Robbie Basho - Death Song

[@hnryjmes]

Robbie Basho - Death Song (Guitar Chords) (Lyrics) Tuning: C# G# C# G# C# E I don't know if this is exactly the right tuning it just sounds close to me. Also, these are just the chords I hear. Basho does some fingerstyle playing which you can listen for if you want to imitate the recording. Please consult your doctor before trying any sort of American primitivism. When making these chords you can fret the lowest three strings and leave the highest three strings open, like this E |-----0---------0----0----0----0-0-----0----| C#|-----0---------0----0----0----0-0-----0----| G#|-----0---------0----0----0----0-0-----0----| C#|-----0--------12----8----3----5-8----12----| G#|-----0--------12----8----3----5-8----12----| C#|-----0--------12----8----3----5-8----12----| C# C# A E F# A C# These are most of the chords you will need for the song. At one point there is a B (which is 10th fret) in this tuning. You get the idea. It's a bit like playing DADGAD tuning except not really. The way that Basho sings "the" sounds like "a" in some of the lines hence the lyric is sometimes transcribed "a heart is happy" although I don't think that is correct. Towards the end the lyrics are not really as transcribed but more like pained screaming with parts of words recognisable and others not. I have done my best to transcribe the lyrics with the greatest possible amount of respect to the artist. ********** [Intro] C# ... [Verse] C# A Watch the midnight sun A E F# I am riding A Riding home C# A Watch the father A E F# I am riding A Riding home B A My arms are open A E F# The heart is happy A Riding home C# A Watch the shining mountains A E F# I'll be riding A Riding home C# A And if you're passing me by A E F# As I am leaving A I'll kiss your wings, love A C# A E F# A I'll kiss your wi--------ings, I'll A C# I'll kiss your wings B A My arms are open A E F# The heart is happy A Riding home A C# A E F# A Riding ho-------ome, towards the father C# Riding home C# A E F# A Ho-------ome Ho---ome C# A E F# A (Ri-) Ah---h -ding Ah---h Ho---ome C# Riding home B A My arms are open A E F# The heart is happy A Riding home C# A Ho-------ome C# Riding home

[@written12]

Thanks so much for the notation and for listening so closely and analyzing the song

[@johndennison8066]

I saw him at West Chester State college in Pa. in 1973 or 1974. There might have been 20 in the audience - I will always remember the atmosphere and feeling. Robbie told me after the concert that it was always like this- few came to see him. I am happy I did!

[@c.c.s.1102]

Keep his memory alive!

[@nugsymalone1247]

Man, I live in chester county. Too bad I wasn't alive then.

[@robcohen7678]

what a magic moment in time

[@louisvanrenen947]

You were fortunate to see him... very

[@archersullivan7744]

Watch the midnight sun, I am riding, Riding home, Watch the father, I am riding, Riding home, My arms are open, A heart is happy, Riding home, Watch the shining mountains, I'll be riding, Riding home, And if you're passing me by, As I am leaving, I'll kiss your wings love I'll kiss your wings, ah I'll kiss your wings My arms are open, a heart is happy, riding home, Riding home woah, Towards the father, Riding home, Waaa ohhh ahh, Ahh ohhh ahhh, My arms are open a heart is happy, Riding home, Riding home.

[@hectorramage1308]

'towards', not 'watch'

[@archersullivan7744]

@@hectorramage1308 Cheers bra

[@wolverinelg]

This man's vibrato ain't nothing to fuck with

[@zatoichimasseur6767]

Unfuckable.

[@michaelsmith2834]

I listen to this song every morning before I start my day. I feel most alive, most disciplined, most on fire, if you will, when I listen to this song. This, paired with 'Cathedrals et fleur de lis' on his Bonn ist Supreme record are my favorite songs. They'll always have a special place in my heart and will always motivate me to be a better person than I was yesterday. Thank you so much Robbie Basho. And, thank you Fergus Clark for uploading this. It's had a profound impact on my life.

[@nugsymalone1247]

Thats awesome. Reminds me of the quote that I try to live by, "don't try to be better than anyone else, just try to be better than yourself"

[@timetraveller6225]

I feel you, Robbie is a diamond. Did this years ago with Instant Karma by John Lennon.

[@popcultureavenger2305]

Well said 👏🙏💪

[@adamdevmedia]

You can hear he's at the limit of his range yet it's so controlled, always cool to hear the guitar in the forefront of those beautiful dark vibratos

[@jkws3724]

Just silky smooth

[@timhall3575]

Unreleased... how? One of the finest, most beautifully evocative songs I've ever heard. Basho was the master. Destroys me every time I hear this. Incredible.

