Chord chart with lyrics Intro (Guiding Melody) | D | G | Bm | A | ×2 (Play motif above on glock & 12-string; soft pad underneath) Verse 1 [D] I caught the winter [G] bus past lettered streets and [D] grain, A choir of crosswalks [A] keeping gentle time. [Bm] There’s a bookstore on the [G] corner selling maps of [Em] rain, A zine about a [A] city learning how to rhyme. [D] We trade our thrifted [G] jackets like a secret [D] handshake, Spin records in a-[A]partments with a paper moon. [Bm] Someone tunes a [G] mandolin until the floorboards [Em] ache— The ceiling hosts the [A] stars, and we’re the afternoon. Pre-Chorus [G] Count the blocks like [A] measures, hum the [Bm] names out [A] loud, [G] Every alley has a [A] melody to [D] borrow. [D] Chorus (anthemic, add handclaps & synth arps) [D] O-ma-[A]ha— little [Bm] lantern, prairie [G] wide, beating like a [D] band. O-ma-[A]ha— open [G] market heart with [A] mitten-warm hands. [D] Sing for the [A] trains and the [Bm] library light, [G] Sing for the courtside [D] echoes at [A] night— [G] O-ma-[A]ha, O-ma-ha, You [G] make the small feel [A] tall and right. Verse 2 [D] Snow writes serif [G] letters on the river’s [D] edge, Telephone wires [A] hold the line breaks straight. [Bm] A coffeehouse [G] calendar, basement doors at [Em] eight— “Poems, three [A] bands, don’t be late.” [D] There’s a saddle-creek of [G] cables under every [D] show, Where kindness is the [A] monitor and grace the gain. [Bm] I used to live in [G] lakes and northern [Em] echo— Your chorus feels [A] familiar to my name. Pre-Chorus 2 [G] Hang a chord like [A] bunting from the [Bm] courthouse [A] dome, [G] Let the strings draw [A] circles in the [D] air. [D] Chorus (bigger: gang “O-ma-ha”s, octave lead) [D] O-ma-[A]ha— corner [Bm] bookshops turning [G] pages in the cold. [D] O-ma-[A]ha— neon [G] vowels where the [A] brave get told. [D] Sing for the [A] bricks and the [Bm] bus-stop choir, [G] Sing for the midnight [D] friends we [A] hire— [G] O-ma-[A]ha, O-ma-ha, You [G] lift the tune a [A] whole step higher. Bridge (drop to pad, then swell; delayed snare entry) [Bm] Maybe we’re just [G] travelers with back-packs [D] full of keys, [A] [Bm] Unlocking little [G] rooms in every [Em] town. [A] [Bm] When winter avenues [G] lean into the [D] breeze, [A] [Bm] They modulate the [G] gray to gold and [Em] crown. [A] Instrumental Refrain (Guiding Melody returns) | D | G | Bm | A | ×2 (Play the motif again; add string countermelody answering the last two notes) Final Chorus (largest: full kit, extra harmonies, floor toms) [D] O-ma-[A]ha— field-[Bm]notes bound in [G] corn-gold thread. [D] O-ma-[A]ha— street-[G]light halos [A] over every head. [D] Sing for the [A] rails and the [Bm] museum glass, [G] Sing for the games and the [D] late-night [A] laughs— [G] O-ma-[A]ha, O-ma-ha, I’m [G] passing through, but you [A] sound like home. [D] O-ma-[A]ha— keep the [G] chorus; I’ll write the [A] poem. (Tag: [D] O-ma-[A]ha… [G] O-ma-[A]ha…) Outro (soft reprise of motif) | D | G | Bm | A | D (hold)
