Greenman

(Partridge)

Recordings XTCfans interview with Andy Partridge Art Lyrics Chords and Tablature

Recordings

1. Album version, 6'18.
   Released on Apple Venus Volume 1.
   Orchestral arrangment by Mike Batt.

2. Radio edit, 4'21.
   Released on the Greenman promotional single in the U.S.A.

3. A promotional video was partially filmed and then abandoned.

4. Demo version.
   Released on 27 September 1999 on Homespun in the U.K.

   Andy: “When that four watt light bulb goes on in my head I usually reach for the nearest instrument, which, nine times out of ten, ends up being my daughter Holly's school guitar. It's about two-thirds scale, nylon strings, doesn't stay in tune and was built in Romania. Now, as everyone knows, Romania is to Great Guitars as Adolf Hitler was to champion figure skating. But what the heck, it's handy and I seem to have acquired it by default. Boys and pop groups are of more interest to her at the moment than Tom Dooley and Tabulature.

   “Anyway, I was scrubbing away one day on the top four strings and dreamily droning a melody that seemed to sound archaic and summoned up the rolling hills (which we're surrounded by in the bowl of Swindon). I rushed out to my studio at the bottom of the garden and knocked up a loop of percussive noises. Something seemed to be growing. When I traced out my humming melody on a string sound, everything fell into place. I got ‘that’ tingle.

   “The lyric came quite quickly. The music seemed to suggest the land and forests. Vaughn Williams with a hard-on, a Pagan ritual, a celebration of the timeless, the spirit of the trees, the Greenman.

   “I tried to put into the song all of the essence of the male side of nature. The tall oaks and the eternal father, the lover or the green budding son. In short, mother nature's man in all his forms. It takes two to tango monotheists!

   “In almost every interview I've done for ‘Apple Venus volume one’, I'm asked why did we go for a middle Eastern sound for ‘Greenman’? What? For me, there isn't the faintest pyramid shaped thing in sight. Call me the village idiot but it's all rooted in English Folk Music to my ear. Less old bazaar in Cairo, more Marlborough Mop.

   “Technical note:-All the orchestral sounds on this demo are again Proteus. It would be a few years before a forty piece orchestra in Abbey Road got to grips with it. Holly's guitar is called an ‘Okada’ and was the cheapest in the shop.”

5. Instrumental version.
   Released on 17 October 2002 on Instruvenus in Japan.

[Thanks to R. Stevie Moore]

Art

cover of the Greenman promo CD

“¡Happy Birthday, Andresito Perdiz!”

Lyrics

Album version:

Please to bend down for the one called the Greenman
He wants to make you his bride
Please to bend down for the one called the Greenman
Forever to him you're tied

And you know for a million years he has been your lover
He'll be a million more
And you know for a million years he has been your lover
Down through the skin to the core
Heed the Greenman
Heed the Greenman

Please to dance round for the one called the Greenman
He wants to make you his child
Please to dance round for the one called the Greenman
Dressed in the fruits of the wild

And you know for a million years he has been your father
He'll be a million more
And you know for a million years he has been your father
Run to his arms at the door

Lay your head, lay your head, lay your head, lay your head on the Greenman
Lay your head, lay your head with mine
Lay your head, lay your head, lay your head, lay your head on the Greenman
Build a bed out of oak and pine

See the Greenman blow his kiss from high church wall
An unknowing church will amplify his call

Please to bend down for the one called the Greenman
He wants to make you his bride
Please to bend down for the one called the Greenman
Forever to him you're tied

And you know for a million years he has been your lover
He'll be a million more
And you know for a million years he has been your lover
Down to the skin to the core

Lay your head, lay your head, lay your head, lay your head on the Greenman
Lay your head, lay your head with mine
Lay your head, lay your head, lay your head, lay your head on the Greenman
Build a bed out of oak and pine

Please to bend down for the one called the Greenman

© 1998 Copyright Control

Demo:

Please to bend down for the one called the Green Man
He wants to make you his Bride
Please to bend down for the one called the Green Man
Forever to him you're tied

And you know for a million years he has been your lover
He'll be a million more
And you know for a million years he has been your lover
Down from the Hills to the Shore

Heed the Green Man
Heed the Green Man

Please to dance round for the one called the Green Man
He wants to make you his Child
Please to dance round for the one called the Green Man
Dressed in the fruits of the Wild

And you know for a million years he has been your Father
He'll be a million more
And you know for a million years he has been your Father
Run to his arms from your door