[@5eA5]

How its possible the most precious gems are hidden so deep i just got to find them...oh wait... Thank u KZbin!

[@jmoz9305]

Imagine seeing him for $2

[@jessef88]

Imagine seeing him at all

[@musharrafdog]

@@jessef88 Exactly...I can't even see the film about him--been waiting for years.

[@cranesenfeux9605]

on the 20th of april (420)

[@nickel1258]

on 4/20 of all days too lmao

[@jzonkel]

musharrafdog it's free, just look it up. or i can send u the link

[@jonfranklin4999]

December 2024,,... Riding home,,. Best wishes to all,..

[@natewhelden4463]

damn yall i thought it couldnt get doper than blue crystal fire but this one is radder so much love for this beautiful angel - you are all made of stars! peace and love, all power to the people

[@isadoreducasse9822]

Have you listened to Moving Up a Ways?

[@ranulphdiggins4310]

Orphan's Lament slaps right in the Feels as well

[@rogeriomiranda779]

Night Way, dude

[@RegenBogenBlick]

@@rogeriomiranda779 Definitely, I can't stop listening to it.

[@rogeriomiranda779]

@@RegenBogenBlick Yeah it's great, Blue Crystal Fire and Death Song tho

[@mixchief]

The guy could sing. For sure. But not just that, or the other (play the guitar), but BOTH. Both mediums are glued together in the case of Basho. Huge talent.

[@TheJackJacktheJack]

His lyrics are so masterful. omg Basho take me with you to the cosmic world you lived in.

[@megbee860]

Can you write them please?

[@misfitnils1]

@@megbee860 iget the point here but just to say... that cosmic world is this world. we are in it. Basho is what i would call a shooting star, in our cosmic world. What he produced and did with his being, came from the stars down trough him. when you listen to this its not like listeniing to music, there is more going on then just a riff to dig or something to follow. Its like the universe whispers. just like the leafs in the wind.

[@slabside72]

I Lost my father 8 days ago! I found Robbie a few months previous! This song has just destroyed me,as it could have been written about my free spirited,wondering in the wilderness,gentle souled best friend!

[@nptne]

slabside72 sorry for your loss ❤️

[@slabside72]

@@nptne Thank you so much✌

[@charleehalfnur1742]

So sorry

[@slabside72]

@@charleehalfnur1742 Thank you✌

[@iainww86]

I'm only discovering him now thanks to the radio playing "A Day in the Life Lemmeria", thank you so much for putting this up on KZbin

[@dlee732ad]

The best of a generation and hardly known!

[@AnthonyMonaghan]

There is absolutely no mistaking what this song is about...no confusion whatsoever.

[@hugthesky6810]

Incredible song... Makes me happy yet very nostalgic and sad at the same time... His music's so spiritual and different, I'm so happy I found him.

[@BazookaTooth707]

I just recently discovered his music myself. He's opened me up to a different kind of music and artistic perspective.

[@nugsymalone1247]

God damn, the energy of this just sets me off. Like the dreams you have of just walking outside and taking off into the sky as intense as possible

[@robcohen7678]

how high can you fly in your dreams?

[@nugsymalone1247]

@@robcohen7678 depends, sometimes I can really get up there. Other times i just kind of go up into trees, on buildings or just cruise along roads above the lights. Like once i was up high looking at heards of dinosaurs and they looked pretty small. Another time a hoard of zombies came along and i was like nope, I'm taking to the skies and flew about 30 ft up until I found other survivors

[@seeingeyegod]

@@nugsymalone1247 hah, awesome. I usually can only get what seems like a few hundred feet up for some reason. I usually just fly away from annoying people.

[@nugsymalone1247]

@@seeingeyegod A few hundred feet is pretty good dude, thats some freedom right there

[@GrimThe21]

This is a song that the world needs to hear, it is one of a kind

[@theremin_monkey]

Robbie Basho is the final level of music. There is nothing after.

[@kilokilo89]

☝️

[@Neocasturn]

Abner Jay ;)

[@nugsymalone1247]

@@Neocasturn I'd put Abner just before Basho, like this. Abner is like when you're drunk in a loud bar of people and you get tired of that energy. Step outside for some fresh air and walk into the silence of the night with the universe just above you, thats Basho.

