What if God was one of us .. Joan Osborne

This song is one of my all time favorite numbers. Soul filling and uses the basic Em, C, G and D chord progression.
For this song, the Capo is best kept on the Second Fret.

Verse 1

   Em        C     G             D

If God had a name, what would it be?

              Em             C       

And would you call it to his face,

G           D

if you were faced with him?

   Em      C      G              D

In all his glory, what would you ask,

           Em       D

if you had just one question?

Bridge

C           G      D

Yeah, yeah, God is great

C           G      D

Yeah, yeah, God is good

C           D      

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Chorus

        Em      C      G   D

What if God was one of us?

       Em        C      G   D

Just a slob like one of us?

       Em       C      G             D            Em   C  G  D

Just a stranger on the bus trying to make his way home

Verse 2

   Em        C     G             D

If God had a face, what would it look like

          Em          C   

And would you want to see,

G         D                    Em        C  

if seeing meant that you would have to believe,

   G           D             Em            C          G       D

in things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints and all the prophets.

All of me .. John Legend

So here we are: my first guitar song with a "Capo".  Capo is short for 'Capotasto', an Italian word used to indicate the head of the fret-board of the guitar.  Adding your Capo to the guitar means you raise the pitch by one note. 

A more detailed idea about how the Capo works can be found here: How the 'Capo' works!

Please Note: All chords below are open chords with the "Capo" on the First Fret.

Verse 1

          C                      G 

What would I do without your smart mouth

            D                  Em

Drawing me in, and kicking me out

          C            G               D          Em

Got my head spinning, no kidding, I cant pin you down

             C                    G

Whats going on in that beautiful mind

               D             Em

I'm on your magical mystery ride

        C              G                     D         Am

And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright

Bridge

Am              Em

My heads under water

    D             Am

But I'm breathing fine

                Em             D

You're crazy and I'm out of my mind

Chorus

      G

Cause all of me

       Em

Loves all of you

            Am

Love your curves and all your edges

           D

All your perfect imperfections

           G

Give your all to me

            Em

Ill give my all to you

         Am

You're my end and my beginning

      D

Even when I lose I'm winning

                  Em   C      G

Cause I give you all, all of me

                 Em   C      G    D

And you give me all, all of you, oh

Verse 2

Em              C                 G

How many times do I have to tell you

                  D                     Em

Even when you're crying you’re beautiful too

              C           G         D                  Em

The world is beating you down, I'm around through every move

            C                G

You're my downfall, you're my muse

             D                        Em

My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues

               C            G        D            Am

I cant stop singing, its ringing, in my head for you

Bridge

Chorus

Bridge Change

Am            Em

Cards on the table

       D             Am

Were both showing hearts

Am          Em               D

Risking it all, though its hard

Blowing in the Wind .. Bob Dylan

The one and only Bob Dylan.  He will never go out of style !
Enjoy!

All I Have to Do Is Dream .. Everly Brothers

Way back when ... this was the 90s and I used to travel to K'Villa to learn guitar from Abby Sir. He was this really old-school teacher who believed in learning those american oldies that probably only my granny would listen to!

Still he was a persistent teacher whose one motto was 'practice makes perfect' and really, that's all there is to the guitar.  Since this was one of few songs i haven't learned on the net, there is no net tutorial for this.  Instead have a listen in on the original Everly Brothers number.

Verse 1

      C       Am   Dm     G7

 When I want you in my arms

      C       Am   Dm             G7

 When I want you      and all your charms

     C       Am

 Whenever I want you

  F            G7     

 All I have to do is 

Chorus 

C   Am   F               G7

Dream,  dream,  dream,  dream.

Verse 2

      C        Am   Dm       G7

 When I feel blue    in the night

      C      Am   Dm            G7

 And I need you    to hold me tight

     C       Am

 Whenever I want you

  F            G7      

 All I have to do is 

Chorus

 C   Am   F               G7

 Dream,  dream,  dream,  dream.

 Bridge

 F                       Em

 I can make you mine   taste your lips of wine

 Dm     G7          C     C7

 Anytime  night or day.

 F               Em

 Only trouble is   gee whiz,

       D7               G7

 I'm dreaming my life away.

Verse 3

      C      Am  Dm              G7

 I need you so    that I could die.

     C      Am  Dm             G7

 I love you so    and that is why.

    C       Am       F            G7      

 Whenever I want you all I have to do is 

Stand By Me .. Ben E King

My very first song on the guitar circa 2015
The video on YouTube which helped me learn is attached below:

Verse 1

         G    

When the night has come

         Em

And the land is dark

         C                  D        G

And the moon is the only light we'll see

     (G)               Em

No I won't be afraid, no I won't be afraid

         C           D             G

Just as long as you stand, stand by me

Chorus

                       G               Em                        

And darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh stand by me

   C      D              G

Oh stand,   Stand by me,   stand by me  

Verse 2

     G

If the sky that we look upon

Em

     Should tumble and fall

        C                 D             G

And the mountains should crumble to the sea

        (G)                 Em

I won't cry, I won't cry, no   I won't shed a tear

   C           D           G

Just as long as you stand, stand by me 

Changing the world

Here's a wonderful bit of prose that I came across . It's from this book "15-minute reiki" . Very poignant and very beautiful ....

When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits
I dreamed of changing the world 
As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change 
So I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country 
But it too seemed immovable 
As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt 
I settled for changing only family, those closest to me 
But alas, they would gave none of it 
And now as I lay on my deathbed, I suddenly realize:
If I had only changed myself first
Then, by example I would have changed my family 
From their inspiration and encouragement,
I would then have been able to better my country
And who knows, I may even have changed the world ! 

A Day To Remember !

I had the opportunity to go for an IBM software conference. The first conference of its kind for me. These conferences are specifically created to showcase the company’s products to potential customers. Most invitees were senior people from various industries looking for a software solution to meet their business needs. But that’s enough about the details of what the conference was about . What was really great about the conference was the venue. It was  held at the Renaissance, which I consider to be one of the most beautiful hotels Mumbai has to offer, second only to the Taj. Located bang opposite Powai lake, the place has a serene plus elegant feel about it. The food was fabulous. And to bring an element of fun to the whole event they had flown down 'Robin Sharma' to give us a talk on Leadership. For those who don’t know, Robin Sharma is the author of “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari”. He’s one of those typical firangs with a deep seated awe of all things spiritual. What he had to say is good and valuable , yes, but really not enough to warrant the standing ovation he got. It’s funny how much we need people like him to tell us what we already know!

All in all , a very pleasant way to spend the day !