Jul202023

The Mountain Goats – Clean Slate Chords on Piano & Ukulele

KeyKeyCapo

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[Intro]
C   F x4

[Verse 1]
C
One from East St. Louis
        F
 with a scar beneath his eye
C
Left the kitchen spotless on
     F
the day he said goodbye
D7
Breakaway republic dude,
   Am
 supremely filthy mouth
  Em                F
Copiah, Mississipi; points much
         G
further south

[Chorus]
           C             F
It's never light outside yet
           G
 when they climb into the van
  C   F   G
  C              F         G
Remember at your peril, forget
                    C
the ones you can

[Verse 2]
C                         F
Leave home feeling empty, change
planes in Taipei
C
Stay awake the whole timе,
        F
end up several worlds away
    D7
Thе house was almost full that day,
      Am
 they made a space for you
     Em
This world is sad and broken,
       F              G
gotta fix a crack or two

[Chorus]
C                 F
Rest until you're rested,
        G
 climb back
                   C   F   G
 onto the caravan
  C              F         G
Remember at your peril, forget
                   C
the ones you can

Feel free to use our free Chord Shape Generator to see every chord in this song on guitar, ukulele and piano.

[Bridge]
         D7            C
And then just when you think you've
 G           C     F        Fm
 learned how to forget
    Bm         Am
You learn it's just the ones who
          G                      F
 haven't risen to the surface yet

[Verse 3]
C                      F
Absence after absence, keep
the place secure
C
This will be the last time
        F
that I do this,
 I'm pretty sure
       D7
No one lasts for long in this
            Am              Em
 profession, so they say
      F                 G
Maybe see you again someday

[Chorus]
C              F
Every endpoint fixed forever
        G
on the day its arc began
   C   F   G
  C              F
Remember at your peril,
    G
 forget the ones you can
     Am   D7   F   G

Forget the ones you can
C       F   G

[Outro]
C    F  G  x3
C

How to play Clean Slate: key, chords and progression

These are Clean Slate chords by The Mountain Goats on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar, and Keyboard.

Clean Slate by The Mountain Goats sits in C major (no sharps or flats), and you need 8 chords to play it: C, F, D7, Am, Em, G, Fm and Bm.

Listen for F – G – C – F (IV – V – I – IV in C major): the song comes back to it again and again. In solfa, that is fah – soh – doh – fah. Once these 4 changes are comfortable, most of the song is done.

Good to know: on guitar, F, Fm and Bm need a barre or movable shape. Take the change into them slowly at first; piano and ukulele players have it easier.