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Kissing The Lipless by The Shins
Kissing The Lipless
D E D E
Called to see If your back was still aligned
D E D E
And your sheets Were growing grass all on the corners of your bed
D E D
But you've got too much to wear on your sleeves
E D E D E
that has too much to do with me and secretly I want to bury in the yard
F#m G D E
The grey remains of a friendship scarred
You told us of your new life there you got someone coming 'round
Glueing tinsel to your crown he's got you talkin' pretty loud
you berate remember your ailing heart and your criminal eyes
You say you're still in love if it's true, what can be done?
It's hard to leave all these moments behind
(Repeat 1st verse)
D E D E
You tested your mettle on doe skin and petals
D E D E F#m G D E
And kissing the lipless you bleed all the sweetness away
---------------
version 2
Intro
B C# B C#
B C# B C#
Called to see If your back was still aligned
B C# B C#
And your sheets Were growing grass all on the corners of your bed
B C# B
But you've got too much to wear on your sleeves
C# B C# B C#
that has too much to do with me and secretly I want to bury in the yard
D#m E B C#
The grey remains of a friendship scarred
B C# B C#
You told us of your new life there you got someone coming 'round
B C# B C#
Glueing tinsel to your crown he's got you talkin' pretty loud
B C# B C#
you berate remember your ailing heart and your criminal eyes
B C# B C#
You say you're still in love if it's true, what can be done?
D#m E B C#
It's hard to leave all these moments behind
B C# B C#
Called to see If your back was still aligned
B C# B C#
And your sheets Were growing grass all on the corners of your bed
B C# B
But you've got too much to wear on your sleeves
C# B C# B C#
that has too much to do with me and secretly I want to bury in the yard
D#m E F#
The grey remains of a friendship scarred
B C# B C#
You tested your mettle on doe skin and petals
B C# B C D#m E B C
And kissing the lipless you bleed all the sweetness away
Outro
B C# D#m E Reapeted A few times
Finish: B C# D#m E F#
---------------
version 3
F# C# B D#m E
e|--9---9---7---6---7--
B|-11---9---7---7---9--
G|-11--10---8---8---9--
D|-11--11---9---8---9--
A|--9--11---9---6---7--
E|--x---9---7---x---x--
Intro
F# C# F# C#
Verse
F# C# F# C#
Called to see if your back was still aligned
F# C#
and your sheets are growing grass
B C#
all on the corners of your bed
F# C# F#
but you've got too much to wear on your sleeves
C# F#
and it's too much to do with me
C# B C#
and secretly I want to bury in the yard
D#m E B C#
the grey remains of a friendship scarred
B C# B C# B C# (The electric guitar plays over this, just using B and C# too)
(Repeat verse chords)
You told us of your new life there
you've got someone coming round gluing tinsel on your crown
he's got you talking pretty loud
you berate remember your ailing heart and your criminal eyes
you say you're still in love if it's true what can be done
it's hard to leave all those moments behind
Repeat B and C# through solo
(Repeat Verse Chords)
Called to see if your back was still aligned
and your sheets are growing grass
all on the corners of your bed
but you've got too much to wear on your sleeves
and it's too much to do with me
and secretly I want to bury in the yard
the grey remains of a friendship scarred
Repeat B and C# through solo
B C# B C#
B C# B C#
You tested your metal of doe's skin and petals
B C# B C# D#m
while kissing the lipless who bleed all the sweetness away
E B C#
Outro
D#m E B C# (x2)
Last time round: D#m E F#
---------------
version 4
Guitar 1: Acoustic
Guitar 2: Electric
Guitar 3: Acoustic
- Chords:
F#6sus4 (x 9 9 11 11 11)
C# (9 11 11 10 9 9 )
B (7 9 9 8 7 7 )
Ebm/Bb (6 6 8 8 7 x )
E/B (7 7 9 9 9 x )
F#5 (2 4 4 x x x )
F#/C# (9 9 11 11 11 x )
+-- Intro (0:00)
Guitar 1
(claps) Woo!
F#6sus4 C#
F#6sus4 C#
+-- Verse 1 (0:09)
Guitar 1 + Guitar 3 in background
F#6sus4
Called
C#
to see
F#6sus4
if your back
C# F#6sus4
was still aligned and your sheets
C# B C#
were growing grass all on the corners of your bed
F#6sus4
But you've
C# F#6sus4
got too much to wear on your sleeves
C# F#6sus4
it has too much to do with me
C# B C#
and secretly I want to bury in the yard
Ebm/Bb E/B F#6sus4
the gray remains of a friendship scarred
+-- Bridge (0:39)
Guitar 1 + Guitar 2 (listen to song for rhythm)
F#6sus4 C#
F#6sus4 C#
F#6sus4 C#
B C#
+-- Verse 2 (0:53)
Guitar 1 + Guitar 2
F#6sus4 C#
You told us of your new life there
F#6sus4 C#
you've got someone coming 'round
F#6sus4 C#
gluing tinsel to your crown
B C#
he's got you talkin' pretty loud
F#6sus4 C#
You berate remember
F#6sus4 C#
your ailing heart and your criminal eyes
F#6sus4 C#
You say you're still in love
B C#
if it's true, what can be done?
