Counting Song For Bitter Children Chords

KeyF CapoNone TuningStandard Difficulty Plays408

Counting Song For Bitter Children by Mountain Goats is a moderately challenging guitar song played in the key of F. It uses the chords F, Csus4 and Bbsus4. 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
  			

      F    Csus4   Bbsus4 
e: ---8------8------6------| 
B: --10------8------6------| 
G: --10-----10------8------| 
D: --10-----10------8------| 
A: ---8-----10------8------| 
E: ---X------8------6------| 

vieurd:   “The general chord progression is F-Csus4-Bbsus4-F-Csus4 
John seems strum the sixth string on the F chord and the fifth and 
sixth strings on the Csus4 and Bbsus4 somewhat lightly in order to 
place emphasis on the guitar melody.” 

|  F  |  Csus4  |  Bbsus4  |  F  Csus4  | 

F 
   one, two 
Csus4 
   I don't love you. 
Bbsus4 
   three, four 
F     Csus4 
   Anymore 

one, three 
Stay away from me 
five, seven 
Good children get nothing 

F 
   Na-na-na Na-na-na Na-na 
Csus4 
   Na-na-na Na-na-na Na-na 
Bbsus4 
   Na-na-na  Na-na-na   Na-na 
F              Csus4 
Na Na-na Na-na Na 


one, two, two and a half 
Stick around here? Don’t make me laugh 

two-and-a-half, three, four-point-five 
The new day's dawning and my hour's arrived 

one, two 
I got things to do 

one, three* 
I got people to see, I got people that wanna see me 

Na na na… 

Na na na… 


*This is what he sings in the recording. 
According to John, “The final line actually goes 

three fours lined up in a row 
I got people to see, I got people that wanna see me 

so that the last verse has a "one two three four" 
except that the third one is "three fours," O young John tryna be all clever” 
    	

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