Drop Baby Drop

Chord Confusion

Pineapple PrincessLeave a comment

 AHEM!

It has been brought to my attention (via Comments) that I have mistakenly confused one chord for another, and furthermore that I have committed this act in one of my songs in my 2014 song book.

Well, saaaaaah-ah-ah-REEE!!!!

I now realize that some players take their ukulele chords SERIOUSLY and others are just like, laid back, y’know?  “It looks like C plus A minor.” “It’s the G7 chord moved over one set of strings to the 4th, 3rd and 2nd.” “I bar everything so I don’t have sore fingers.” And more, oh yes! I have heard alot about how other players get by and get around.

The problem chord is in Drop Baby, Drop. I had it from the MUD4 Festival I attended in Lansing, Michigan last year. They had the chords used as A, Bm, Cm and E7. How was I to know that it was not actually Cm? The chord actually used has been identified as C#m. I did notice when I went looking for chords for Grow Old With You that it was the same key and used the same chords, except for one: C#m. For Drop Baby, Drop I changed it to Bm7 because I never play the 4th string in the 4th fret for the Bm chord. So I just looked up whatever the name would be for barring the second fret, and I got Bm7.

Logically, that would mean that the 4th fret barred would be Cm7, right? Wrong! Oh, so wrong!

THIS is the correct chord to play with Bm in Grow Old With You
Cm
This is NOT C minor.
Correct Cm
This IS the correct Cm chord. However, this is NOT used in Drop Baby, Drop or Grow Old With You.

Now, herein lies an even bigger source of confusion. Chord charts. They are a uke player’s best friend – or are they? The Kiwi one I am so fond of, has two different names for those chords, and also has a completely different configuration for C#m. Great!

What I wanted for Drop Baby, Drop
What I wanted for Drop Baby, Drop
Wrong chord to use, right name and everything though
Wrong chord to use, right name and everything though

So, WOW do I ever have a sheepish grin. I just spent a couple of days pouring over chord charts trying to figure them out. The easiest way to insert chords into Drop Baby, Drop is to use D6 and E6. Furthermore, Bm7 and D6 are the same, and E6 and C#m7 are the same as Dbm7. Wow: I just play them as 2nd fret barred and 4th fret barred!

The chords I prefer for Grow Old With You are A, Bm, C#m, D and E.

So the chord charts definitely contribute to chord confusion and chord name confusion.The one I am not using in the future will be Ukulele Chords by Ron Middlebrook. The only useful part of it left is the information for the Intros and Endings. The Kiwi online chord is still my go-to choice for chord boxes.

Sorry everyone! Corrections are underway!

Drop Baby Drop

Pineapple PrincessLeave a comment

This is an “Island” song, which was based in Hawaii, and is a mash-up of Frankie Valli’s Who Loves You Pretty Baby, with an original song, called Drop Baby Drop. I first heard it on a CD by the Langely Ukulele Ensemble in Langely, B.C. called Our Hawaiian Heart. It has been attributed to artist Eddy Grant, and has also been recorded by such well-known Hawaiian bands as The Manao Company, and The Mango Kingz.

The Manao Company, from their 2008 album, Island Style.

The Mango Kingz (my personal favorite):

What I like about this ukulele version of the song is the nice barred chords of the second and third chords. It makes it easy to play and has a nice jazz sound to it. It’s in the key of A, so you get to learn that key and the complimenting V7th is E7. The other chords are Bm and Cm, but you just play them as 2nd fret barred and 4th fret barred (it actually sounds better, too). The progression starts on A and goes to Cm then Bm, thenE7 and back to A. While progressing from Cm to Bm it’s nice to light on the 3rd fret barred for a nice step-down sound. So you would go A////, Cm///3rd fret, Bm////, E7////. I like to start with the Who loves you pretty baby section, then launch into the verses.

Drop Baby Drop

Intro: A  Cm  Bm   E7

[A] My heart does the [Cm] tango, with [Bm] every little move you [E7] make

[A] I love ya like a [Cm] mango, cause [Bm] we can make it every [E7] day

(That’s why you gotta) [A] Drop baby, [Cm] drop baby, [Bm] drop….[E7] drop all your love on me!

[A] Drop baby, [Cm] drop baby, [Bm] drop….[E7] Drop ’cause I’m hungry!

–

[A] My nights would be so [Cm] lonely, if [Bm] you should ever choose to [E7] go

[A] I’d live just like a [Cm] zombie, with [Bm] very little love to [E7] show

(That’s why you gotta) [A] Drop baby, [Cm] drop baby, [Bm] drop….[E7] drop all your love on me!

[A] Drop baby, [Cm] drop baby, [Bm] drop….[E7] Drop ’cause I’m hungry!

–

[A]  [Cm]  [Bm]  [E7]

–

Bridge:

[A] Who loves you [Cm] pretty baby? [Bm] Who’s gonna [E7] help you through the [A] night?

Who loves you [Cm] pretty mama? [Bm] Who’s always [E7] there to make it [A] right?

Who loves you? [Cm] Who loves you pretty [Bm] baby? [E7] Who loves you pretty [A] mama -[Cm] baby, [Bm] drop! [E7]

–

*You can repeat the first two verses again if you want. I enjoy starting with the Who loves you section, and then the first 2 verses.