Katy Bar The Door

© June 2011 Fort Creek Songs

Welcome back to my continued attempt to keep this blog going 

with my "These Are The Songs I've Written In The Past Few 

Years" series. I gotta get a better title for this series. 

When I looked at the the "written on" date for this one I 

was mildly surprised to see this song is a year old already. 

The reason for that surprise being that Porter has just played 

this song live for the first time at our last gig on June 2nd 

so it still feels like a new song. 

"Katy bar the door" is a phrase meaning "get ready! Shit is about

to go down!"  I took it and wrote a song about a woman name Katy.

Here's the suspected origin from Wikipedia: 

Catherine Douglas, later Catherine "Kate" Barlass, was a historical figure who tried to prevent the assassination of King James I of Scotland on February 20, 1437. She was a lady-in-waiting to his queen, Joan Beaufort.
She was a member of the powerful Clan Douglas. Her mother was a daughter of David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford and his wife Elizabeth Stewart daughter of Robert II, making her a first cousin once removed of the King.
Legend has it that during the King's stay at a Dominican chapterhouse in Perth, a group of men led by Sir Robert Graham came to the door searching for the King in order to kill him. The King's Chamberlain, Robert Stewart, Master of Atholl, aware of the plot against his life, had taken the precaution of removing the bolt from the door of the room in which James and his queen were staying.
James fled into a sewer tunnel as the queen and her ladies quickly replaced the floorboards to hide his location.^[1] Catherine sprang to the door and placed her arm through the staples to bar the assassins' entrance.^[2] However, they forced the door open anyway, breaking Catherine's arm, and discovered and killed the King. From that point on, according to the story, Catherine took the surname of "Barlass".

The chords are based on an Irish Jig (they're pretty much "Irish 

Washerwoman"). This one is played on the banjo.  I really 

like the lyrics to this tune.  Greek Mythology, sailing jargon 

and fire policies of the ancient Romans (they wouldn't put out

your house fire till you paid them) are all woven in there. 

June 02 '11

G                                                  Am              D

Katy bar the door.  There's trouble rising up.

G                                                                    C     D 

The bills have all come due and your fathers in his cups. 

G                                           Am                  D 

Take your silver coin and bury it in the field.

G                                      D                               G               C      G 

Your thread of life has not been cut. The Fates have yet to yield. 

Chorus:

G                              D

Katy bar the door Katy bar the door 

C                   G       D             G              C         D      G 

Take your silver coin my dear and hide it in the field.
Katy bar the door
Katy bar the door
If you want to get to heaven you'll just have to wait in line.
 
 
Jonah reef the sail.  Be ready.  Deploy the drogue.
The wind is howling wild and there's water in the hold.
The captain's overboard and above the din he cries:
"Who goes to sea for pleasure would go to hell to pass the time."
 
 
Jonah reef the sail
Jonah reef the sail
Who goes to sea for pleasure'd go to hell to pass the time.
Jonah reef the sail
Jonah reef the sail
If you want to get to heaven you'll just have to wait in line.

Bridge:

Sing a bunch of Oooohs over

Am Em F G x 2

Em Bm C D

Opening Riff 

 
Katy bar the door
There's trouble on it's way
The fire licks the trees and devours bales of hay.
Fire brigade is here but have yet to form a line.
Pay the chief his asking price.  You're running out of time.
 
Katy bar the door
Katy bar the door
Pay the chief his price because you're running out of time.
Jonah reef the sail
Jonah reef the sail
Who goes to sea for pleasure'd go to hell to pass the time.
Katy bar the door
Katy bar the door
Take your silver coin my dear and hide it in the field.
Katy bar the door
Katy bar the door
If you want to get to heaven you'll just have to wait in line.