2007 Song of the Day #6 – Independence Day (Ani DiFranco)

In some prior July, possibly as many as nine years ago, I resolved to record Ani DiFranco’s “Independence Day” and post it on my website on the Fourth of July. Not on any other day, mind you – then it wouldn’t count.

Think about that – I’ve been procrastinating on this since I was a teenager … maybe since I’ve been in high school!

I’m happy to finally present you with my cover of Ani DiFranco’s “Independence Day,” from Little Plastic Castle.

If you want chords, performance notes, and lyrics, keep reading.

I originally figured out these chords by ear in 1998, though they were eventually confirmed by Ani’s official sheet music.

Tune to E B B F# B E – raise your A string one whole step to B. Lower your D string until it is also the same B. Lower your G string one half step to F# – you can match it to the 7th fret of either B.

Ani plays this song without a capo. However, baritones will find her melody to be too high without using falsetto (it reaches an A), and singing it an octave lower bottoms out on frequent bass G#s and As.

For me, neither of those options are ideal for singing lead. On this recording I capo up to III and sing an octave lower – rendering the range of the song from a baritone B to a middle C. If you are a male singer, you may want to try the song ranging from open up to capo VII to find the most comfortable spot in your range.

If Ani’s vocal is only slightly too high for you, try playing the song a whole step lower in DAAEAD.

Actual Chords in EBBF#BE:
Verse: 005500, 7×7700, 9×9900, 999000, 777000
Break: 000000, 333000, 555000

Approximate chords in standard tuning:
Verse: E5 as 022×00 or 079900, Bs4 as x24400, C#m7 as x46600, Bs4, As2 as x02200
Break: E5, G6 as 355000, As2 as 577600

I used a Boss TR-2 Tremolo pedal on this recording to try to match the sound of the original, though I didn’t use settings as strong as Ani (who was probably getting tremolo out of a vintage amp, rather than a pedal).

I set my pedal’s Rate slightly above middle (@ 1’o’clock), and its Wave and Depth even less above middle.

I took some justice with (i.e. forgot) some of the connecting words and, apparently, the difference between the first and last verses. (To be fair, I would never drink warm beer, so I was just making the song my own.)

The lyrics below are the official version from the sheet music book, adapted from Danah.org, which features a full archive of Ani lyrics as curated by an awesome PhD student with an interesting blog.

we drove the car
to the top of the parking ramp
4th of july
sat out on the hood
with a couple of warm beers
and watched the fireworks
explode in the sky
there was an exodus of birds from the trees
cuz they didnt know
we were only pretending
and the people all looked up and looked pleased
and the birds flew around
like the whole world was ending

and i don’t think war is noble
and i don’t like to think that love is like war
but i got a big hot cherry bomb
and i wanna slip it through the mail slot
of your front door

you can’t leave me here
i’ve got your back now
you’d better have mine
cuz you say the coast is clear
but you say that all the time

so many sheep i quit counting
sleepless and embarrassed
about the way that i feel
trying to make mole hills out of mountains
building base camp at the bottom
of a really big deal
did i ever tell you how i stopped eating
when you stopped calling me
and i was cramped up
and shitting rivers for weeks
and pretending that i was finally free

and you can’t leave me here
now that you’re back
you’d better stay this time
cuz you say the coast is clear
but you say that all the time

we drove the car
to the top of the parking ramp,
on the 4th of july
and i planted my dusty boots on the bumper
sat out on the hood
and looked up at the sky