Parties in the USA by Jonathan Richman from the CD “I, Jonathan”

The song is the same riff all the way through. It goes like this

or if you prefer just the backing chords
(NB it is the same as the riff to Louis Louis, I think)

The words are:

Hi, everybody! I’m from the Sixties.
The time of Louie Louie and little Latin Loopy Lou.
And I know we can’t have those times back again,
But we can have parties,
Like there were then,
We need more parties in the USA,
We need more parties in the USA.

Could there be block parties about which I don’t know?
Maybe they’re in neighbourhoods where I don’t go.
Could there be all these parties down some little lane
With potato chips sitting there and guitars playing?
We need more parties in the USA.

Well my friends were having a party ‘round about 9 O’clock,
(Round about 9 O’clock)
Down in Huntington Beach when the police knocked,
(when the police knocked)
Well, my friends were just quiet now.
They were just drinking coffee and talking (Ooooh)
When the officer said someone called up complaining everybody kept
walking.

He said, “Go home, go home, go home, go home,”
He said, “Go home, go home, go home,”

And that’s no good for parties in the USA,
That’s no good for pa pa pa pa Loopy Lou.
Oh no, no good for hang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on.

So people are staying home more, (Yeah)
Not having fun, (Oh)
A cold cold era has begun, has begun, (Hey!)
Now things were bad before, (Yeah)
There was lots of loneliness, (Oh)
But in 1965 things were not like this. (Hey)

When we had hang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on,
Oh, Oh, Yeah, And pa pa Loopy Lou.
Shake it shake it shake it Loopy.
Alright.

Well could there be block parties of which I know not?
Wild beach parties around some open flame?
I know there’s got to be parties, I bet there’s a lot.
But the USA has changed somehow that I can’t name.

He said, “Go home, go home, go home, go home,”
He said, “Go home, go home, go home,”
And that’s no good for parties in the USA,
No pa pa pa pa pa Loopy Lou.
Oh Yeah.

People are moving to California who hate the beach and things,
I think they’d rather watch TV than hear a real person sing,
Of course nowadays at parties you got louder stereo equipment,
So now if the parties too loud it’s like a radioactive shipment,
I say nowadays at parties for example you got louder stereo bass,
So now if the things too loud it’s like a toxic clean up case.
Well nowadays at parties well, they’ve got louder stereos right?
So now if it’s too loud it’s like a noxious chemical sight.

Well parties in the USA.
He said, “go home, go home, go home,”
oh oh yeah parties in the USA.

But these friends of mine in Huntington Beach,
They weren’t loud when the officers entered.
Like and these officers, man, they weren’t mellow,
I mean they were so un-centred.

They said “Go home, go home, go home,”
That’s no good for parties in the USA,
We need more pa pa pa pa Loopy Lou,
We need more shake it shake it shake it Loopy.
(Hey Hey Hey Hey)
We need more parties yeah, in the USA,
Alright, Yeah, shake it up, shake it up, shake it up, Aaaahh.

Transcribed by David Linley 17th February 1998.
Comments and mistakes to dal23@hermes.cam.ac.uk

standard tuning, barre chords

I wanna live close to downtown to be near my friends
I want to be close to them and still be out by the trees in the wind
Havin’ both will be hard to find I’m sure, but then ain’t that the way of
the world
I want the city, but I want the country, too.

( Tab from: http://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/j/jonathan_richman/city_vs_country_crd.html )
I wanna be with my friends by the fire and the starlight
But I want music, music in my life, Yes!
I want a bar-hopping music scene and I wanna pick from ten or fifteen
I want the city, but I want the country too.

Musical Interlude (same as verse)

My mind is quiet. When my thoughts are slow.
I’ve got to learn what I’m wanting to know

I need to live in the ancient world if I’m going to do what I want to do.
I want the city but I want the country too.

I’ll never have both moon and sun. But one never knows just one.
I want the city, but I want the country too.

Verse 1:
When there’s things to do not because you gotta
When you run for love not because you oughtta
When you trust your friends with no reason not ta (nada)
The joy I name shall not be tamed
And that summer feeling is gonna haunt you
One day in your life.
( Tab from: http://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/j/jonathan_richman/that_summer_feeling_crd.html )
When the cool of the pond makes you drop down on it
When the smell of the lawn makes you flop down on it
When the teenage car gets the cop down on it
The time is here for one more year
And that summer feeling is gonna haunt you
One day in your life.

That summer feeling That summer feeling
That summer feeling

Just repeat these chords for the rest of the song. It follows the same basic structure.

the chords- Dm (132000)
Am (012200)
Gm?(333300){Honestly have no idea what these are called
Fm?(555500){Call them what you like and have fun

( Tab from: http://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/j/jonathan_richman/egyptian_reggae_tab_ver_2.html )

e----------------------------------|
B----------------------------------|
G----------------------------------|
D-------0--0---------0-3-0---------| Repeat 2x
A---0-3------3-0--0-3------3-0-----|
E----------------------------------|

e---------------------------------------|
B---------------------------------------|
G---------------------------------------|
D---------------------------------------|
A---0-3------0-3--0-3-------0-3---------|
E--------3-3-6--------3-3-6-------------|

e------------------------|
B------------------------|
G--------0-0-------------|
D--0-0-3-----3-0---0-----|
A----------------3-------|
E------------------------|

and thats it, repeat as many times as you like!!