Song: Missed the boat
Artist: Modest Mouse
Album: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
Info: This is an acoustic chord rendition of the song. I'm not entirely sure about the
A's and F#m's in the choruses (or if there are even any F#m's at all!). If you feel as
though you have a correct assumption for the chords played in the chorus, feel free to
leave a comment on this tab -- I check them as often as I can, and if I agree with your
correction, I'll add it to the tab. Most importantly, enjoy!
Tab for the riff played throughout the song:
D
e|-2h3p2----2h3p2----2h3p2----2-|
B|------3-3------3-3------3-3---|
G|-------2--------2--------2----|
D|-0--------0--------0--------0-|
A|------------------------------|
E|------------------------------|
e|------------------------------------|
B|-2h3p2-0-0--2h3p2-0-0--2h3p2-0-0--3-|
G|--------0----------0----------0-----|
D|------------------------------------|
A|------------------------------------|
E|-3----------3----------3----------3-|
Intro: D D D D G G G G (4x)
D
While we're on the subject
Could we change the subject now?
G
I was knocking on your ear's door but you were always out
D
Looking towards the future
We were begging for the past
G
Well we knew we had the good things
But those never seemed to last
D
Oh please just last
D D D G G G G
D
Everyone's unhappy
Everyone's ashamed
G
Well we all just got caught looking
At somebody else's page
D
Well nothing ever went
Quite exactly as we planned
G
Our ideas held no water
But we used them like a dam
D A G
Oh, and we carried it all so well
As if we got a new position
D A G
Oh, and I laugh all the way to hell
Saying yes, this is a fine promotion
D F#m G G A A Bm Bm G G G G A A
Oh, and I laugh all the way to hell
D
Of course everyone goes crazy
Over such and such and such
G
We made ourselves a pillar
We just used it as a crutch
D
We were certainly uncertain
At least I'm pretty sure I am
G
Well we didn't need the water
But we just built that good God dam
D A G
Oh, and I know this of myself
I assume as much for other people
D A G
Oh, and I know this of myself
We've listened more to life's end gong
D F#m G G A A Bm Bm G G G G A A
Than the sound of life's sweet bells
D D A A G G
[No chords are played during the next verse, but if you're doing this acoustic and don't
want to just awkwardly stop playing, they're the same as the other verses. If you want
to sound more like the actual song, you can palm mute or completely mute while strumming
for rhythm, or drum on your guitar for the same effect.]
Was it ever worth it?
Was there all that much to gain?
Well we knew we missed the boat
And we'd already missed the plane
We didn't read the invite
We just dance at our wake
All our favorites were playing
So we could shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
[The next verse does have music, but it's palm-muted. You don't have to do this if you
don't want to or don't know how to, but it adds a build-up effect connecting the last
verse to the next chorus. If you can't palm mute, try muting all the strings except one
while rhythm-strumming.]
D
Tiny curtains open and we heard the tiny clap of little hands
G
A tiny man would tell a little joke and get a tiny laugh from all the folks
D
Sitting drifting around in bubbles and thinking it was us that carried them
G
When we finally got it figured out that we had truly missed the boat
D A G
Oh, and we carried it all so well
As if we got a new position
D A G
Oh, and we owned all the tools ourselves
But not the skills to make a shelf with
D F#m D D D G G G G
Oh, what useless tools ourselves
(The outro is still the same amount of bars, but strummed in a slower fashion -- listen
to the song to see what I mean)
Outro: D D D D G G G G