Ebm/Bb E/B
It's hard to leave all these moments behind
+-- Bridge/Solo 1 (1:24)
Guitar 1 + Guitar 2 (listen to song for rhythm)
F#6sus4 C#
F#6sus4 C#
F#6sus4 C#
B C#
+-- Verse 1 (1:37)
F#6sus4
Called
C#
to see
F#6sus4
if your back
C# F#6sus4
was still aligned and your sheets
C# B C#
are growing grass all on the corners of your bed
F#6sus4
But you've
C# F#6sus4
got too much to wear on your sleeves
C# F#6sus4
it has too much to do with me
C# B C#
and secretly I want to bury in the yard
Ebm/Bb E/B F#
the gray remains of a friendship scarred
+-- Bridge/Solo 2 (2:08)
F#
+-- Verse 4 (2:22)
F#6sus4 C#
F#6sus4 C#
F#6sus4 C#
You tested your metal
B
of doe's skin
C#
and petals
F#6sus4
while kissing
C#
the lipless
B
who bleed all
C#
the sweetness
Ebm/Bb E/B
away
B C# Ebm/Bb E/B
B C# Ebm/Bb E/B
B C# Ebm/Bb E/B
F#/C#
---------------
version 5
IMPORTANT! I've seen a lot of debate over this song and how it is played. The
arguments stem from the B bass note in the song, and the appearance of James
Mercer playing on fret 9 on guitar live and in the video. Both of these
observations are correct. Although James Mercer IS definitely playing on 9th fret
(which one would generally assume was an F#), he is actually playing the following chord:
BM7
----
E|11
B|11
G|11
D|9
A|x
E|x
After a little digging, it seems that this Chord is a BM7 (B Major 7, see reference
string5=11&string4=11&string3=11&string2=9&string1=x&string0=x
). I've seen Mercer play it live in person and in countless videos, and I am 100% sure
that this is the right chord. I hope this can end the uncertainty over the B/F# thing! :)
*That said, the song sounds fine acoustically just playing a B chord the whole time (the
acoustic guitar does this anyway on the recording)*
**It should also be noted that when played live, Mercer uses his electric guitar, and
instead of strumming the intro parts using a B chord (as in recording), he picks through
the BM7 chord. This is why it sounds slightly different live. Here I have tabbed the
RECORDED version. This also applies to the ending (YOU TESTED YOUR . . .), which is played
with a barre B on fret 7 on recording (those bassy acoustic notes really give it life),
while a BM7 is plucked when played live**
***Furthermore, in the music video, Mercer is seen strumming his acoustic using the BM7
chord, despite it being clear on the recording that he's using a B on fret 7, this is
partly responsible for the confusion.
****Mercer also plays 3 BM7s in a row, then drops down to a Barre B on fret 7 when
playing live, it sounds this way in the recording too, so I have made sure to include it.
Intro
B C# x2
B C# B C# B C#
Called to see if your back was still aligned and your sheets were growing
B C#
grass all on the corners of your bed
B C# B C#
But you've got too much to wear on your sleeves, it has too much to do with
B C# B C#
me and secretly I want to bury in the yard
Ebm E
the grey remains of a friendship scarred
BM7 C# x4
BM7 C# BM7 C#
You told us of your new life there, you got someone comin' around gluing
BM7 C# B C#
tinsel to your crown, he's got you talking pretty loud
BM7 C# BM7 C#
You berate, remember your ailing heart and your criminal eyes
BM7 C# B C#
You say you're still in love, if it true what can be done
Ebm E
It's hard to leave all these moments behind
(Solo)
BM7 C# x3
B C#
BM7 C# BM7 C# BM7 C#
Called to see if your back was still aligned and your sheets were growing
B C#
grass all on the corners of your bed
BM7 C# BM7 C#
But you've got too much to wear on your sleeves, it has too much to do with
BM7 C# B C#
me and secretly I want to bury in the yard
Ebm E
the grey remains of a friendship scarred
F#
(4 Bars - this part I'm not sure about, it seems that he's holding an F# on fret 9, but
lifting his pinky to so that he's effectively playing F#-E over and over again in quick succession)
B C# x2
B C# B C# B C#
You tested your metal of doe's skin and petals, while kissing the lipless
B C#
who bleed all the sweetness away
Ebm E B C# x3
Eb E F#
END
*ONE FINAL NOTE: At the build-up to the chorus (just after grey remains of a friendship
scarred), I prefer to play BM7 C# x2, then perform a slide from the barre B on fret 7 up
to C# on 9, then one final BM7 C#. This is roughly what the lead guitar does, and it
REALLY adds something, even on an acoustic guitar.
