MONKEY & BEAR – JOANNA NEWSOM
This one takes a bit of practise.
If the chords don’t sound quite right, have a listen to the individual notes that Joanna
The Cm section is technically correct, it’s just a little difficult to explain. Don’t
the Cm as a barre chord, play it like this : x310xx so that the Eb (or the ‘1’) moves up
an E when you play the C chord. That entire chord section is used to illustrate that
which is awkward to transcribe to guitar. It works though, just give it a bit of work.
CAPO 5
(
down in the gr
een hay
where monkey a
nd bear usuall
y lay
they woke from
a stable-boy'
s cry
he said; someo
ne come quick!
the horses got
loose, got gr
ass-sick!
they'll founde
r! fain, they'
ll die
what is now kn
own by the sor
rel and the ro
an?
by the chestnu
t, and the bay
, and the geld
ing grey?
it is: stay by
the gate you
are given
and remain in
your place, fo
r your season
and had the ov
erfed dead but
listened
to that high-f
ence, horse-se
nse, wisdom...
"did you hear
that, Bear?" s
aid monkey
we'll get out
of here, fair
and square
they've left t
he gate open w
ide!
so;
my bride
here is my han
d, where is yo
ur paw?
try and unders
tand my plan,
Ursala
my heart is a
furnace
full of love t
hat's just, an
d earnest
now; you know
that we must u
nlearn this
allegiance to
a life of serv
ice
and no longer
answer to that
heartless
hay-monger, no
r be his accom
plice
(that charlata
n, with artles
s hustling!)
but; Ursala, w
e've got to ea
t something
and earn our k
eep, while sti
ll within
the borders of
the land that
man has girde
d
(all double-bo
lted and tight
fisted!)
until we reach
the open coun
try
a-steeped in m
ilk and honey
will you keep
your fancy clo
thes on, for m
e?
can you bear a
little longer
to wear that
leash?
my love, I swe
ar by the air
I breathe:
sooner or late
r, you'll bare
your teeth
but for now, j
ust dance, dar
ling
c'mon, will yo
u dance, my da
rling?
darling, there
's a place for
us
can we go, bef
ore I turn to
dust?
oh my darling,
there's a pla
ce for us
oh darling
c'mon will you
dance, my dar
ling?
oh, the hills
are groaning w
ith excess
like a table c
easelessly bei
ng set
oh my darling,
we will get t
here yet
they trooped p
ast the guards
,
past the coops
, and the fiel
ds, and the fa
(
rmyards
all night, til
l finally:
the space they
gained grew
much farther t
han the stone
(
that bear thre
w
to mark where
they'd stop fo
r tea
but walk a lit
tle faster
and don't look
backwards
your feast is
to the East, w
hich lies a li
ttle past the
pasture
when the black
birds hear tea
whistling, th
ey rise and cl
ap
and their appl
ause caws the
kettle black
and we can't h
ave none of th
at!
move along, Be
ar; there, the
re; thatᦙ
3;s that
(though cast i
n plaster
our Ursala's h
eart beat fast
(
er
than monkey's
ever will)
but still;
they have got
to pay the bil
ls
hadn't they?
that is what t
he monkey'd sa
y
so, with the c
ourage of a cl
own, or a cur
or a kite, jer
king tight at
its tether
in her dun-bro
wn gown of fur
and her jerkin
of swan's dow
n and leather
Bear would swa
y on her hind
legs;
the organ woul
d grind dregs
of song, for t
he pleasure
of the childre
n, who'd shrie
k
throwing coins
at her feet
then recoiling
in terror
sing, dance, d
arling
c'mon, will yo
u dance, my da
rling?
oh darling, th
ere's a place
for us
can we go, bef
ore I turn to
dust?
oh my darling,
there�
s a place for
us
oh darling
c'mon, will yo
u dance, my da
rling?
you keep your
eyes fixed on
the highest hi
ll
where you'll e
ver-after eat
your fill
oh my darling,
dear, mine
if you dance
dance, darling
, and i love y
ou still
deep in the ni
ght
shone a weak and miserly light
where the monkey shouldered his lamp
someone had told him
the bear had been wandering
a fair piece away from where they were camped
someone had told him
the bear'd been sneaking away
to the seaside caverns, to bathe
and the thought troubled the monkey
for he was afraid of spelunking down in those caves
also afraid what the village people would say
if they saw the bear in that state;
lolling and splashing obscenely
well, it seemed irrational, really; washing that face
washing that matted and flea-bit pelt
in some sea-spit-shine, old kelp dripping with brine
but monkey just laughed, and he muttered;
when she comes back, Ursala will be bursting with pride
'til I jump up!
saying: you've been rolling in muck!
saying: you smell of garbage and grime!
but far out
far out
by now
by now
far out, by now, Bear ploughed
'cause she would not drown:
first the outside-legs of the bear
up and fell down, in the water, like knobby garters
then the outside-arms of the bear
fell off, as easy as if sloughed from boiled tomatoes
low'red in a genteel curtsy
bear shed the mantle of her diluvian shoulders;
and, with a sigh, she allowed the burden of belly
to drop like an apronfull of boulders
if you could hold up her threadbare coat to the light
where it's worn translucent in places
you'd see spots where almost every night of the year
Bear had been mending suspending that baseness
now her coat drags through the water
bagging, with a life's-worth of hunger, limitless minnows
in the magnetic embrace
balletic and glacial of Bear's insatiable shadow
left there!
left there!
when Bear left Bear
left there!
left there!
when Bear stepped clear of Bear
, , , , , (,
, ,
(sooner or lat
er, you'll bar
e your teeth..
.)