Whats The Matter Here by 10000 Maniacs chord (text):

What's the Matter Here?   

10,000 Maniacs - My Tribe (1987 album)

Verse:
     G                        |
That young boy without a name  
G                             |
anywhere,   I'd know his face. 
G (Em*)                       |   * If solo acoustic, Em sounds better 
    In    the    city,              than just playing 4 bars of G, but    
G (Em)                        |     “do as you see fit.”
  The kid's my favorite. I’ve
C                             |
seen   him,   seen  him.
D                G            |
Oh, I see him every day.   
G                             |

G                             | G                                   | 
I’ve  seen  him   run outside   looking  for  a    place to hide 
G (Em)                        | G (Em)                              |
    from  his  father,          the kid half naked     made   me 
C                             | D                  G                |                 
say    to     myself,          “Oh, what's the matter here?"      
G                             |
                     I   am...
Chorus:
C                D             | G                (Em)              |
tired of the    ex-c-u-s-e-s    everybody  uses,       he's  their 
C                D             | G                                  |
kid,    (so) I   stay  out  of  it,                   but..
C                D             | G                (Em)              |
who     gave    you    the    right                   to    do   
C
this? 

Verse:
G
We live on Morgan Street, 
just  ten  feet  between. 
(Em)
     And  his  mother, 
I never see her,  but her
C                 
screams   and     curses,    
D                     G 
   I hear them every day.
G

G 
Threats like: "If you don't mind 
I  will  beat  on  your  behind," 
(Em)
    "Slap  you,             I’ll 
slap    you    silly."   Made me 
C                 
say-ay-ay-ay,              
D                       G 
“Oh, what's the matter here?!"       I’m..

Chorus 2:
C                D             G              (Em)       
tired of the exc-u-s-e-s       everybody uses,   he's your
C                D             G                    
kid,      (so)  do as you see fit,                  but
C                D             G              (Em)
get    this    through   that  I don't approve of what you
C                D             G
did    to your  own flesh and blood.
 
Solo: (over)  G  |C D |

Chorus 3:
C            D           G              (Em)        
I'm tired of the excuses everybody uses, he's your 
C            D           G
kid,     so do as you see fit, but
C            D           G              (Em)          
get this through that I don't approve   of what you 
C            D           G
did to your own flesh and blood.

Interlude:
Em          G            C           G
"If  you  don't sit in  your chair straight,  I’ll
Em          G            C           G
take  this  belt from   around  my  waist    and 
Em          G            C           G
don't  you  think  that  I   won't   use   it!" 

(chorus chords continued through end)
C                D             G               (Em)
Answer me  and take your time, what could be the awful crime he
C                D             G
could   do  at  so  young  an age?              And  if I’m the 
C                D             G               (Em)
only   witness  to your madness  offer me some words to balance 
C                D             G
out    what I  see  and what I hear.             Ohhh,    these
C                D             G               (Em)
cold       and  cruel        things  that you    do,      I sup(pose)
C                D             G
you do them  because he belongs to you.            And,   in-st(ead)
C                D                     G              (Em)
of love and the feeling of warmth, you offer him these cuts and sores that
C                D             G
don’t heal with time  or with age.                           
C                D             G
          And,   I    want     to  say    I           want    to 
(switch to chorus chords played like verse endings)
C                
say-ay-ay-ay
D                       G
“Oh, what’s the matter here?!”           But, I don’t dare
C                
say-ay-ay-ay
D                       G
   “What’s the matter here?!”             No, I don’t dare
C                
say-ay-ayyyyyyyy-ayyyyyyyyyy
D                       G (1 strum, let ring)
-AYYYYY!                it.
 
(End)

Notes:
I am shocked that this song isn’t available on major tab sites, so here’s a version
to get you started. This song can be played more accurately with a Capo on the 2nd
fret. However, I think it sounds great if played lower (matches my male vocals way
better anyway). 

Also, I found myself getting lazy and playing the C as a Cadd9 (x32030) and the Em
as Em7 (022030). Since the other chords are D (x00232) and G (320033), this makes
sense in switching as you can just leave you ring finger on the B (2nd) string the
entire time. Similarly, the Em can be played as Em7 for the same reason.

I made up the “interlude” section from memory without the CD to verify--so you may
be able to workout a better chord progression. If you do, please share the information.

Chords - suggested variants in parens “()”:
G       = 320003 (320033)
D       = x00232
C(add9) = x32010 (x32033 or x32030)
Em(7)   = 022000 (022033 or 022030)
                      
* note the 3 is always played on 2nd string if suggested chords used.

And, I say “suggested” because I play a regular C in the verses and use the add9
variant in the chorus when the pace picks up. I think this tab is more than helpful
towards getting you started and playing this great song. You can play around with the
chords to suite your own taste/flavor or to try to match 10,000 Maniacs more precisely.

Enjoy!
-Chris