Here is my take on the 1971 Emerson Lake and Palmer number written by Greg Lake. There is another post of this song in the ESD with a lot of good additions, but not quite as easy as this one.
For an Intro play G and D twice
Alternate G and D chords down through the verses, G on the first word of each line, D on the last word of each line.
Chorus is Am, Em, D, D
The lyrics:
He had white horses
And ladies by the score
All dressed in satin
And waiting by the door
Oooh, what a lucky man he was(2x)
White lace and feathers
They made up his bed
A gold covered mattress
On which he was laid
Oooh, what a lucky man he was(2x)
He went to fight wars
For his country and his king
Of his honor and his glory
The people would sing
Oooh, what a lucky man he was(2x)
A bullet had found him
His blood ran as he cried
No money could save him
So he laid down and he died
Oooh, what a lucky man he was(2x)
It was pointed out to me (thanks) I was playing this with a 4/4 pattern as opposed to the 3/4 it was written in.
I now play it with this easy pattern, counting 1 2 & 3 &
1 Bass pluck
2 Index finger on G string
& Middle finger on B string
3 Ring finger on E string
& Middle finger on B string.
Good one Dave T,
I've forgotten a lot of ELP's music. So much so that I don't even have any of their recordings at the moment. (Should be ashamed of myself) So, I went onto Itunes and found a live and studio version of this song, great song it is too.
So I'm having a go at this now. Can't say fingerpicking is easy at the moment., but at least I can strum a passable version.
Thanks again Dave and welcome to this forum
Chris
The guitar is all right John but you'll never make a living out of it! (John Lennon's Aunt Mimi)
Thanks Chris. Note I just provided a little extra detail on the chords in the verses, should be obvious to most.
I am a quite rudimentary picker, so you should be able to tackle it with a little practice.
Here is my take on the 1971 Emerson Lake and Palmer number written by Greg Lake. Synthesizers not included.
I play it with a 1&2&3&4& rhythm, alternating bass pluck on the 1st and 3rd beat, with the G,B, E strings picked in between by the index, middle and ring finger respectively. For example, while fingering a G chord:
1 pluck E string with thumb
& pick G string with index
2 pick B string with middle
& pick E string with ring
3 pluck A string with thumb
& pick G string with index
4 pick B string with middle
& pick E string with ringquote]
Hi mate thanks for your version. If can tell one thing, the rhythm you suggested is not the original one since the song is played by Elp in 3/4 (or 6/8 not sure), in any case definitely not 4/4!
I play it with a simple
t, i, m, a, m, i for each chord (six notes of one eight per measure), or if i strum it
D/du/du accenting first downstrum to emulate the waltz-feel
Cheers
Matteo
p.s. check a few months ago Wes Iman posting about this song