[@Neocasturn]

@@nugsymalone1247 gross

[@davidanspach1624]

Glad this dude is starting to get the recognition he deserves. A consummate master.

[@sonicthehedgegod]

i always listen to this and im unsure if the higher string is out of tune or if he tuned it a microtone off deliberately, cuz it kinda adds to the song tbh, it interplayed with the “correctly” tuned strings has like an interesting interplay that reminds me of like a sitar drone or something. like he constantly plays that one “off” note with little to no alteration so my brain is telling me it was on purpose, and that seems very up his alley to do

[@FrigidMix]

Yes, it will most definitely have been deliberate. Basho spoke of wanting to play guitar/piano like a santur

[@user-kv9ok5ks2y]

what a truly magical song this is

[@adamdevmedia]

4/20 CONCERT YO

[@thomascoffey1180]

Robbie’s best song ,very powerful music

[@jasonbrown649]

The love of my life ends with the sounds of Robbie Basho echoing in my skull

[@evansgate]

crazy to think that this didn't make the cut... I can't think of any other song more deserving to be featured front and center than this one

[@nugsymalone1247]

Thats the business I guess, explains why a lot of garbage is out these days

[@ColinJohnco]

What a voice !

[@clemensottawa1780]

MOOOOOOOOOREEEEE VIBRATO PLEASE!!!!!!!!

[@jessicarose1651]

This invokes powerful soul twitches

[@huxylady]

Play this when I go to my grave...

[@tanvirgrewal1092]

He was not from our times. Born a few hundred years too late or a few thousand years too early.

[@captieye]

exactly. or maybe right on time, because sounds like this usually fly more free under the radar. ...doesn't belong in mainstream culture.

[@worraz9687]

He‘s eternal, he‘ll resonate at all times for those lucky enough to find him.

[@barrymoriarty1306]

too late meh

[@nickinthecave]

@@captieye i think this is right, i can understand it tho, because nobody wants to drive at home from work and suddenly the radio plays this song and you get emotionally wrecked by Basho

[@MidTierVillain]

This is truly a treasure. Hasn’t this been used in a movie? If not, that’s crazy..

[@jonfranklin8003]

A good start to the day,,.

[@SWilde-ws9qg]

Wow. This is beautiful.

[@mildryfrr9970]

A voice like thunder and strings like lightning. This song is a loud summer storm. Fucking beautiful!

[@junkreep]

This is joy.

[@luluisagoodcop]

Beautiful

[@nishparadox]

Always gives me goosebumps...

[@MrByrnzie]

holy moly fam

[@charleehalfnur1742]

I'll kiss your wings love

[@adamdevmedia]

This is why you should never trust chiropractors

[@sonicthehedgegod]

im always like “imagine dying over whats basically the astrology of medicine”

[@mauvenumnum5320]

@@sonicthehedgegod the fragility of our bodies and life we have to be careful

[@nugsymalone1247]

Right? I just stretch every day, does wonders

[@robinnoronha5448]

Oh my god

[@tanvirgrewal1092]

Robbie Basho was the best of a world that was lost faster than any other. Pity for humanity.

[@spinecraft1356]

This resonates.

[@alicasoto4497]

In the slanting rays the cupola shines.

[@hudrybenjamin8267]

Incroyablement beau

[@binarypackrat]

S T A R S A I L O R

[@TawsifEC]

Wow, that was fantastic

[@cactusvolition]

what a man. lawd

[@holyspacemonkey]

and if you’re passing me by as I’m leaving, I’ll kiss your wings love 🕊️

[@inesdosanjoscardoso177]

I want to die hearing this...

[@jameschen-wishart7925]

Does anyone have the lyrics for Death song ?

[@drworm_182]

What in the name of fuck is this? Absolutely fucking crisp.

[@adamdevmedia]

This man was a fucking angel

[@nugsymalone1247]

I have taken a lot of lives in my younger years that were not mine to take. I've grown so much more peaceful and spiritual in my later years. This song is almost like a lament to god that I understand my errors and would like to go home if I still am able.

[@nopeaceforthewicked]

Oh Sweetness, Oh Burst of Laughter

[@fishyfish9716]

To think someone knew this person once,Lucky...

[@oneyounglover]

Forever 💐💐💐

[@jonfranklin4999]

Happy new year,,.

[@alanmacinnes4546]

amongst the infinate shite/bad/decent youtube offerings, this is top tier. factomundo correcutumdo

[@hanawana]

lyricism melody

[@loonysoul6602]

Melancholism

[@Morpheusprox]

After Tim Buckley came ..

