Sam wrote this song mostly as a way to practice using his pinky to sweeten up chords when it wasn’t doing anything else, and so it’s a two-chord song that’s sorta three chords because you really need to play the C chord differently in the verse and chorus.

We’ll use pictures.

Verse: C (weird, see illustration below) G

But Sam keeps his pointer finger up on the B string at the first fret so he can move that pinky on the third fret around to sweeten and sour the chord at his discretion and not lose the voice of the C chord.

Chorus: C (normalish, as per below) G

Sam doesn’t normally play the C chord with the high E fretted at all, but he does use his pinky for that here, and he sees on the internets that lots of people do, thus “normalish.” He’s weird. Whatever. Do what you want. But it sounds cool if you use these two basic settings for C, and then just move your pinky around a lot, especially in the verse, over which the leads go if you’re playing with a band.

Also, it’s important that the leads retain the grouping of three back and forths between the C and G. That’s vital to the song. The whole “in threes” thing, even though the song is in 4/4.

Also, find someone to sing it with you. This is really a guy-girl duet and it will sound better that way. Unless the other person can’t sing, or you can’t, and then it will sound sucky, but no big deal on that. You’re just playing in your living room or whatever. It’s not like you’re ACTUALLY the World Famous Grassholes.  You’re just playing our songs.

Verse 1
C (weird)                                                                             G
Ever since you went away, the stars don’t come out at night

C                                                                                  G
Ever since you went away, the sun don’t shine as bright (oh no)

C                                                                                  G
Ever since you went away, my hands just don’t feel right

Chorus
C (normalish)
Ever since you went away

G
Ever since you went away

C
Ever since you went away

G
Ever since you went away

Verse 2
C (weird)                                                                     G
Ever since you went away, the tides just don’t come in

C                                                                                          G
Ever since you went away, I can’t tell my thick from my thin (oh no)

C                                                                                              G
Ever since you went away, I feel like I been kicked in the shins

CHORUS

Verse 3
C (weird)                                                                   G
Ever since you went away, I can’t seem to find my cat

C                                                                                                 G
Ever since you went away, I can’t seem to my head into my hat

C                                                                                         G
Ever since you went away, I can’t tell my this from my that

CHORUS

Coda
C (weird)                                                                                                  G
Ever since you went away, ever since you went away, ever since you went away

C (weird)                                                                                G
Why did you go away, why did you go away, why did you go away

C
Oh, baby come home

G
Oh, baby come home

And at the end there you sorta let the C and G ring out on those last “home”s and do a sorta a capella thing where you hold the “home” from the first line and then sing “oh, baby come home” all slow and important-seeming, holding the last “home” so it sounds like you’re a good singer. It works better as a duet, for real.

Check it out: