Song of the Day: One Hundred Dollars - Hell's a Place

I first came across this song when it was podcasted by CBC Radio 3's New Music Canada Track of the Day. It got set aside in my "fave track of the days" playlist and faded into the background of my 9-5 existence until I accidentally saw them live in Toronto when One Hundred Dollars opened for a Catl CD release party.

They have since become one of my favourite live acts. Lead singer Simone Schmidt delivers an intimate and emotionally charged performance that has brought me to tears more than once.

Their album, Forrest of Tears, made the long list for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize and is definitely worth checking out.

I'm posting about them in honour of their current and first tour of Western Canada. Unfortunately they won't be making it to Victoria this time, but they are playing tonight in Vancouver, so go check it out if you're in the area.

Hell's a Place is their crowd pleasing hit single, and you can stream it from CBC Radio 3, or download the podcast from CBC Radio 3 or by using iTunes.

Now, if you're like me, when a song gets into your head (and body, and soul), sometimes the only remedy is banging it out on the guitar.

So with some careful listening and a little help from the internet, I have come up with a close approximation of the lyrics and chord progression, which I will now share with you in case, after hearing the song, you fall under its powers the way I did.

The song follows an ABAB pattern, using an Am/Dm/F/Em progression for the A sections and a F/Am/Dm/Em progression for the B sections. Use Am for the intro and interludes. I've used a classic country boom-chuck (base-strum) rhythm with alternating base notes, but feel free to do anything that feels right and sounds cool.



One Hundred Dollars - Hell's a Place

Your eyes are scornful
And ours will be black
If we don't get our shit together and get track
Out from the mountains
Away from the West
Rumour has it there's a village where we can rest

It don't matter if our love is true
Them bigots have it out for girls like me and you
Their morals rain from that God up above
And according to him, Hell's a place for our love

Thumbs out at Quesnel
Through Vedder Crossing
Memories harden like the earth beneath the stranger's tires
They spare us guns of war, then,
They beat us in our homes
Convinced our interlocked legs are fuel for fire

If we don't make it I'll meet you in Hell
Where the hot, hot heat of our love can swell
Higher than the ego of righteous men
And larger than the expanse of this goddamned land

Now six days travelled
We just reached Broadview
I couldn't have another trucker's hand run up my thigh
He struggled sluggishly
You took the wheel
His breath cut short by CV radio wire

Don't worry, darling, 'bout the fires we'll meet
Heaven would have burned up with our hot heat
Don't worry, darling, it'll all turn out well
We'll get to that village, or I'll love you in Hell

Check out One Hundred Dollars:
CBC Radio 3
Blogspot
MySpace