We Do What We Can Lyrics

We Do What We Can - Sheryl Crow
Downstairs they're playing Kenton, the house set to swing
I lay in my bed and listen to everything
Cause Leo's in rare form tonight, his trombone sings so sweet
This is the room where they all come to meet
He said "I do what I can, I live for the moment
Bb9-5 E' A *NB-see below*
and that's who I am, yeah that's who I am"
And isn't it good if we could freeze moments in time
Bb9-5 E' Am
We all would, but I do what I can, I do what I can
Downstairs he's playing Kenton, the Magnavox sighs
But oh how the music has changed in all of our lives
He says "nobody listens to modern jazz
and I'll never have what those guys have"
He says "I do what I can, I work for a living
and that's who I am, yeah that's who I am"
And it's good to be alive, but everything's different
Since Leo died, I do what I can
s4
Is this the end of the modern world
What could it mean for a young girl
Who sees the pain on his face?
He does what he can
The procession on the TV screen
What could it possibly mean
For a man who's come this far
us4
just to turn around
Dm Asus4 Am } these two lines are
Could there still be life in Kenton's swing }-played in 4/4 time
E7 Asus4 Am } rather than 6/8
With the Kennedys gone and everything }
Those sad rows of houses with their optimistic colours
Democrat grandparents and draft dodging brothers
Riots down the street and discontented mothers
We do what we can
Downstairs it's quiet - less alive, somehow
Somehow he was everything that I am now
And he says "I do what I can, I work for a living
And that's who I am, and that's who I am"
But it's good to be alive, and these are the choices
We make to survive - you do what you can
Weird jazzy chord city! I've tried to transcribe an accurate representation
of most of the chords, but understand that most of the chords for the verse
would have been improvised over the vague guidelines of Am followed by E7.
Note that I have just called all the weird Am chords "Am", so they can be
played as Am-002210, 577555, or 007555; Asus2-002200; A7sus2-002000,
Amadd9-577500 or 007500; or Am7add9-575555 or 005500. I have, however, noted
a couple of especially weird ones - Am11-00543x and Am6 002212.
The E type chords are E7-020130, 020100(E'), 076750 or 076707(E*);
E7+9-07678x; and E7-9 - 07676x.
The chords for the chorus are Dm-xx0231 or x57765; A/C#-x42225 or x42255;
C-x32010; Bb9-5 (my favourite!)-010110; then E7' and Am as shown above.
There is a chord progression in the first two choruses (but not the last)
at the point marked with asterisks - goodness knows what the chords should
be called: A-x07655, ?-x07676, ?-x07565, ?-x05433.
The chords for the bridge ("Is this the end of..") go along these lines
|-7--7--|-7--5--|-4--4--|-7--5--| etc
The chords for the line "Those sad rows of houses.." onwards are:
E7sus4-022435, E7-022434.