Chords for Livingston Taylor - Remembering Big Brother Alex (4 of 10)
Tempo:
36.7 bpm
Chords used:
F#
D#
G
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
Well, he was gritty and he was a blues and his discipline that might have taken him to
playing instruments, etc.,
was destroyed by his continual drinking and that really interrupted
his musical development in terms of being able to play an instrument.
But again, great song interpreter, great singer, and as great an older brother as anybody ever
had, I'm a bit of a pain in the butt.
But by the way, I didn't develop this recently.
I've always been a pain in the butt.
I've been sort of presumptuous and assumptive and, you know, opinionated, often mistaken,
never in doubt, very much my nature.
And one wonders how I didn't get all of this beaten out of me as a young kid, because generally
young kids who are sort of skinny and asthmatic, which I was, and are presumptuous, get the
pacheepers beaten out of them and sort of get pummeled into humility, never a problem
for me because I was protected.
I went through my entire childhood with the umbrella of my older brother Alex.
And it was known through Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that to commit trespass against
me invited a whooping from my brother that would not soon be forgotten.
Nobody touched me.
I was left alone.
Of course, I had to endure occasional beating from Alex, but small price to pay for all that protection.
He was an amazing guy and a guy who loved, who was generous at the very fiber of his
soul, the very beginning of his soul.
I remember one day we were at the movie theater and Alex and his friends were in the back
of the theater and I was with my friends towards the front of the theater.
We were enduring a state that we all knew well and that was the state of having no money.
And I needed some money.
Candy bars in those days were a nickel at the movie theater, so 25 cents was going to
do some damage.
And I said to my friends, no problem, I'll go borrow money from my older brother Alex.
And my friends laughed at me because no older brother had ever given a younger brother money
ever in the history of time.
And they [F#] snickered at my presumption.
I went back to the movie theater.
I looked at my brother Alex and I said, hi Alex, could I borrow a quarter?
And he looked up at me and he didn't give me a quarter, he gave me 50 cents.
And I walked back to my friends.
I looked at them, held out my hand and I opened it to reveal those two quarters.
They were in.
And I said, gentlemen, that's correct.
I am blessed with the greatest older brother.
He was a wonderful, wonderful man.
Tried to get sober for many years, wasn't able to.
Eventually, at Kingsnake Records, about 15 years ago, he [D#] drank what was for him, or a
fully active alcoholic, was not an exceptional amount of booze.
He drank probably just under a fifth of vodka.
Set his head on a desk and his breathing stopped and his heart stopped.
Although they resuscitated him, he was brain dead and died a week or so later.
[G] And I remember one time Alex going and playing a show.
He had a band and they played at a fraternity.
He came home and he had some money.
I said, where'd you get that?
I made it last night playing at this fraternity house.
And it just was a revelation to me.
My grades were terrible in school and it was clear to me that I was looking for an alternative.
And this one really stuck with me, the idea that I could make a living.
playing instruments, etc.,
was destroyed by his continual drinking and that really interrupted
his musical development in terms of being able to play an instrument.
But again, great song interpreter, great singer, and as great an older brother as anybody ever
had, I'm a bit of a pain in the butt.
But by the way, I didn't develop this recently.
I've always been a pain in the butt.
I've been sort of presumptuous and assumptive and, you know, opinionated, often mistaken,
never in doubt, very much my nature.
And one wonders how I didn't get all of this beaten out of me as a young kid, because generally
young kids who are sort of skinny and asthmatic, which I was, and are presumptuous, get the
pacheepers beaten out of them and sort of get pummeled into humility, never a problem
for me because I was protected.
I went through my entire childhood with the umbrella of my older brother Alex.
And it was known through Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that to commit trespass against
me invited a whooping from my brother that would not soon be forgotten.
Nobody touched me.
I was left alone.
Of course, I had to endure occasional beating from Alex, but small price to pay for all that protection.
He was an amazing guy and a guy who loved, who was generous at the very fiber of his
soul, the very beginning of his soul.
I remember one day we were at the movie theater and Alex and his friends were in the back
of the theater and I was with my friends towards the front of the theater.
We were enduring a state that we all knew well and that was the state of having no money.
And I needed some money.
Candy bars in those days were a nickel at the movie theater, so 25 cents was going to
do some damage.
And I said to my friends, no problem, I'll go borrow money from my older brother Alex.
And my friends laughed at me because no older brother had ever given a younger brother money
ever in the history of time.
And they [F#] snickered at my presumption.
I went back to the movie theater.
I looked at my brother Alex and I said, hi Alex, could I borrow a quarter?
And he looked up at me and he didn't give me a quarter, he gave me 50 cents.
And I walked back to my friends.
I looked at them, held out my hand and I opened it to reveal those two quarters.
They were in.
And I said, gentlemen, that's correct.
I am blessed with the greatest older brother.
He was a wonderful, wonderful man.
Tried to get sober for many years, wasn't able to.
Eventually, at Kingsnake Records, about 15 years ago, he [D#] drank what was for him, or a
fully active alcoholic, was not an exceptional amount of booze.
He drank probably just under a fifth of vodka.
Set his head on a desk and his breathing stopped and his heart stopped.
Although they resuscitated him, he was brain dead and died a week or so later.
[G] And I remember one time Alex going and playing a show.
He had a band and they played at a fraternity.
He came home and he had some money.
I said, where'd you get that?
I made it last night playing at this fraternity house.
And it just was a revelation to me.
My grades were terrible in school and it was clear to me that I was looking for an alternative.
