Here's song that's good fun playing. It's the old disco hit by Gloria Gaynor and then covered by Cake amongst others.
The chords are A, Dm, G, C, F, B7, E, E (repeated all over).
I use all barre chords except the E which I play open and tend to strum it somewhat like this:
Du Ddu Du Ddu
1 2 3 4
I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor
Intro:
A Dm G C F B7 E E
A Dm
At first I was afraid, I was petrified
G C
I kept thinking I could never live without you by my side
F
But then I spent so many nights
B7
just thinking how you'd done me wrong
E(2)
And I grew strong I learned how to get along
A Dm
So now you're back from outer space
G C
I just walked in to find you here without the look upon
your face
F
I should have changed my f-ing lock
B7
I would have made you leave your key
E(2)
If I'd have known for just one second you'd be back to bother me
A Dm
Oh now go, walk out the door
G C
Just turn around now, you're not welcome anymore
F B7
Weren't you the one who tried to break me with desire
E(2)
Did you think I'd crumble, did you think I'd lay down and die
A Dm
Oh no, not I, I will survive
G C
As long as I know how to love I know I'll be alive
F B7
I've got all my life to live, I've got all my love to give
E
I will survive, I will survive. Yeah, yeah
A Dm
It took all the strength I had just not to fall apart
G C
I'm trying hard to mend the pieces of my broken heart
F B7
And I spent oh so many nights just feeling sorry for myself
E(2)
I used to cry but now I hold my head up high
A Dm
And you see me with somebody new
G C
I'm not that stupid little person still in love with you
F B7
And so you thought you'd just drop by and you expect me to be free
E(2)
But now I'm saving all my loving for someone who's loving me
Oh now go,
Walk out the door
Just turn around now
You're not welcome anymore
Weren't you the one who tried to break me with desire
Did you think I'd crumble
Did you think I'd lay down and die
Oh no, not I
I will survive
As long as I know how to love I know I'll be alive
I've got all my live to live
I've got all my love to give
I will survive
I will survive
Yeah, yeah
OK I learned a slightly different version that is very true to the song I remember (!)... but spent yesterday afternoon looking all over the internet and trying to scan in my printed version... only to end up completely SOL :evil: ... so no, I have no patience for tabbing out chords, please bear with me.
The version I learned starts with Am, then Dm and G (as above) but with the G split into G ("kept thinking I could never")then G7 ("live without you"), then Cmaj7 - which is like an E chord shifted over, with the index finger on the 2nd fret of the D string. The F chord is an F7 or F6 (3 or 4-finger F with top E string open) and the B7 is a B7(5), which is a funky 4-finger chord using the 2nd fret of the A and G strings and the 3rd fret of the D and B strings.
OK and then the last line of each verse is Esus4 and E, then Esus4 and E once more. Esus4 is an A chord moved down a string, to the 2nd fret of the G string.
I liked this song because it sounds great to fingerpick thru the first verse very slowly and then build up to strumming speed... sounds good on the acoustic BTW, think "disco flamenco".
To recap:
G7 320001
Cmaj7 332000
Fmaj7 x33210
B7(5) x23230
Esus4 022200
What if the Hokey Pokey IS what it's really all about?
~ why yes, I am available on youtube ~
http://www.youtube.com/stellabloo
Cool song! I have also been playing the cake version with the band. My brother does an excellent job playing the funky bass stuff and singing :shock:
Just a minorminor thing - I'm pretty sure the original Gloria Gaynor version uses a Bb chord at the end of each verse before the E7 whereas Cake uses a B chord :wink:
lars
...only thing I know how to do is to keep on keepin' on...
LARS kolberg http://www.facebook.com/sangerersomfolk
When I get around to it, I plan to put up a tab for a solo acoustic version of this complete with solo (the chorus turns out to be excellent chord-melody fodder). However, a few thoughts:
The basic chords are definitely Am Dm G C F B E. However, you can really jazz up the song (and, I believe, come closer to the sound of the original) by altering these chords a bit. For Dm, I play
Dm7: xx0211
For the C, I play two beats of the normal C chord:
C: x32010
and then two beats of Cmaj7:
Cmaj7: x32000
I play an Fmaj7 instead of F:
Fmaj7: 133210
The B chord I use is the most difficult part. I think it's called a half-diminished 7th chord, but I'll just call it
B*: x23231
This may seem impossible to play, but what you do is put your index finger on the A string, ring finger on the D, middle on the G, pinky on the B, and then bring down the pad of your index finger on the high E string, sort of like a barre, only twisted. You can also think of it as the Amaj7 shape with a barre at the 1st fret, then inching your index finger up to hit the B. It's a wonderful sounding chord.
For the E, I play a bar of
E7sus4: 020200
and then a bar of
E7: 020100
So, for instance, the chorus would look like
Am
Oh no, not I
Dm7
I will survive
G
as long as i know how to love
C Cmaj7
I know I will stay alive
Fmaj7
I've got all my life to live
B*
I've got all my love to give
E7sus4
and I'll survive
E7
I will survive
I'll try to post a recording and a tab for this soon. It's a really fun song, and works great with a funky palm-muting strumming pattern.
~Sam
What is E(2) from the first post?
It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.
What is E(2) from the first post?
I think the original poster's trying to point out that the E chord is held for TWO measures, or twice as long as the other chords. Also, reading between the lines, it would seem most people like to play E for the first measure then E7 for the second.
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
Ah! Got it.
Thanks Vic.
It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.
