CHRONIC TOWN: STUMBLE

  And now we arrive at the last song from the CT EP.  Stumble.  This is definitely the most repetitive song on the EP, and the longest.  Is it boring?  Did REM ever play this song live?  There are not a lot of instances of this song being played and the closest you can find on YouTube is Mitch Easter playing it earlier in the year.  There are subtle additions here to what you can find online, particularly the ABC, APT bits, as well as the refrain which everyone lists as ball and chain all the time, sorry but I don't buy it.  Fallen chain and ball and chain are both such great imagery of graveyards and such and he's clearly saying both. In addition, the lyric sheet floating around has fallen chant. Which is probably the most accurate, but without completing the word chant, it sounds like chain--so either will do. I also think he's probably got something like 'Forest fears' on his mind when starting the verse, but intentionally mumbles it--what I have below better approximates how to get the sound of it right.
  I recently took a lot more time with the bridge to the chorus section that has been very wrong online for a long time and I came up with what is below. In the live versions it's a little clearer that he's saying 'Foliage in straw' but this is obscured in the recordings at times where saying 'Foliage in stall' sounds more accurate. Again, he's going for more of a feeling than actually saying something so if you sing along with what is below it sounds closer than a space explorer.



STUMBLE

(Laugh) Teeth (Clap)

We’ll stumble through the yard
We’ll stumble through the yard
We’ll stumble through the A, P, T
We’ll stumble through the yard

Full of spheres
Floor erasing
Foliage in straw
Yellow mix with golden root
Scan the graveyard dig the root

Fallen chain
Fallen chain
Fallen chain
Fallen chain

We’ll stumble through the yard
We’ll stumble through the yard
We’ll stumble through the A, P, T
We’ll stumble through the yard

Voice hails
Floor erasing
Foliage in straw
Yellow mix with golden root
Scan the graveyard dig the root

Fallen chain
Fallen chain
Ball and chain
Ball and chain

Cha (x15)

We’ll stumble through the yard
We’ll stumble through the yard
We’ll stumble through the A, P, T
We’ll stumble through the yard

Full of spheres
Floor erasing
Foliage in straw
Yellow mix with golden root
Scan the graveyard dig the root

Fallen chain
Fallen chain
Ball and chain
Ball and chain

It was round about midnight, hipster town
Imagine going for a walk
Things got around to taking place
What is hipster town
It’s not a waste of time
Imagine going into the wood
Things got around to taking place, as if they’re gonna happen at all
Don’t need that jazz, don’t need that stuff
It was round about midnight, hipster town
It was round about midnight, hipster town

We’ll stumble through the yard
We’ll stumble through the yard
We’ll stumble through the A, P, T
We’ll stumble through the yard

Bullets holes
Floor erasing
Foliage in stall
Yellow mix with golden root
Scan the graveyard dig the root

Fallen chain
Fallen chain
Ball and chain
Ball and chain


Now, guitar-wise I have to thank the internet for the Capo 5 idea, it really simplifies things and might be what we actually hear on CT.  However, after watching Mitch Easter play the song without a capo it is clear that most of the riffing can be done on the B string, but the capo adds a lot, especially when playing on an acoustic.  Also, be wary of the chorus switch, it does not follow a neat 4-4 change. 
  I also added a D chord on the switch to the Bm in the verse because it feels right and tightens up the rhythm of the picking, but you should really just stay on it for one time through picking G-E.  Notice how the form of the 8 and 9 placement in the chorus and bridge 3 are the same as the beginning of Wolves, Lower ... interesting.

Stumble
CAPO V

Intro

e|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0------------------|

B|--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-----------------|

Verse

e|-0-0--0--0-0-----2--2-2--2--2-2--2----|

B|-0--0--0----0---3---3--3--3----3--3-3-|

G|-1---1--1----1-2--2-4---4--4----4--4--|

D|-2------------------4-----------------|

A|-2------------------2-----------------|

E|-0------------------2-----------------|

Chorus

e|-----------------------------------------|

B|-000-00000-000-00000-0000000-0-00000000--|

G|-444-22222-444-22222>6666666-7>99999999--|

D|----------------------------------------|

A|----------------------------------------|

E|----------------------------------------|

e|-------------------------5-------5----|

B|-0000-0000-0000-00--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-|

G|-4444-2222-4444-22-4---4---4---4---4--|

D|--------------------------------------|

A|--------------------------------------|

E|--------------------------------------|

Middle Bridge

e|-2---0---2-0------------------|

B|-2---0---2-0------------------|

G|-3---3---3-3------------------|

D|-4---4---4-4------------------|

A|-4---4---4-4------------------|

E|-2---0---2-0------------------|

Bridge 3:

Mostly rhythm, but if you strum or pick a couple of choice times:

e|-0-----------|

B|-3-----------|

G|-4-----------|

D|-0-----------|

A|-------------|

E|-------------|

Then pick intro on penultimate: “It was round about midnight … “

That wraps Chronic Town.  In the next couple of days I will post the pre recording song Narrator which is just fun and great to play.  Then it's on to Murmur, Radio Free Europe is basically a done deal and I had a huge breakthrough on Pilgrimage today ... it's gonna be very cool ...

-BW