Thanks for reading! I hope you were able to bear through the crap at the start; I just
wanted to make sure that nobody would be confused. I've wanted to write this tab for a
while, but never found the time. I’m a massive fan of the Shins, and to see people
arguing over how this song is played deeply saddens me. I really hope that people take this
on board.
If you definitely think this is wrong right off the bat, I implore you to play it along
with the record. I’ve spent plenty of time on this, and I’m sure it is right! I’ve been
voted down before on a tab (one by one all day) that I’m still sure is 100% correct
because one guy didn’t bother to investigate it properly!
---------------
version 6
Tuning: eBGDAE
B Db B* Db* Ebm E
7 4 2 9 6 7
7 6 4 9 7 9
8 6 4 10 8 9
9 6 4 11 8 9
9 4 2 11 6 7
7 9
They mix it up a little, but here is the general idea
Verse Acoustic
B Db*
B Db*
B Db*
B* Db (last time) Ebm E
Verse Electric
B Db
B Db
B Db
B* Db (last time) Ebm E
solos
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|--13-13-13-13--11--9--8--9--3---6---11-------------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|------------7-9/11-11-11-12-11-14-11-12-11-9-7-6/7--4--2---7-4-2-2--0------|
G|----------------------------------------------------------------------3----|
D|-6---11--------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|----------7\5--7\5--7\5--7\5--9-9-9--7--5--4--5--7-------------------------|
G|----------6\4--6\4--6\4--6\4-----------------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---2/4---4/6---6/7---7/9-9\7----x3--------------end-on-----2---------------|
G|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| / slide up
| \ slide down
| h hammer-on
| p pull-off
| ~ vibrato
| + harmonic
| x Mute note
---------------
version 7
Chords:
B Db Ebm E Ebm7 C# Cb Gb
e--2-----4-----6-----7-----11-----11-----7-----9----|
B--4-----6-----7-----9-----11-----11-----7-----11---|
G--4-----6-----8-----9-----11-----10-----8-----11---|
D--4-----6-----8-----9-----11-----11-----9-----11---|
A--2-----4-----6-----7-----13-----11-----9-----9----|
E--2-----4-----------------11-----9------7----------|
B Db B Db
Called to see If your back was still aligned
B Db B Db
And your sheets Were growing grass all on the corners of your bed
B Db B
But you've got too much to wear on your sleeves
Db B Db B Db
that has too much to do with me and secretly I want to bury in the yard
Ebm E Ebm7 C#
The grey remains of a friendship scarred
Ebm7 C#
Ebm7 C#
Cb C#
Ebm7 C#
You told us of your new life there
Ebm7 C#
You got someone coming 'round
Ebm7 C#
Glueing tinsel to your crown
Cb C#
He's got you talkin' pretty loud
Ebm7 C#
You berate remember
Ebm7 C#
Your ailing heart and your criminal eyes
Ebm7 C#
You say you're still in love
Cb C#
If it's true, what can be done?
Ebm E Ebm7 C#
It's hard to leave all these moments behind
Ebm7 C#
e|-----------------------------------|
B|-----------------------------------|
G|-----------------------------------|
D|--13-13-13-13--11--9--8--9---------|
A|----------------------------8---11-|
E|-----------------------------------|
Ebm7 C# Cb C#
e|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|--------11-11--11-12-11-14-11-12-11--------------------------------------|
G|--11-13-----------------------------13-11-10-11--------11----------------|
D|------------------------------------------------13-11-----13-11-11-------|
A|-------------------------------------------------------------------14-13-|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Ebm7 C# Ebm7 C#
Called to see if your back was still aligned
Ebm7 C# Cb C#
And your sheets Were growing grass all on the corners of your bed
Ebm7 C# Ebm7
But you've got too much to wear on your sleeves
C# Ebm7 C# Cb C#
that has too much to do with me and secretly I want to bury in the yard
Ebm E Gb
The grey remains of a friendship scarred
Gb
e|---------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------|
D|--13-13-13-13--11--9--8--9-------------|
A|----------------------------9----------|
E|---------------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|----------7\5--7\5--7\5--7\5--9-9-9--7--5--4--5--7-------------------------|
G|----------6\4--6\4--6\4--6\4-----------------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B Db
B Db
B Db B Db
You tested your mettle on doe skin and petals
B Db B Db Ebm E
While kissing the lipless who bleed all the sweetness away
B Db Ebm E
e|------------------------------|
B|---2/4---4/6---6/7---7/9-9\7--|
G|------------------------------|X3
D|------------------------------|
A|------------------------------|
E|------------------------------|
Gb
e|---------|
B|---2-----|
G|---------|
D|---------|
A|---------|
E|---------|
---------------