Ferry Across The Mersey - Gerry and the Pacemakers.

So me old mate Dogsbody asked for this one - knowing I'm a huge fan of all things Merseybeat, I didn't need too much persuading!

Ferry Across The Mersey - Gerry and the Pacemakers.

Hmm, maybe this should be filed under "intermediate songs" rather than easy songs....
Lot of barre chords, for sure - I've watched the video on youtube.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9M0nePM6eP0

Possibly there's an easier way to play this - more on that later.

Chords used.....

E.......x79997 - in the verses and choruses.
Bm7...x97777
G#m...466444
F#m...244222
B7.....224242
E*......022100 - use this version in the bridge with 2-3-4 fingering
F#7....242322
B7*....797877 - use this for the last chord in the bridge section.

OK, the intro riff first - I THINK this is pretty close to what Gerry's doing....
E Bm7 E Bm7
E |-------7-------7--|
B |---9---7---9---7--|
G |---9---7---9---7--|
D |---9---7---9---7--|
A |-7---9---7---9----|
E |------------------|

This pattern's repeated throughout the verses. It's a little tricky at first to play
it and sing at the same time, but it DOES get easier with practise.

Verse 1 - use intro riff throughout:

(E)Life(Bm7)(E) goes on (Bm7)day after (E)day, (Bm7)(E)(Bm7)
(E)Hearts(Bm7)(E) torn in (Bm7)every (E)way, (Bm7)(E)(Bm7)

Chorus:

So (E)ferry 'cross the (G#m)Mersey,
'Cause this (F#m)land's the place I (B7)love,
And here I'll (E)stay.(Bm7)(E)(Bm7) (Note; use the intro riff for the Em and B7 chords.)

Verse 2 - use intro riff throughout.

People they rush everywhere,
Each with their own secret care,

Chorus:

So (E)ferry 'cross the (G#m)Mersey,
'Cause this (F#m)land's the place I (B7)love,
And here I'll (E)stay. (Bm7)(E)(Bm7)(Note; use the intro riff for the Em and B7 chords.)

Bridge:

(F#m)People a(B7)round every (E*)corner,
(F#m)They seem to (B7)smile and (E*)say,
(F#m)We don't (B7) care what your (G#m)name is boy,
(F#7)We'll never turn you a(B7*)way....

Verse 3 - again, use the intro riff throughout.

So I'll continue to say,
Here I always will stay,

Chorus:

So (E)ferry 'cross the (G#m)Mersey,
'Cause this (F#m)land's the place I (B7)love,
and here I'll (E)stay, (Bm7)(E)(Bm7)(Note; use the intro riff for the Em and B7 chords,
and continue it through the next two lines, ending on an E chord.)
and here I'll stay,
Here I'll stay.

OK, that's as close as I can get to the original....but what about an easier version, I hear you say? Well - I tried transposing it, best I could come up with was Capo on fourth fret, start with a C chord....anyway, you know what they say, when in doubt, ask someone who knows what they're doing - so I PM'd David. Here's what he had to say.....
Okay, first thing I usually do is line up the chords like they would appear in a particular key, not to mention adding the "nondiatonic" chords (chords from outside the key). So for Ferry, we'd have

E F#m (F#7) G#m B7 (Bm7)

Your transposing for C works fine

C Dm (D7) Em G7 (Gm7)

You can make a Gm7 as shown in the Nowhere Man lesson, by wrapping the thumb around to both get the note at the third fret and to mute the A string (3x3333) or use your suggested fingering. That certainly works.

Another thing would be to use the key of D with capo on the second fret:

D Em (E7) F#m A7 (Am7)

To make it easier, substitute F#m7 for F#m, using the same idea for the Gm7 above (202222).

Another possibility that would be easy but require a little more care would be not use a capo but use chords from the key of E that play on the open strings of the guitar, kind of like in the lesson on Melissa:

E - either regular (022100) or Emaj7 (057670) or (0x7670)
F#m - (044200) (technically F#m7add4/E)
F#7 (044300) (technically F#7add4/E)
G#m (066400) (technically G#m6)
B7 regular (x21202)
Bm7 regular (x20202)

I'm used to playing these shapes a lot as they make for interesting arpeggios when playing solo and sound especially nice on the twelve string, so I understand that they may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Thank you, kind sir, for that.....

As always, anything you're not sure of, feel free to ask questions.....

:D :D :D

Vic