As a lover of linguistics, I'm intrigued by the logistics
Of the oral peril lurking when a word's embarked upon
But when twisted vowel and consternance are gone
One word gives more grief than all of the remaining lexicon
Is it the diphthong in "Goodbye" that makes it difficult?
Or do the D and B conspire to trap your tongue?
Or is the G right at the start what tends to be the awkward part
That catches in your throat before the word has yet begun?
On paper its phonetic structure's not atypical
And yet the glibbest wits still choke on it each day
If not the diphthong in "Goodbye", it makes no sense why
We seem to find it such a tricky word to say
While "Help" and "Sorry" challenge some
One word can leave me dumb
Every time I try, like now, to say "Goodbye".
©Mal Webb 2003
Diphthong (with chords).
The six figures are which fret for the strings of a guitar, in order from fattest to thinnest. 0 is open and X means don't play it. Simple! Oh and ∆ means major 7th. Numbers in () can be read as X if it's too tricky. I've written this so it can be strummed, but I play it plucked with just a thumb and 3 fingers, which means the chord shapes can be simplified, i.e. [Am7 575555] would be just [Am7 5X555X] and [C7 X35353] would be [C7 X3535X]. Good luck and whatever you do, have fun, love, Mal
As a [Am7 575555]lover of [G#m7 464444]linguistics, I'm [Gm7 353333]intrigued by the [F#m7 242222]logistics
Of the [F∆ 1X2230]oral peril lurking when a [Gm7 353333]word's embarked [C7 X35353]upon
But when [C#o7 X45353]twisted vowel and consternance are [Dm7 X57565]gone
One word [G7 353433]gives more grief than all of the [C7 X35353]remaining [B7 X24242]lexicon[C7 X35353]
Is it the [F∆ 1X2230]diphthong in [Bb/C X33333]"Goodbye" that makes it [F∆ 1X2230]difficult? [C#o7 X45353]
Or do the [F∆ 1X2230]D and B [F#o7 2X121X]conspire to trap your [Gm7 353333]tongue? [C7 X35353]
Or is the [Gm7 353333]G right at the [C7 X35353]start what tends to [Am7 575555]be the [C#7 X46464]awkward [D7 X57575]part
That [G7 353433]catches in your throat before the [C7 X35353]word [Bb7 X13131]has [Am7 575555]yet [G#m7 464444]be[Gm7 353333]gun?
On [E7#5 0X011X]paper [F∆ 1X2230]its phonetic [Bb/C X33333]structure's not [F∆ 1X2230]atypical [C#o7 X45353]
And yet the [F∆ 1X2230]glibbest wits still [A7#5 5X566(5)]choke on it each [Bb∆ 6X7765]day [F13 1X1231]
If [E13 0X0120]not [F13 1X1231]the [Bb∆ 6X776(5)]diphthong in "Good[Bo7 7X676(7)]bye", it makes [F9 X87888]no [E9 X76777]sense [Eb9 X65666]why
We [D9 X54555]seem to [Gm7 353333]find it such a [C7 X35353]tricky word to say [...into riff...]
[Riff][F∆ 1X2230] [C X3XXXX]-[C# X4XXXX] [Bb∆ XXX335]-[Gm XXX333]
[F∆ 1X2230] [C X3XXXX]-[C# X4XXXX] [Go XXX323]*
[F∆ 1X2230] [C X3XXXX]-[C# X4XXXX] [Bb∆ XXX335]-[Gm XXX333] [F∆ 1X2230]
[F13 1X1231]While [E13 0X0120]"Help" [F13 1X1231]and [Bb∆ 6X776(5)]"Sorry" challenge [Bo7 7X676(7)]some
One word can [F9 X87888]leave [E9 X76777]me [Eb9 X65666]dumb
[D9 X54555]Every [Gm7 353333]time I try, like [C7 X35353]now, to say "Goodbye".[...into riff...]
[Riff][F∆ 1X2230] [C X3XXXX]-[C# X4XXXX] [Bb∆ XXX335]-[Gm XXX333]
[F∆ 1X2230] [C X3XXXX]-[C# X4XXXX] [Go XXX323]*
[F∆ 1X2230] [C X3XXXX]-[C# X4XXXX] [Bb∆ XXX335]-[Gm XXX333] [...ending...]
[Ending] [Eb∆ X68786] [C#∆ X46564] [B∆ X24342] [Bb∆ X13231] [Ab∆ 4X554(3)] [F#∆ 2X332(1)] [F∆ 1X2230]
*slide up to this from the fret below and then slide down.
©Mal Webb 2007