Choukoun (also called Choucoune)

Complete instructions, chords, complete lyrics, pronouncing guide & translation, plus poetic analysis by me are included with the tab. There's also instructions on how to do the Calypso strum, and a discussion of the political and literary significance of this masterpiece, little known outside of Haiti.

The lyrics alone are nearly impossible to find on the Internet, let alone a reasonable tab.  I'm hoping to soon put up a video; until then, this will have to do.  It's one of my two or three favorite songs.  But it's so well-known in Haiti that no one performs it in it's "pure" version any more.  All that can be found on the Internet are "jazzed-up" versions that don't show what the original song was like.

The closest to the original version I have found was performed by Nancy Ames in the 1960s, and released on her album This Is the Girl That Is, under the title "Choucoune".  Musically, it's perfect, and her kreyòl isn't bad, but the lyrics aren't right-- she leaves out some of the verses, as do all modern Haitian recordings.  That's not surprising.  How often do you  hear all the verses of The Star-Spangled Banner?   Out of respect for a work of true genius, I have included ALL the words.

The lyrics were originally written as a poem by Haitian poet Durand Oswald* in 1883, inspired by actual events in his life.  "Choukoun" was a real woman, though we do not know her true name.  The word, "choukoun" means "like a cukoo," a bird which lays its eggs in the nests of other bird species, and therefore symbolizes both infidelity and interracial sex.  Ten years later, in 1893, the poem was set to music by Haitian pianist/composer Mauleart Monton Michel*, and became an instant hit.  In the 1930s, with the popularity of folk music in the United States, it became the basis for several popular tunes, including "Yellow Bird" and "Don't Ever Love Me." 

linguistic notes:

1.  NAMES:  Traditionally, Haitians give their family name first, and given name last.  Thus, the poet would be called Oswald Duran in most Western cultures, and the composer, Michel Mauleart-Monton.  Knowing this, educated Haitians habitually give their given name first when speaking to foreigners.  Unfortunately, many Haitian family names sound like given names to English-speakers, and vice-versa.  If the foreigners are sophisticated and know about Haitian name order, this can cause even more confusion.  To avoid such confusion, I give Haitian names in Haitian order, and add an asterix (*) after the name to show it is family-name-first.

2.  CAPITALIZATION:  You will notice that I fail to capitalize many words in kreyòl, such as the names of countries, languages, etc.  These are not errors.  In kreyòl, only the names of people are capitalized, and sometimes, the first word of a sentence.  Many kreyòl-speakers, even highly educated ones who speak, read, and write English, French, and Spanish, never capitalize anything in kreyòl.  To make life easier for the majority of my readers, I have capitalized the beginning of sentences and the first word in each line of the lyrics, as well as the kreyòl word for French--  "Franse"-- even though they would not normally be capitalized in kreyòl.  For my kreyòl-speaking friends, I beg your forgiveness.  My purpose is not to teach the language, which I am not qualified to do, but just to give my English-speaking readers a "taste" of the masterpiece that this song is.

Come, Follow Me

This is a really pretty song, with lots of cool chords.  I love the lyrics, too, except for the second verse.  If anyone who reads this can define the word “effulgent” or use it in a sentence in such a way as to indicate the meaning, WITHOUT looking it up first, please email me or comment on this post.  The other five verses are wonderful, and can get along just fine without verse two.  Maybe even better.

This is intended as a guitar solo, but can be used to back up singers or a lead instrument.  I have arranged it as one verse of mostly chords, in 3/4 tempo, for an introduction or accompaniment, and a second verse of more lyrical playing in 6/8, which could be used as a bridge between sung verses.  [That’s an excuse.  I really just couldn’t decide which version I liked better.--Don]

Both versions use lots of barre chords, even some unusual ones.  The trick is to practice until you can make it sound easy.  The first verse is very straightforward.  Just strum the chords and pluck the individual notes as tabbed.  It may not be easy to hit all the chords as quickly as called for, but there is nothing complicated about the tab.  If you find it hard to play the descending chord progression   BVII - CVIII - GVII - AmV smoothly or rapidly enough, try substituting the 3-string version   Bvii* - CVIII* - GVII* - AmV*  from the second verse.  It’ll be much easier, and will sound nearly as good to the audience (because they won’t know what they are missing).

