Monday, January 26, 1970

What a Happy Day

Hey, people can you hear the children singing?
Hey, what a lot of love there is.
Standing on the doorstep of the history you're making,
Do you wonder what to give, or only what's for taking?
Can't you hear the children singing?
Won't you listen, hear them singing?

     What a happy day.
     What a groovy morning,
     Come and play with me.
     This is my garden, and you're welcome,
     On this happy day.

Hey, people can you hear the children singing?
Hey, what a lot of love there is.
Standing in the sunshine while the sun is getting higher,
Will you take the sun away in one red cloud of fire?
Will you stop the children singing?
Can't you leave the chidren singing?

     What a happy day.
     What a groovy morning,
     Come and play with me.
     This is my garden, and you're welcome,
     On this happy day.

Music

This is quite an interesting song, harmonically, as it follows the circle of fifths from the root of Eb all the way to Gb for the chorus, and then back again at the end. For guitar, I'd suggest a capo on the first fret and the following chords - in the intro and verse beginning, the descending and ascending bass line is the main thing; the 'sus2/4' indicates the melody line Ackles plays over some of the chords (see piano score):

Intro
D-D/c# | G/b-A/c# | D-D/c# | G/b-A/c#

Verse
D-D/c# | G/b-A/c# | D-D/c# | Bm(sus4)
G(sus4/2) | G | G | G
C(sus4/2) | C | F | F

Chorus
F | F | F | F
G | G | C | C
C | D
 
Piano score
 
Someone requested a piano score for this one, so I've transcribed it from the intro all the way to the end of the first chorus. I've expressly decided not to do a note-for-note transcription - the score indicates the harmonic and melodic backbone of the song, with some suggestions for the fills. I've also got it in the free MuseScore format, which allows you to play the score, as well as edit and print it. Send me an e-mail if you're interested.



3 comments:

  1. do you have a piano score for this?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not yet, I'm afraid, but I'll be working on it pretty soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello, are you still doing this blog? If so, I'm very interested in the piano part for this tune.

    ReplyDelete