Difficult Age

(Partridge)

Recordings Art Lyrics Chords and Tablature

Recordings

1. Demo version.
   Recorded on 12 April 1990.
   Released in 1992 on the The Bull with the Golden Guts cassette.

   Andy: “Aimed at the ‘Nonsuch’ sessions, but for some reason I never gave Colin and Dave the demo. Perhaps it was too close a cousin of ‘Blue Overall’. A touch of the autobiographicals going on here.”

   Also released in September 2004 on Fuzzy Warbles Volume Six in the U.K.

   Andy: “It's just occurred to me, you've entered masturbators corner with ‘In My Hand’, ‘Difficult Age’, ‘Pink Thing’ and ‘Shaking Skin House’ in a row. I've given too much away, the guilt. The guilt. Dating from 12th April 1990, this pulsating piece of perturbed pondering was aimed at Nonsuch, what an even longer album that could have been. But honestly, what age isn't difficult? The Devonian was particularly tough.”

Art

Lyrics

Difficult age
You're just fourteen
And you're not friends with your body
Painfully thin
Look at your skin
Play with yourself for a hobby

How can they love a man who does that to himself?

Difficult age
Turn on the page
Have that wee drink in the meantime

Difficult age
Now you're eighteen
Here's all the freedoms you wanted
All the best clothes
A looker who goes
At the size of your wage packet flaunted

How can they love a man who does that to himself?

Difficult age
Turn on the page
And have that wee drink in the meantime

Difficult age
He's twenty-nine
Thirty just lurks 'round the corner
Settled for life
Nice kids and wife
Pull out a plum like Jack Horner

Difficult age
Turn on the page
Have that wee drink in the meantime

Difficult age
Now thirty-eight
And you're not friends with your body
Wish you were thin
Look at your skin
Wasting yourself for a hobby

And how can they love a man who does that to himself?

[Thanks to Dave Franson]

Chords and Tablature

Date: Wed, 13 Nov 91 12:55:46 PST
From: wilson (at) psylo dot enet dot dec dot com
Subject: "When You're Near Me" Chords


Hi, musical Chalkhillians...this is my feeble attempt to
describe the chords for:

*When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty*

(Strum G chord once, followed by solo in G maj scale)

G-G-D-G A-A-E-A (played as notes on the two lowest bass strings
[E,A], starting on 3rd fret)

(1.)
When you're near me I have difficulty respirating
C           Bmin           G          Amin  C  Bmin  G  Amin

When you're near me I have difficulty concentrating
C           Bmin           G          Amin  C  Bmin  G  Amin

G-G-D-G A-A-E-A

When you're near me I have difficulty standing upright
C           Bmin           G          Amin     C  Bmin  G  Amin

When you're near me I have difficulty sleeping at night
C           Bmin           G          Amin     C  Bmin

(2.)
I used to stand proud like a sphinx
Bflt            F

In a noble, immovable state
Bflt          F

Then your heart nailed me under a jinx
Bflt                      F

Now I feel like a jellyfish
F min (arpeggio style)

Just a spineless, wobbly jellyfish

And it's great...great...so great....
         (some weird [diminished?] chords here; just move
          one finger & see what you get!)

REPEAT (1.), then (2.) "I used to stand tall like a pine," etc.)

I used to be an ice man (ice man), living in an ice man town
F#min                              E

So I'm warning all you cool cool icemen
F#min

Better be prepared to be melted right down
E

Dow-own dow-own down down down down
D   A   G   A   G    D         A

Dow-own dow-own down down down down
D   A   G   A   G    D         A

SOLO,
then final verse simply changes key up one fret
(easier to understand if you play barre chords)

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