Mister Sam - Steely Dan
------------------------
Outtake from the Katy Lied sessions
Transcribed by Chris Castillo and Howard Wright
hakwright (at) gmail (dot) com
Many thanks to Chris for getting the transcription started, and for the
helpful discussions on some of the finer details.
Chord shapes for guitar have been chosen based on the original piano part
as much as the guitar part, trying to find a balance that gives the right
overall sound for each chord. Feel free to vary the shapes a bit if you
find voicings that you prefer.
I have used asterisks to denote some different voicings of the same chord
(e.g. Eadd2 and Eadd2*). This is either to find shapes that make the
transitions easier, or because a different chord voicing works slightly
better in some places.
If you want to keep things a bit simpler, then you can play any voicing
that works for that chord, but there are places where the changes in the
top notes of the chords create some subtle contrasting phrases, so worth
trying out the suggested voicings.
There are quite a few mu-major (add2) chords in this piece. The F#add2
and Eadd2 chords at the end of the introduction (and verse) are a bit of
a stretch on guitar, but work much more nicely on piano!
All chord shapes are given at the bottom.
Intro
-----
C#m7 D#m7 Eadd2 F#add2
Piano 3rds motif:
(C#) B9#11 F#add2* Eadd2*
E--------------------------------------------------------
B--4--6--4--6--4--6--4--6-----6--7--6--2-------0---------
G--5--6--5--6--5--6--5--6--6--6--8--6--3-------1---------
D--------------------------7-----------6-------4---------
A--------------------------------------------------------
E--------------------------------------------------------
Verse 1
-------
B F#m7 B F#m7 B F#m7 B F#m7
E Bm7 E Bm7 E Bm7 E F#m7*
He used to work here, in her garden, but he don't no more
E Bm7 E Bm7 E Bm7 E F#m7*
Spellbound by his posies, he caressed them on the greenhouse floor
Aadd2 G#m7 F#m7 G#m7 F#m7 G#m7 F#m7 D
She was the lady on the outside, such an elegant violet and
E Bm7 E Bm7 E Bm7 E F#m7*
He was the lowborn Cocker Spaniard that we all ignore
Chorus
------
Note: the first chorus has a slightly different chord (F#/C#) after the G#m7.
This could well be a mistake that was never fixed, since it was just a demo.
All other choruses have F#/B, so I have written it as F#/B throughout.
Bm7 C#m7 G#m7 F#/B E/A B/E E/A* F#m/A E/A* F#m/A
Mister Sam don't look so good no more
C#m7 D#m7 Eadd2 F#add2
I've never seen him cry out loud before
Piano 3rds motif (C# B9#11 F#add2* Eadd2*)
Verse 2
-------
B F#m7 B F#m7 B F#m7 B F#m7
E Bm7 E Bm7 E Bm7 E F#m7*
One lovely evening, left abandoned by her China man
E Bm7 E Bm7 E Bm7 E F#m7*
She on the rebound, she amazed him with her sleight of hand
Aadd2 G#m7 F#m7 G#m7 F#m7 G#m7 F#m7 D
Smoking fragrant opium wild gambling, all the signs of a lifetime of
E Bm7 E Bm7 E Bm7 E F#m7*
Leisure with no worries, every detail so precisely planned
Chorus
------
Bm7 C#m7 G#m7 F#/B E/A B/E E/A* F#m/A E/A* F#m/A
Mister Sam don't look so good no more
C#m7 D#m7 Eadd2 F#add2
I've never seen him cry out loud before
Piano 3rds motif (C# B9#11 F#add2* Eadd2*)
Interlude 2
-----------
B F#m7 B F#m7 B F#m7 B C#m7
C# G#m7 C# G#m7 C# G#m7 C# G#m7
Aadd2 G#m7 F#m7 G#m7 F#m7 G#m7 F#m7 D
Verse 3
-------
E Bm7 E Bm7 E Bm7 E F#m7*
Long past midnight, in the half light, just before the dawn
E Bm7 E Bm7 E Bm7 E F#m7*
Broken, sorry animal, by the greenhouse, on the southeast lawn
Aadd2 G#m7 F#m7 G#m7 F#m7 G#m7 F#m7 D
Standing, almost human, crying please, and the screams could be heard
E Bm7 E Bm7 E Bm7 E F#m7*
We are told, by a neighbor who was wakened by his tuneless song
Chorus
------
Bm7 C#m7 G#m7 F#/B E/A B/E E/A* F#m/A E/A* F#m/A
Mister Sam don't look so good no more
C#m7 D#m7 Eadd2 F#add2
I've never seen him cry out loud before
Piano 3rds motif (C# B9#11 F#add2* Eadd2*)
Chord shapes:
-------------
C#m7 D#m7 Eadd2 F#add2
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
x46454 x68676 x7x474 x9x696
For the intro section, and in the chorus, in order to have a steadily
rising note at the top of the first four chords above (as the piano
part has) you might want to mute the top string for the first two m7
chords and use x4645x and x6867x
C# B9#11 F#add2* Eadd2*
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
x4666x 7x766x 24632x 02410x
I find the F#add2* shape above pretty tough going, especially when you
need to change to it quickly and cleanly. To make your life easier you
could just play xx632x, or just a plain F# chord 24432x.
No such problems on the piano!
B F#m7 E Bm7 F#m7*
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
x2444x 24222x 0x2404 x24232 2x2220
For both the F#m7 (24222x) and Bm7 shapes above you can change the top
note to the 7th before changing to the next chord, giving a nice up and
down motif at the top of the chord sequence.
So for B F#m7 B: x2444x 24222x 24225x x2444x
For E Bm7 E: 0x2404 x24232 x24235 0x2404
Aadd2 G#m7 D
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
x0242x 46444x xx0232
F#/B E/A B/E E/A* F#m/A
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
x2432x x0210x 0x4442 x0x454 x0x675
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Last updated: April 2023
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