Vena Cava
View chords used in this chart
Intro: G/D D7 (x4)
G/D D7 G/D D7
The vena cava, the most superior
G/D
The queen
D7
Bringing blood into the chamber
G/D D7
Always into the chamber
G/D D7
And in you it moves the same
G/D D7 G/D
Even if you cannot feel how it moves
D7 G/D D7
It does move there in you
G B C B A G
I'm awake but I cannot be found
G B C B A G
Daydreaming so far, down
G/D D7
And in your arms, I sleep so deeply
G/D D7
But I can feel how you will leave me
G/D D7
Even as you are still sitting here
G/D D7
Even as your mug of coffee steams
G/D D7
I can feel how the seams of your ribs
G/D D7
Will separate from the seams of my ribs
G/D D7
I know already how much TV
G/D
Will fail to comfort me in your absence
G B C B A G
It's as though the knife, it never was
G E C B A G
And everything will do just what it does
G B C B A G
Like a bullet in the barrel of a gun
G E C B A G
I'm hiding here inside with someone, someone
(mute chords):
G E A B A G
G E A B A G
G/D D7
In your eyestreaks of canary yellow
G/D D7
In that twin bed I lay straight and narrow
G/D D7
In your room on Long Island
G/D D7
I try to keep myself from sighing
G/D D7
While the lilt of your language, it made me think
G/D D7
That I was sinking with the wreckage of that old ship
G/D D7
Even though our love has long been dead
G/D
It's ghost will follow to the foot of my deathbed
G B C B A G
I ain't no brother, I ain't no son
G E C B A G
There ain't no aubergine in my blood
G B C B A G
I ain't no warrior or king
G E C
But how I am one when I sing
B A G
When I sing, sing, sing
(mute chords):
G E A B D A G
G E A B A G
G/D D7 G/D D7
The vena cava, the most superior
G/D
The queen
D7
Bringing blood into the chamber
G/D D7 G/D
Always into the chamber
************************************
| / slide up
| \ slide down
| h hammer-on
| p pull-off
| ~ vibrato
| + harmonic
| x Mute note
| b Bend
| pb Pre-bend
| br Bend release
| pbr Pre-bend release
| brb Bend release bend
************************************
How to play Vena Cava
Use the controls above to change the key and text size. Follow the highlighted chords while listening, then practice each section slowly before playing at the original tempo.
What is the starting chord?
The first identified chord is G/D. You can transpose without leaving the page.
Can I play it on guitar or keyboard?
Yes. The chord progression works on acoustic guitar, electric guitar and keyboard. Adapt the voicings to your instrument and level.