 0
Ds: 3 4 5 6 7 8 7 7 7 6 5 5 5 3 2 0 2
CHORUS:
dark doom boon tried died died !
C: G F C G F C G F C G F G F G F C
Now, you repeat those versed three times, and you come to:
CHORUS III: Whoa whoa whoa...
C: G F G F G F...
PIANO SOLO: WHOAAA
C: Ab Eb |: F C Eb Bb :|
^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
lead ins chords under solo