Name: Great American Scheme
Duration: 4 min 13 s
Channel: John R. Whitney
Description: A Band in a Box supported arrangement of a folk/country flavored tune.

Great American Scheme

John Robert Whitney

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A Band in a Box supported arrangement of a folk/country flavored tune.

folk singersongwriter multi instrumentalist songwriting band in a box

John Robert Whitney

John Robert Whitney is a singer/songwriter and professional conservationist from Western New York State (East Aurora/Buffalo).

Singer/Songwriter; multi-instrumentalist; folk, country, pop, blues, jazz, Gospel; professional conservationist

Song Info

Genre

Acoustic • Acoustic Folk

Charts

Peak #76

Peak in subgenre #23

Author

John R. Whitney

Rights

John R. Whitney

Uploaded

December 30, 2006

Track Files

MP3

MP3 3.9 MB • 128 kbps • 4:13

Story behind the song

This song is a commentary on the "Great American Dream." It's not all its cracked up to be as suggested by the switch from "dream" to "scheme" throughout the song. This is another piece accompanied by Band in a Box instrumentation rather than "live" instruments.

Lyrics

Amaj7             E
My wife and I got married 
                 Amaj7               E
Bought a house up on the hill
               Amaj7                 E
Now we work all day and half the night
                  C#m7                   B
To make enough can’t pay the bills
        A                       Esus/E
The Great American …. Scheme
        A                         E
The Great American Scheme

We settled in the suburbs
Had two kids and bought two cars
We spend our time racing ‘round the town
No time for walks or watching stars
The Great American …. Scheme
The Great American Scheme

                                   B                        C#m7
Refrain		We think we’re living well
                                                         B                   F#
                                But sometimes life’s a living hell?
                                             A                           Esus/E
                                It’s the Great American …. Scheme
                                         A                        E
                                The Great American Scheme

                                You live and then you die
                                No matter what you buy
                                It’s the Great American . . . Scheme
                                The Great American Scheme

Fix the faucet, paint the house
That’s what we’re supposed to do
Pay our taxes, shop the malls
Mow the grass and trim the hedges, too
It’s the Great American . . . Scheme
The Great American Scheme

Pay for braces and designer blue jeans
Save for college and the kids’ own wheels
If this is what it’s all about
I think we got a rotten deal
With the Great American . . . Scheme
The Great American Scheme

Refrain


Unpublished Work Copyright © 2002 John R. Whitney

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