Lay your head, lay your head, lay your head, lay your head
     on the Green Man
Lay your head, lay your head with mine
lay your head, lay your head, lay your head, lay your head
     on the Green Man
Build a bed - out of oak and pine

See the Green Man blow his kiss from high church wall
And unknowing church will amplify his call

Please to bend down for the one called the Green Man
(lyric repeats) (the capitalizations are mine)

[transcribed by Steve Schiavo]

Chords and Tablature

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2003 18:01:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: Randall Johnson <fishthisbig (at) yahoo dot com>
Subject: greenman chords
Message-ID: <20030411010143.37373.qmail (at) web14914 dot mail dot yahoo dot com>


to begin...  capo on the second fret.  the song is
basically in F#, but there are lots of little
intricacies.  it's a given that the song will be in
that key, so i'll just pretend like the second fret is
an E just so no one has to transpose.  so, here's how
i figure it sounds...
E  (022100)     Esus  (022200)     Eadd9  (024100)
E/C#  (042100)     A/C#add9  (042420)
Aadd9  (002200)     Cadd9  (X32033)     Em  (022000)
C6add9  (X32233)     E11  (022232)     B7  (X21202)
Em/G  (322000)     Cmaj7  (332000)

the beginning is basically just E, but that quick part
just before the singing is...
Em, Em/G, Cmaj7, Em/G
and then...  ...each chord begins with the word it
precedes.
[E] Please to bend down for the [Esus] one called the
Greenman
[E] He wants to make you his [Aadd9] bride
[E] Please to bend down for the [Esus] one called the
Greenman
[E] Forever to him you're [Aadd9] tied

And you [E] know for a [Esus] million [Eadd9] years he
has been your [E/C#] lover
[E] He'll be a [Esus] million [Eadd9] more
And you [E] know for a [Esus] million [Eadd9] years he
has been your [E/C#] lover
[E] Down through the [Esus] skin to the [A/C#add9]
core
[E] [Esus] Heed the Greenman
[E] [Aadd9] Heed the Greenman

[E] Please to dance round for the [Esus] one called
the Greenman
[E] He wants to make you his [Aadd9] child
[E] Please to dance round for the [Esus] one called
the Greenman
[E] Dressed in the fruits of the [Aadd9] wild

And you [E] know for a [Esus] million [Eadd9] years he
has been your [E/C#] father
[E] He'll be a [Esus] million [Eadd9] more
And you [E] know for a [Esus] million [Eadd9] years he
has been your [E/C#] father
[E] Run to his [Esus] arms at the [A/C#add9] door

[E] Lay your head, lay your head, lay your [Esus]
head, lay your head on the Greenman
[E] Lay your head, lay your head with [Aadd9] mine
[E] Lay your head, lay your head, lay your [Esus]
head, lay your head on the Greenman
[E] Build a bed out of oak and [Aadd9] pine

[E] [Esus] [E] [Aadd9]
(things get a little comlicated here, but once you
learn the chords you can change them to pretty much
anything you like.)

[Cadd9] See the [C6add9] Greenman blow [E11] his
[Cadd9] kiss from high church [C6add9] waaaaa- [Cadd9]
-aaaaa- [C6add9] [E11]-all
[Cadd9] An un- [C6add9] -knowing church will
[Cadd9]ampli- [C6add9] -fy his
[E11] caaaa- [B7] -aaaaaa- [Em] -all [Em/G] [Cmaj7]
[Em/G]

[E] Please to bend down for the [Esus] one called the
Greenman
[E] He wants to make you his [Aadd9] bride
[E] Please to bend down for the [Esus] one called the
Greenman
[E] Forever to him you're [Aadd9] tied

And you [E] know for a [Esus] million [Eadd9] years he
has been your [E/C#] lover
[E] He'll be a [Esus] million [Eadd9] more
And you [E] know for a [Esus] million [Eadd9] years he
has been your [E/C#] lover
[E] Down to the [Esus] skin to the [A/C#add9] core

[E] Lay your head, lay your head, lay your [Esus]
head, lay your head on the Greenman
[E] Lay your head, lay your head with [Aadd9] mine
[E] Lay your head, lay your head, lay your [Esus]
head, lay your head on the Greenman
[E] Build a bed out of oak and [Aadd9] pine

(the last bit changes, slightly...)

[E] Please to bend down for the [Esus] one called the
Greenman
[E] [E/C#] oooooooooooooh....
repeat to end and repeat "lay your head" 'til you
hyperventilate.
hope this is close enough, but being that it's my
favourite song i had to at least TRY to figure it out.

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