I Can't Feel At Home In This World Anymore

Hi,
The song of the week is 'I Can't Feel At Home In This World Anymore' (a.k.a. 'This World Is Not My Home') in the key of G. This song was recorded by the Carter Family in 1931, and since that time has been recorded by numerous old-time, bluegrass, and country artists: some of the bigger names including Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, Jim Reeves, Merle Haggard, and Ricky Skaggs.


Progression & Recordings
The chord progression I use for I Can't Feel At Home In This World Anymore is:
1141
1125
1141
11511

In the key of G: 1=G, 2=A, 4=C, and 5=D.

Jim & Jesse - key of F
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_6R-m000eM

(In the key of F: 1=F, 2=G, 4=Bb, and 5=C.)

Martina McBride (with Ricky Skaggs) - key of D: not exactly a bluegrass version of the song, but it has good mandolin breaks in it, and is played at a tempo that I prefer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ6ORipNOOI

(In the key of D: 1=D, 2=E, 4=G, 5=A.)

...but, alternatives for the 2nd line of the progression that I have heard on records and at jams include 

11155
Blue Highway - key of G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7GjNFQgpLw

1115
11255
and 1155.

And, in some versions, line 2 is played one of these ways for the verses of the song, and in a different way for the choruses, with breaks in some versions following the verse progression and in other versions following the chorus progression.

Compare these progressions with Prog. V6 on the Basic Chord Progressions Chart:
1141
1155
1141
1511

...and with the 3 most common chord progressions used for playing 'Leaning On The Everlasting Arms':

1144       1144       1144
1115       11155      1115
1144       1144       1144
11511      11511     1151


The 2 Chord
Notice in the versions of 'I Can't Feel At Home...' provided here how the harmony parts are affected by the presence or absence of the '2' chord in line 2 of the progression. For, unlike the 1,4, and 5 chords, the 2 chord has one note in it that is not part of the major scale. In the key of G, this note is a C#. (The notes of the G major scale are: G, A, B, C, D, E, and F#.) Relative to the G major scale, the number name for the C# note is #4.

If you find it doesn't come naturally to you to go to the C# note on the 2 chord measure when singing a tenor harmony part for this song in the key of G, try playing the following scale on your instrument: G, A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G until your ear becomes accustomed to hearing the 4th note of this scale in the context of the whole scale. (This is known as the 'G Lydian Scale': in place of the '4' in the major scale, it has a '#4'. The G Lydian Scale has the same notes as the D Major Scale, i.e., it has one more sharp in it than what the G Major Scale has.) The notes of the G Lydian Scale are the safest notes to play on your instrument during '2' chord measures that come up in a song that is in the key of G. 


Off-Chords
An informal name for chords other than the 1,4,and 5 that you will sometimes hear in bluegrass circles is 'off-chords'. The '2' chord is one of the two most commonly used major 'off-chords' in traditional bluegrass. The other one is the 'b7' (flat-seven) chord. I suggest making it a point to memorize the '2' and 'b7' chords for each of the keys that come up at the jam. Observe that '2' is a whole-step higher than '1', and that 'b7' is a whole-step lower than '1':

                   b7      1        2
Key of G:     F        G       A   (A = A,C#,E.)
Key of A      G        A       B   (B = B,D#,F#.)
Key of Bb    Ab       Bb     C   (C = C,E,G.)
Key of B      A         B      C#  (C# = C#,E#,G#)
Key of C      Bb       C       D   (D = D,F#,A)
Key of D      C         D       E   (E = E,G#,B)
Key of E      D         E       F#  (F# = F#,A#,C#)
Key of F       Eb       F       G   (G = G,B,D)

In each case, the middle note of the three notes that make up the '2' chord is the #4 note, which when substituted in place of the 4th note of the Major Scale results in the Lydian Scale.


'2' & 'b7' Contrasted
Just as through experience with playing songs that have 1,4,and 5 chords in them, one learns to readily distinguish the sound of the progression 1-4-1 from the sound of the progression 1-5-1, and to detect when a chord is being played that is other than the 1, the 4, or the 5, so also, through experience with playing songs that have various 'off-chords' in them, one learns to be able to just as readily distinguish which 'off-chord' is being played. For starters, I suggest observing that songs that have only the '2' as an 'off-chord' in them tend to have a very different sounding type of melody than songs that have only the 'b7' as an off-chord in them.

Two other songs that regularly played at the jam that use a '2' chord are:
"Homestead On The Farm'  (a.k.a. 'I Wonder How The Old Folks Are At Home')                   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82_0ui4taWI (Mac Wiseman - key of A), and
'Cry Cry Darlin' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P0aM1Y7Tk0 (Bill Monroe - key of A.)

Compare and contrast the overall sound of the three songs provided here that have '2' chords in them with the overall sound of the following songs that have 'b7' chords in them instead: 

Old Joe Clark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1fOgvQSzOM

Little Willie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpvwPOp4nSQ

Love, Please Come Home
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wmeUHRDptk

A final point worthwhile taking notice of is that while the 'b7' chord is more often than not sandwiched between '1' chords, just like the '4' and '5' chords most often are, the '2' chord is almost always followed immediately by the '5' chord. 

​
Song List
17 songs were played at last night's jam:
Are You Missing Me - G
Ashes Of Love - G
Canaan's Land - A
Cherokee Shuffle - A
Clinch Mountain Backstep - A
I Can't Feel At Home In This World Anymore (x2) - G
Little Liza Jane - D
Reuben - D
Temperance Reel - G
Why Don't You Tell Me So - G
Fireball Mail - G
Lonesome Feeling - C
99 Years And One Dark Day - G
I've Endured - C
Bill Cheatham - A
I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand - A
Cripple Creek - A

Happy Pickin',
Jason

I Can't Feel At Home - banjo tab
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I Can't Feel At Home - guitar tab
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I Can't Feel At Home - mandolin tab
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I Can't Feel At Home - melody in G
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