Paul | Guitar Lessons and Performance - Paul Elwood

What a wonderful world

Chords and lyrics:

What a Wonderful World” is a song written by Bob Thiele (as “George Douglas”) and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released in 1967 as a single. It topped the pop chart in the United Kingdom, but performed poorly in the United States because Larry Newton, the president of ABC Records, disliked the song and refused to promote it.

After it was heard in the film Good Morning, Vietnam, it was reissued as a single in 1988, and rose to number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100. Armstrong’s recording was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

“The magic of the creative process is that there is no magic. Trust yourself to show up and do the work.” Seth Godin

Paul2026-03-16T19:13:47-04:00

How to play “When I Paint My Masterpiece”

Tabs, chords notation and lyrics:

When_I_Paint_My_Masterpiece

Dylan himself first recorded the song at New York’s Blue Rock Studio when he was backed by Leon Russell and session musicians, including Jesse Ed Davis on lead guitar. The recording sessions lasted from March 16 to 19, 1971, and also saw the recording of the 45 RPM single “Watching the River Flow”, released by CBS Records on June 3, 1971. Both songs appeared on Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II, released November 17, 1971, with Russell credited as the producer of the two songs.

During the March 1971 sessions at Blue Rock Studio, Dylan also recorded a solo version with slightly different lyrics, accompanying himself on piano. This version was released in 2013 on The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969–1971).

Dylan and The Band performed the song together live, in the early hours of January 1, 1972, at a New Year’s Eve concert by The Band; a recording was released as a bonus track on the 2001 CD reissue of The Band’s live album Rock of Ages.

Douglas Brinkley, while interviewing Dylan for the New York Times in 2020, noted that “When I Paint My Masterpiece” was a song that had grown on him over the years and asked Dylan why he had brought it “back to the […]

Paul2026-04-18T12:11:16-04:00

Don’t know why

Download the Chord/lyric sheet

“Don’t Know Why” is a song written and composed by Jesse Harris that originally appeared on his 1999 album, Jesse Harris & the Ferdinandos. A cover of the song was the debut single of American singer Norah Jones from her debut studio album, Come Away with Me (2002).

Jones’ version of “Don’t Know Why” was released on January 28, 2002, peaked at number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was a critical success. The single went on to win three Grammy Awards in 2003 for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. It remains Jones’s biggest hit single in the United States to date, and her only one to reach the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. “Don’t Know Why” was also a modest hit abroad, reaching number five in Australia, number 24 in New Zealand, and number 59 in the United Kingdom. The song was ranked number 459 in Blender magazine’s “500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born”.

Jones’ piano-playing has been compared to that of Floyd Cramer, having a “style and grace, a musical maturity not found in many keyboard players today.”

Your fretting hand is what you know, your picking hand is who you are

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Paul2026-03-19T14:54:27-04:00

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What a wonderful world

How to play “When I Paint My Masterpiece”

Don’t know why