Frankie On The Sheepscot Chords

KeyF CapoNone TuningStandard Difficulty Plays489

Frankie On The Sheepscot by Gordon Bok is a moderately challenging guitar song played in the key of F. It uses the chords F, Bb, F7 and C. Use the transpose and diagram tools on this page to change the key, see each shape, or simplify the chords.

Transpose
F
Text
16
Speed
  			Intro: F    Bb  F  F7 

Verse 

Bb                 C             F 
Frankie braids the purse-string, Cleon sets the tow 
        Bb                            C 
Frankie goes to pick them over in the well 
     Bb                          F 
He's never got a hat on, and the snow is all about him 
       Bb                                 F 
And it packs around his head like his own skin 

Verse 

                           Bb               F 
"Don't I hate this foolish river!", Frankie cries 
        Bb                         C 
"Up and down her like a yo-yo on a string 
   F                      Bb   C 
Go out in the morning and tear up 
Bb                 F 
Mend all your afternoon 
    Bb                           F     F7 
And all this dirty river staving by" 

Verse 

                                   Bb 
Ah, but boys, you should have seen him 
                                        F 
Wearing the snow as you would wear your hair 
                 Bb                         F 
Singing, "It's a hard life for a boy on the gut" 
             Bb                                  C 
He's got the words wrong, but he doesn't seem to care 
        Bb               C          F 
And the seagulls working easy out behind him 

Verse 

      Bb 
Cleon slides the hatch back, and he shouts down 
             F 
"Boys, we're anchored" 
        Bb                                 C 
And you set your coffee down and you go on deck 
        Bb                                               F 
But the river's humping by so fast, the snow's so flying thick 
                        Bb              F 
You can't tell if she's moving or lying still 

Verse 

                           Bb               F 
"Don't I hate this foolish river!", Frankie cries 
        Bb                         C 
"Up and down her like a yo-yo on a string 
   F                      Bb   C 
Go out in the morning and tear up 
Bb                 F 
Mend all your afternoon 
    Bb                            F     F7 
And all this poor old river going by" 

Verse 

Bb                           C                F 
Cleon winds the wheel and he cracks the power to her 
        Bb                             C 
And she pokes her head around, but she doesn't turn 
       Bb 
And he takes her out of gear 
                             F 
While Frankie goes to try to haul back 
                                   Bb                F 
He says, "I guess we've hooked the dear old State of Maine" 

Verse
 
                              Bb 
Ah, but boys, you should have seen him 
                                   F      C 
Hour after hour, Cleon on that old wheel 
        F                     Bb   C 
There's nothing out there but hard times 
Bb                  F 
Time and the flying snow 
    Bb                            F 
And all that pretty river rolling by 

Verse 

                         Bb 
Oh, but boys it makes me wonder 
                                   F      C 
Hour after hour, Cleon on that old wheel 
        F                  Bb   C 
There's nothing to see but hard times 
Bb                  F 
Time and the flying snow 
    Bb                              F    Bb   F   Bb   F 
But Cleon watches day and night and day 
    	

Chord diagrams

Guitar tuner

--
Start the tuner and play a string

Reference tones

Standard tuning, lowest to highest. Click a string to play it; the string the mic hears is highlighted.

Click Start tuner and allow microphone access. The needle centers and turns green when a string is in tune (within 5 cents).
No microphone? You can still tap any string above to hear its exact reference pitch.

Metronome

100 BPM Andante