The second verse involves pattern picks, whic are a little more elaborate than strummed chords, but the chords are almost exactly the same.  The only differences are in the second line of each verse.  I have chosen to use the full, five- or six-string versions of the chords in the descending chord progression in the last line of the first verse, and the three- or four-string versions in the second verse, but they need not be played like that.  Either way will work just fine in either place. 
If you are playing this as a solo instrumental, two verses will likely not be enough, as they are very short.  You may want to create a third verse by combining the other two verses.  You can base it on the second verse, but with added chords.  One good way to do this is to play the chords as pinches, instead of strumming them, at least part of the time.  Or, you can base an extra verse on the first verse, but with some pattern picking added for variety.  Once you have mastered the two verses shown here, it’s not difficult to combine them.

Softly and Tenderly, Jesus is Calling

By Will Thompson, but in public domain. One of the best-beloved hymns of the English-speaking world.

The Legend:

When world-renowned evangelist Michael Moody lay on his death-bed, he called his friend Will Thompson to his side, and whispered, "Will, I would rather have written "Softly and Tenderly" than anything I have done." The song holds a prominent place in nearly every Protestant hymnal in the world, and has been translated into many languages. Nearly every Gospel recording artist has covered it, but perhaps the best-known version (and my personal favorite) was done by Elvis Presley.

The Tablature:

Play this song SLOWLY! The melodies and harmonies are sweet, but if the bar chords are too much for you, play just the first 4 strings, and it'll still sound good. You can also leave out the ligados (hammer-ons and pull-offs) and the tremolo at the end, if you don't know how to do them. For those who just want the absolute basics, you can also leave out the last three notes in the first line, holding the G chord for two measures, to compensate.

This song sounds good on any kind of guitar, from classical to electric. You can play the tab as a solo by itself, or as an introduction or a bridge if accompanying a singer. For accompaniment, I have found it very effective to just strum the chords at the beginning of each measure, holding each chord for a full count of 3, while letting the voice carry the melody. I also like to use the guitar solo for a fourth verse, or sometimes let the guitar solo carry one or more of the choruses. This song has lots of possibilities!

Called to Serve

Public domain. This is about as close to the version in the hymnal as I can get it, with no extra notes. It's a fun tune to play! Written in the key of C major, too, so the chords are easy, too. Sounds good on an electric guitar, with lots of fuzz.

About the tablature

There is no recognized standard for how to write guitar tablature. I use an underscore (4_5) to indicate any ligado, either a hammer-on or a pull-off. I find it makes the tab easier to read than cluttering it up with the letters h (4h5) or p (5p4), and it's obvious which is meant. I use vertical lines for measures, and write time signatures outside the staff. Two lower case o's, placed vertically on the #3 and #4 strings, inside the staff, are a repeat sign. I use a zig-zag, vertical line at the left of a chord, to indicate a strum. All strums are down unless otherwise stated, or noted with the letters u or d above the staff. Chords tabbed without the zig-zag line are to be plucked or pinched, unless otherwise specified. If all chords in a section are to be strummed, I indicate that with a note, and leave out the zig-zag lines. Slow strums are tabbed note by note. Harmonics are indicated with an exclamation point: !12, double harmonics with two exclamation points: !!7. Double vertical lines indicate the end of the song.

Where the abundance of strummed chords makes the tab too busy for easy reading, I have employed several strategies. Sometimes, I write “All chords are strummed” at the beginning of the song. Where the same chord is strummed repeatedly, I may leave out the numbers, after the first strum, and use only the zig-zag lines. Spaces between notes do not usually indicate length of the note-- they are only added to allow the printed words to fit better. Except where the notes indicate a slow strum, I always allow at least one space (hyphen) between notes.

About the chords

Where possible, I include “standard” chord charts at the end of each song, with the chords in the order of their appearance in that song. Some tab artists write out chords like this:
C: x32010, meaning the sixth string is not played, the fifth string is fretted in the third space, etc. This takes a great deal less room than standard charts, but lacks the visual element, is confusing to beginners, and somewhat duplicates the chords as shown (vertically) in the tablature. I try to avoid such, but do use them occasionally.

I use a lot of barre chords. Selection of which voicing of a chord to use often brings out the melody. To distinguish voicings of the same chord, I use Roman numerals in smaller type after the chord name, to indicate the chord's position (where the barre goes.) For example, the C major chord is normally played without a bar, but is sometimes played as an A barred in the third space (A III), or an E barred in the eighth space (E VIII).