And this one really stuck with me, the idea that I could make a living.
Key:
F#
D#
G
F#
D#
G
F#
D#
_ _ _ _ _ _ Well, he was gritty and he was a blues and his discipline that might have taken him to
playing instruments, etc.,
was destroyed by his continual drinking and that really interrupted
his musical development in terms of being able to play an instrument.
But again, great song interpreter, great singer, and as great an older brother as anybody ever
had, I'm a bit of a pain in the butt.
But by the way, I didn't develop this recently.
I've always been a pain in the butt.
I've been sort of presumptuous and assumptive and, you know, opinionated, often mistaken,
never in doubt, very much my nature.
And one wonders how I didn't get all of this beaten out of me as a young kid, because generally
young kids who are sort of skinny and asthmatic, which I was, and are presumptuous, get the
pacheepers beaten out of them and sort of get pummeled into humility, never a problem
for me because I was protected.
I went through my entire childhood with the umbrella of my older brother Alex.
And it was known through Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that to commit trespass against
me invited a whooping from my brother that would not soon be forgotten.
Nobody touched me.
I was left alone.
Of course, I had to endure occasional beating from Alex, but small price to pay for all that protection.
He was an amazing guy and a guy who loved, who was generous at the very fiber of his
soul, the very beginning of his soul.
I remember one day we were at the movie theater and Alex and his friends were in the back
of the theater and I was with my friends towards the front of the theater.
We were enduring a state that we all knew well and that was the state of having no money.
And I needed some money.
Candy bars in those days were a nickel at the movie theater, so 25 cents was going to
do some damage.
And I said to my friends, no problem, I'll go borrow money from my older brother Alex.
And my friends laughed at me because no older brother had ever given a younger brother money
ever in the history of time.
And they [F#] snickered at my presumption.
I went back to the movie theater.
I looked at my brother Alex and I said, hi Alex, could I borrow a quarter?
And he looked up at me and he didn't give me a quarter, he gave me 50 cents.
And I walked back to my friends.
I looked at them, held out my hand and I opened it to reveal those two quarters.
They were in.
And I said, gentlemen, that's correct.
I am blessed with the greatest older brother.
He was a wonderful, wonderful man.
Tried to get sober for many years, wasn't able to.
Eventually, at Kingsnake Records, about 15 years ago, he [D#] drank what was for him, or a
fully active alcoholic, was not an exceptional amount of booze.
He drank probably just under a fifth of vodka.
Set his head on a desk and his breathing stopped and his heart stopped.
Although they resuscitated him, he was brain dead and died a week or so later.
[G] And I remember one time Alex going and playing a show.
He had a band and they played at a fraternity.
He came home and he had some money.
I said, where'd you get that?
I made it last night playing at this fraternity house.
And it just was a revelation to me.
My grades were terrible in school and it was clear to me that I was looking for an alternative.
And this one really stuck with me, the idea that I could make a living. _
playing instruments, etc.,
was destroyed by his continual drinking and that really interrupted
his musical development in terms of being able to play an instrument.
But again, great song interpreter, great singer, and as great an older brother as anybody ever
had, I'm a bit of a pain in the butt.
But by the way, I didn't develop this recently.
I've always been a pain in the butt.
I've been sort of presumptuous and assumptive and, you know, opinionated, often mistaken,
never in doubt, very much my nature.
And one wonders how I didn't get all of this beaten out of me as a young kid, because generally
young kids who are sort of skinny and asthmatic, which I was, and are presumptuous, get the
pacheepers beaten out of them and sort of get pummeled into humility, never a problem
for me because I was protected.
I went through my entire childhood with the umbrella of my older brother Alex.
And it was known through Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that to commit trespass against
me invited a whooping from my brother that would not soon be forgotten.
Nobody touched me.
I was left alone.
Of course, I had to endure occasional beating from Alex, but small price to pay for all that protection.
He was an amazing guy and a guy who loved, who was generous at the very fiber of his
soul, the very beginning of his soul.
I remember one day we were at the movie theater and Alex and his friends were in the back
of the theater and I was with my friends towards the front of the theater.
We were enduring a state that we all knew well and that was the state of having no money.
And I needed some money.
Candy bars in those days were a nickel at the movie theater, so 25 cents was going to
do some damage.
And I said to my friends, no problem, I'll go borrow money from my older brother Alex.
And my friends laughed at me because no older brother had ever given a younger brother money
ever in the history of time.
And they [F#] snickered at my presumption.
I went back to the movie theater.
I looked at my brother Alex and I said, hi Alex, could I borrow a quarter?
And he looked up at me and he didn't give me a quarter, he gave me 50 cents.
And I walked back to my friends.
I looked at them, held out my hand and I opened it to reveal those two quarters.
They were in.
And I said, gentlemen, that's correct.
I am blessed with the greatest older brother.
He was a wonderful, wonderful man.
Tried to get sober for many years, wasn't able to.
Eventually, at Kingsnake Records, about 15 years ago, he [D#] drank what was for him, or a
fully active alcoholic, was not an exceptional amount of booze.
He drank probably just under a fifth of vodka.
Set his head on a desk and his breathing stopped and his heart stopped.
Although they resuscitated him, he was brain dead and died a week or so later.
[G] And I remember one time Alex going and playing a show.
He had a band and they played at a fraternity.
He came home and he had some money.
I said, where'd you get that?
I made it last night playing at this fraternity house.
And it just was a revelation to me.
My grades were terrible in school and it was clear to me that I was looking for an alternative.
And this one really stuck with me, the idea that I could make a living. _