[@whiterain2546]

Nice!!!!!

[@birdbath1980]

Lyrics?

[@Andreas-Kralj]

So this was either in 1969, 1975 or 1980, since those three years had April 20th on a Sunday, and the next one would have been 1986, but he had died in February of that year, so that date is out. Does anyone know which year it was he performed this? Most speculate it to be 1980, as he was living in California at that time, but I haven’t been able to find anything definitive

[@FrigidMix]

The concert poster doesn't really have a connection to the song. I have the poster and used it as an image for the audio upload as this was unreleased at the time and therefore had no album artwork. I think this recording is from the mid 70s.

[@brennsto]

Wow

[@Elojoquenoparpadea22]

What chords i he playing? Is that an alternative tuning?

[@liamness]

Interesting, the lyrics are similar to the ending of "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" but the guitar playing is much more complex. I suppose this was a demo / draft recording

[@markuskoenig]

I would love to have the lyrics to this song. But english isn't my mother tongue. Can you help me with this?

[@ernestheimerway]

Towards the midnight sun, I am riding - riding home / Towards the father, I am riding - riding home / My arms are open, my heart is happy - riding home / Towards the shining mountains, I'll be riding - riding home / And if you pass me by as I am leaving, I'll kiss your wings love - I'll kiss your wings - I'll kiss your wings / My arms are open, my heart is happy - riding home / Riding home, towards the father - riding home / My arms are open, my heart is happy - riding home - riding home.

[@alfredoemmanuelgarciaquint4822]

ernestheimerway my god!! I am not a original english speaker so it was very hard to me to understand the whole song. Thanks a lot! I really really love Robbie Basho.

[@justinbarnhill3903]

ernestheimerway thank you so much !!! I’m terrible at ‘hearing’ lyrics

[@nonpolygon]

How can one get an MP3 of this performance?

[@alwynshaw6197]

$2

[@kevinmurphy7053]

Killed accidentally by his chiropractor ...

[@HimmelaufErden]

?

[@jzonkel]

@@HimmelaufErden That's how he died. Snapped neck

[@GroovyVintageLady]

Yes.

[@dbadagna]

His style reminds me of that of Arthur Russell.

[@wasteyelo1]

"$2.00 donation requested" 🤯

[@marshallmarvin1369]

❤

[@leonida177]

Anyone able to write the lyrics? I would greatly appreciate!

[@valeriavagapova]

in case you're still curious - ernestheimerway wrote it down here in the comments: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l2SXdn-PfriJr7M&lc=UgjDp5vciX6r23gCoAEC.8OhDut1-OTV8hVD_zboBdQ

[@hanawana]

lyricism

[@jimsmint]

What year would this have been?

[@FrigidMix]

Same period as his Zarthus/Voice of the Eagle recordings. Mid 70s, can't say exactly.

[@laterdudesaint]

well. original.

[@ryanrus6064]

Doooodle doo doodle doo doodle da dooo

[@ivan_emege]

Dave Eugene Edwards follows this

[@cwecub]

I could imagine seeing him while wearing earplugs

[@late_privktorian_era]

thanks for this! never heard it before. this fruitcake was such a fucking genius,

[@chetrok1]

Go to bed clown

[@cantsay2006]

I need something in between Robbie Basho and Tool.

[@suptysup]

Wovenhand

[@S.A.Masquerade]

Volbeat.

[@madrigalpencilwood]

Comus

[@adamdevmedia]

I'm working on it

[@NoJobRob]

@@adamdevmedia anything yet?

[@KaviL77]

:(

[@goldenghost4335]

It's kinda off, but like as if somthing was dying, glitching , malfunctioning before it all collapses. Like a man limping away , stumbling, bleeding off into the wild.

[@slabside72]

❤

[@ivan_emege]

Wovenhand

[@1Jouslyn]

someone should cover this, with a banjo accompaniment.

[@packhorsetriumph5319]

keep your shit opinions to yourself

[@whiterain2546]

Why you mad

[@aaronm.3581]

Kind of like Tim Buckley, but not nearly as good.

[@aftereight7505]

I agree, Tim Buckley is no where as good as Basho.

[@aaronm.3581]

@@aftereight7505 Don't be obtuse.

[@aftereight7505]

@@aaronm.3581 Pretty much impossible since I exercise daily

[@aaronm.3581]

@@aftereight7505 😂