ARTIST: The Districts
SONG: Lyla
ALBUM: Live performances on YouTube
GENERAL NOTES: The rhythm guitar has a capo on the 2nd fret. I tabbed this without a capo. With a capo, the
chords are the same, but the shapes will be different. Please consult a guitar codex for the right shapes.
The same chords are played throughout the song. The main variation is in the strumming pattern.
The guitarist also occasionally reaches the G chord by playing a g# note. I've marked some places where he
does that below.
Little riff:
e|-------2--0------|
B|-----3------3----|
G|-2h4----------2--|
D|-----------------|
A|-----------------|
E|-----------------|
NOTE: In at least one version, the guitarist only plays this once. I think it sounds good at the end of any
of the verses.
Main riff (played with a slide):
e|--------10/5----------------|
B|-----7--------7~~--7/10--10-|
G|-4/7------------------------|
D|----------------------------|
A|----------------------------|
E|----------------------------|
Play the above riff several times, then end on this:
e|--------10/5----------------------|
B|-----7--------7~~--0-0---2/7~~----|
G|-4/7---------------0-0---2/7~~----|
D|----------------------------------|
A|----------------------------------|
E|------------------------------10/-|
NOTE: This is an approximation. The lead plays something close to this with variations.
-------------------------------------------------
Intro: D
NOTES: The guitarist plays hammer-ons and pull-offs while holding the D chord.
[Hit a staccato D and stop playing]
Verse 1:
A G
Good morning Lyla
D
The flowers bloomed months ago
D A G D
And now the branches hang with autumn's fire
A G
I wake each morning
D
To feel this ground's gone frozen beneath me-
A G D
I dreamed away these months 'til you were gone
D A
And I found myself waking
G D
Curled up in my arms with a cigarette in hand
A G Little riff D
And the hopes that we held were in my pocket
Chorus:
[Main riff plays continually through chorus]
A
Will we ever be
G D
What this world was to you and me?
A G D
Will we ever be crying for these days?
A G D
Will we ever be what this heart held for you and me?
A G D
Will we ever be the same?
Verse 2:
A G# G
And I heard you'd been hanging around
D
Those city boys learned to dance so well
A
It breaks my heart, it gives me hell
G D
I'll go to the meadow where we used to lay
A# A
But I still wade into that stream
G D
The frozen damn water, it tears at me
D A G D
But it makes me feel like I'm fighting to breathe and it's only then I'm scared of dying
D A G D
It's only when I see you turn to go that I know I need your love to stay
Chorus
A
Will we ever be
G D
What this world was to you and me?
A G D
Will we ever be crying for these days?
A G D
Will we ever be what this heart held for you and me?
A G D
Will we ever be the same?
Solo (4 measures of the same chords as the verse/chorus)
Outro (about 8 measures of the same chords as the verse/chorus)
Verse 3:
A G# G D
But it makes me feel like I'm fighting to breathe and it's only then I'm scared of dying
A G D
It's only when I see you turn to go that I know I need your love to stay