Leonard Cohen - One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong

leonard cohen’s “one of us cannot be wrong” , track 10 on “songs of leonard
cohen” , his 1967 debut album .

the other tab you’ll see online for this song is in the key of a major , and it
sounds that way on leonard cohen’s recording . but he uses a capo at the second
fret , and is fingering the “basic” set of open chords rather than playing any
barres . he probably does this because it’s more comfortable for him to sing in
the key of a major , but if your voice is flexible you can forgo the capo and
play “one of us cannot be wrong” in G major , thereby choosing easier
fingerings and getting more resonance from open strings . i fancy up the chords
a bit so as to be “juss a lil different , ” and i think it sounds good . but if
you prefer , you can play the simple familiar open chords , or whatever version
you like , just so long as the basic tonality ( major/minor and the correct
key/letter name ) is there .

major chords are traditionally written with an uppercase letter , and minor
chords with a lowercase letter . a number means “put that finger on that fret
and string” ( 1 = index , 2 = middle , 3 = ring , 4 = pinkey ) , and “x” means
“don’t play that string . ” all diagrams represent the first 3 or 4 frets of the
neck , and are shown with the low E string ( fattest string ) at the bottom .

G ( actually G5 . . . not strictly major or minor , and can function either way )
| – – – | – – – | – 4 – |
| – – – | – – – | – 3 – |
| – – – | – – – | – – – |
| – – – | – – – | – – – |
x | – – – | – – – | – – – |
| – – – | – – – | – 2 – |

A ( actually a minor 9 )
| – – – | – – – | – – – | – – – |
| – 1 – | – – – | – – – | – – – |
| – – – | – – – | – – – | – 4 – |
| – – – | – 2 – | – – – | – – – |
| – – – | – – – | – – – | – – – |
x | – – – | – – – | – – – | – – – |

C ( actually C add 11 )
| – – – | – – – | – – – |
| – o – | – – – | – – – |
| – – – | – – – | – – – |
| – – – | – – – | – o – |
| – – – | – – – | – o – |
x | – – – | – – – | – – – |

D ( sometimes i hammer on and off on the 2nd and 3rd fretts of the high E string ,
adding a suspended 4 or 2 )
| – – – | – o – | – – – |
| – – – | – – – | – o – |
| – – – | – o – | – – – |
| – – – | – – – | – – – |
x | – – – | – – – | – – – |
x | – – – | – – – | – – – |

E ( actually E minor 9 )
| – – – | – – – | – – – | – – – |
| – – – | – – – | – – – | – – – |
| – – – | – – – | – – – | – – – |
| – – – | – – – | – – – | – o – |
| – – – | – o – | – – – | – – – |
| – – – | – – – | – – – | – – – |

F ( actually F major 7 )
| – – – | – – – | – – – |
| – o – | – – – | – – – |
| – – – | – o – | – – – |
| – – – | – – – | – o – |
x | – – – | – – – | – – – |
x | – – – | – – – | – – – |

about the rhythm and strum pattern : leonard cohen fingerpicks this song in A 3/4
waltz – y rhythm . you don’t have to fingerpick it ( i don’t ) but it’s important to
keep that 3/4 time . each of the chord letters written under the lyrics represent
one of the “big beats” – – the “4” of the “3/4” ( think “1 . one two three , 2 . one
two three , 3 . one two three , 4 . one two three” ) . sing the lyrics in such a way
that the words fall into place when the chords sound ( as i’ve indicated ) , with
the chords played at an even beat and the triplet feel somehow preserved in your
improvised strum pattern . the chords and lyrics below have been spatially arranged
so that they make rhythmic sense .

it would be helpful to listen to the song , bearing in mind it will sound in A
different key ( a major ) than what you’re playing ( G major ) . of course , if you
have a capo , now would be the time to use it , on the 2nd frett .

i lit a thin green candle
G G A A

to make you jealous of me but the
C C G G

room just filled up with mosquitos they
G G A A

heard that my body was free then
C C D D

i took the dust of a long sleepless night and i
E E D D

put it in your little shoe and
C C G G

then i confess that i tortured the dress that you
A A F F

wore for the world to look through
A G F F

. . . . . . . . . . . i
G G G G

showed my heart to the doctor
G G A A

he said i just have to quit then
C C G G

he wrote himself a prescription and
G G A A

your name was mentioned in it then
C C D D

he locked himself in a library shelf with the
E E D D

details of our honeymoon and i
C C G G

hear from the nurse that he’s gotten much worse and his
A A F F

practice is all in a ruin
A G F F

. . . . . . . . . . . i
G G G G

heard of a saint who had loved you so i
A A G G

studied all night in his school he
C C G G

taught that the duty of lovers is to
G G A A

tarnish the golden rule and just
C C D D

when i was sure that his teachings were pure he
E E D D

drowned himself in the pool his
C C G G

body is gone but back here on the lawn his
A A F F

spirit continues to drool
A G F F

. . . . . . . . . . . an
G G G G

eskimo showed me a movie he’d
G G A A

recently taken of you the
C C G G

poor man could hardly stop shivering his
G G A A

lips and his fingers were blue i su –
C C D D

– pose that he froze when the wind took your clothes and i
E E D D

guess he just never got warm but you
C C G G

stand there so nice , in your blizzard of ice oh please
A A F F

let me come into the storm
A G F F

. . . . . . . . . .
G G G G

la la la la la la la *
G G A A

la la la la la la
C C G G

la la la la la la la la la
G G A A

la la la la la la la
C C D D

la la la la la la la la la la
E E D D

la la la la la la la
C C G G

la la la la la la la la la la la
A A F F

la la la la la la la la
A G F F

la
G G G G

la la la la la la la
G G A A

la la la la la la
C C G G

la la la la la la la la la ( starting to sound weird while it fades )
G G A A

la la la la la la la ( sounding really weird . . . screaming , basically )
C C D D

fade out

* sing “la la la” or whistle . . . l . C . overdubs both

this file represents solely matthew teigen’s own work –