Chords for "Phenomenal Cat"

Date: August 30, 1997  4:24 PM
From: Harlan Leslie Thompson


PHENOMENAL CAT- The Kinks

(FLUTE PLAYS OVER:) C    Bb    F       D  G  D  G

   D          G    D          D       G    D
A long, long time ago, in a land of idiot boys
       G         D       F         C
There lived the cat, a phenomenal cat
     Bb                  F
Who loved to wallow all day 

No one bothered him as he sat, content in his tree 
He just lived to eat cos it kept him fat
And that's how he wanted to stay 

CHORUS #1:
 Dm                    A            C                 Fsus4 F
Though he was big and fat, all the world was good to him
         Dm                A           C            Fsus4
And he pointed out on the map all the places he had been
 Dm      Dm/G    Dm/F Dm/E      Dm     Dm/C      Dm/Bb   A
Cowes, Sardinia, Katmandu, The Scilly Isles and Sahara, too

Fum, fum, diddle-um di
La la la la, la-la la la
La la la la, la-la la la la
La la la la-la la la

CHORUS #2:
Once when he was thin, he had flown to old Hong Kong
And had learned the secret of life, and the sea and the sky beyond 
So he gave up his diet and sat in a tree
And ate himself through eternity 

Fum, fum, diddle-um di
La la la la la-la la la
La la la la, la-la la la la
La la la la-la la la
Fum, fum, diddle-um di
Fum, fum, diddle-um di



CHORDS:
Dm/G: x x x 0 3 1  Dm/F: x x 3 2 3 1  Dm/E: x x 2 2 3 1 
Dm/C: x 3 0 2 3 1  Dm/Bb: x 1 0 2 3 1 


NOTE:  The only difference with the previous version is the little intro.
Of course you really need a flute to make it recognizable.


Date: Sept. 23, 2000 5:01 PM
From: colum


So many of the Kinks tabs that you provide correct as far as the chords,
but the voicing sounds much better, and the songs are actually easier to
play by using a capo. Try, for instance, "Phenomenal Cat" with a capo in
the fifth fret. Play a Dmaj by using the Amaj formation, and Gmaj by
forming a Dmaj chord. The ascending bass line in the chorus sounds
better, because you can play fuller chords, and is also easier to play.
    "Big Black Smoke" is played with the capo on the seventh fret "Days"
on the fifth, etc. They obviously are not all played with a Capo (i.e.
"Midday Sun"), but whenever you get into those crazy chord formations,
experiment with it. It is a useful and vastly overlooked tool.
    I initially discovered this, quite simply, because Ray's register is
often hard for me to match, and whenever that happens, out comes the
capo, the easiest way to transpose. Try it and tell me what you
think....