One Day at a Time

Author: Leonard Latest revision: May 6, 2023
Notes: With its heavenly arpeggios and wonderfully varied motifs, this song arguably even trumps ‘Father and Son‘ in granting complete closure to the state of mind. Its wholesomeness is probably also due to the arpeggio-style playing throughout the song, with the softness of the thumb no less. Cat’s spiel on alternate bass notes and descending bass lines, as well as his special chords, also delight to play on any acoustic guitar. This is a true masterpiece of Cat’s later work.
Each guitar tab is the author’s own work and represents his or her own interpretation of the song.
Visitors may use the guitar tabs offered here only for private study, scholarship, or research.

                 
                   "One Day at a Time"
                 by Yusuf / Cat Stevens
                        
                 from the original album
                   AN OTHER CUP (2006)
   
  
Standard tuning
(bass to treble) E-A-D-G-B-E

in 4/4 time


INTRO                                                   Note: Use your thumb for 
                                                              these consistent
     RIFF_____________________________                        arpeggio runs. 
     E         E/A     E         E/A     E         E/A   (2x)
     / . / . / . / .   / . / . / . / .   / . / . / . / .   
E| |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------| |
B| |---------0-------|---------0-------|---------0-------| |
G|.|-------1-------1-|-------1-------1-|-------1-------1-|.| Play
D|.|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|.| twice.
A| |---2-------0-----|---2-------0-----|---2-------0-----| |
E| |-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------| |


VERSE 1 (Continue arpeggio runs, which Cat sometimes varies with E/B.)

 E         E/A     E E/B  A2               (A2)             RIFF
One day at a time         we can learn to leave the past be-hind
 E         E/A     E E/B  A2               B4/A             E E/A  E E/B
One day at a time         we can look the future in the eye
 G           D/F# F#m               B  RIFFx2
One day at a time we can learn to live


BRIDGE 1
                                       FILL_____________________________
   Am     Am7        Am     Am7        D      D/G       D/F#  D/E    D
   / . / . / . / .   / . / . / . / .   / . / . / . / .   / . / . / . / . 
E|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|-----2-----2-----|
B|---1---1---1---1-|---1---1---1---1-|---3---3---3---3-|---3-----3-----0-|
G|-2-------0-------|-2-------0-------|-2-------0-------|-----------------|
D|-2---------------|-----------------|-0---------------|-4-----2-----0---|
A|-0---------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
E|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

Am         Am7          Am        Am7   FILL  Am   Am7  Am         Am7   FILL
     The gates of the garden are open,            wide      and trusting
Am      Am7        Am        Am7   FILL  Am      Am7    Am      Am7    FILL
     Seventy thou-sand will enter            of them without reckoning 


VERSE 2

 E         E/A     E E/A  A2               (A2)              RIFF
One day at a time         we can learn to leave our fears be-hind
 E         E/A     E E/B  A2                B4/A            E E/A  E E/B
One day at a time         we can stare our hopes in the eye  
 G           D/F# F#m               B  RIFF
One day at a time we can learn to live


LINK

  C            A2 A         C            A2 A
| /  /  /  / | /  /  /  / | /  /  /  / | /  /  /  / |
  C            A2 A         G            F2                G7/D
| /  /  /  / | /  /  /  / | /  /  /  / | /  /  /  / | /  /  /  / |


BRIDGE 2

  Am   Am7     Am   Am7     FILL___________________
| /  /  /  / | /  /  /  / | /  /  /  / | /  /  /  / |
Am       Am7     Am           Am7   FILL  Am   Am7   Am      Am7        FILL  RIFFx2
     And if you meet the eve-ning,            don't wait for the sun to rise


VERSE 3
    
 E         E/A     E E/A  A2                  (A2)      RIFF        
One day at a time         we can leave all treasures be-hind
 E         E/A     E E/B  A2                 Am*       E  E/A  E E/B       
One day at a time         we can watch the clocks un-wind
 C                 A  F               C      G        A           F
One day at a time        a child is born in-to this world, eyes blind
C         G  G4   G    A        Bb   F                   C     G       A            F
     One day he will find his sight     and glimpse a-nother kind of light to live by
C*        G     RIFFx2
     One day...


VERSE 4
   
 E         E/A     E E/A  A2             (A2)         RIFF   
One day at a time         we can put ma-chines behind
 E         E/A     E E/B  A2                Am*       E  E/A  E E/B      
One day at a time         we can learn how birds sur-vive
 G             D  F#m              B  RIFF
One day at a time we can learn to fly


OUTRO

  C            A            C            A
| /  /  /  / | /  /  /  / | /  /  /  / | /  /  /  / |
  RIFF___________________   E 
| /  /  /  / | /  /  /  / | /  /  /  / ||


 
CHORDS (in order of appearance)
======

 Note #1:  Arpeggios are the song's recurring playing
           technique. The arpeggio runs are mostly 
           played with the thumb only. Try to stay 
           consistent in your timing, hitting each
           note for the duration of an eight, and not
           skip ahead.

 Note #2:  The fingerpicking in the brige is done by
           thumb and index only. In order to hit mul-
           tiple strings at once with your thumb, 
           just roll your thumb a little upon descen-
           ding upon the strings.
           
 Note #3:  The playing pattern for the various A ar-
           peggios following the E major riff is al-
           ways the same, no matter the chord vari-
           ations, and played like so:

                A2               B4/A
                / . / . / . / .   / . / . / . / .  
             E|---------0-------|---------0-------|
             B|-------0-----0---|-------0-----0---|
             G|(2)--2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
             D|---2--------(2)--|---4-------------|
             A|-0---------------|-0---------------|
             E|-----------------|-----------------|

 Note #4:  The link, the last bits of verse 3 and the 
           outro share the same arpeggio-style play-
           ing pattern, not unlike noted above:

                C                 A2  A
                / . / . / . / .   / . / . / . / .  
             E|---------0-------|(0)------0-------|
             B|(1)----1-----1---|(0)----2-----2---|
             G|(0)--0-------0---|(2)--2-------2---|
             D|(2)2---------2---|(2)2---------2---|
             A|-3---------------|-0---------------|
             E|-----------------|-----------------|


   E      E/A     E/B     A2     B4/A      G     D/F# 
022100  x02100  x22100  x02200  x04200  320003  200232
-MRI--  --RI--  --IMR-  --IM--  --RI--  RM---L  T--IRM
                                
  F#m     B       Am      Am7      D      D/G    D/F#     D/E  
244222  x2444x  x02210  x02010  xx0232  xxx032  xx4232  xx2032
TRLIII  -TRRR-  --MRI-  --M-I-  ---IRM  ----RM  --LIRM  --I-RM
        -IRRR-
   C    -ILLL-    F2     G7/D     Am*     G4      Bb      C*
x32010          133001  xx0001  x07500  3x0013  x1333x  x32013
-RM-I-          TRL--I  -----I  --RI--  R---IL  -TRRR-  -RM-IL
                                                        -IRRR-
                                                        -ILLL-
Chord fingering:      T = thumb                
                      I = index finger
                      M = middle finger
                      R = ring finger
                      L = little finger

Tablature notation:   h = hammer-on
                      p = pull-off
                      ~ = vibrato
                    [ ] = natural harmonic (Harm.)
                      / = legato slide (gliss) up the fret
                      \ = legato slide (gliss) down the fret
                      ! = accentuate chord with great intensity
                      d = downward stroke
                      u = upward stroke



LYRICS ONLY
===========

One day at a time we can learn to leave the past behind
One day at a time we can look the future in the eye
One day at a time we can learn to live

The gates of the garden are open, wide and trusting
Seventy thousand will enter of them without reckoning 

One day at a time we can learn to leave our fears behind
One day at a time we can stare our hopes in the eye  
One day at a time we can learn to live

And if you meet the evening, don't wait for the sun to rise

One day at a time we can leave all treasures behind
One day at a time we can watch the clocks unwind
One day at a time a child is born into this world, eyes blind
One day he will find his sight and glimpse another kind of light to live by
One day...

One day at a time we can put machines behind
One day at a time we can learn how birds survive
One day at a time we can learn to fly

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