Okay, so there I was, a middle-aged man who learned three chords as a teenager and who every few years would pull out his cheese-grater of a guitar and hack away at the same three chords! Then, a couple of years ago, real motivation kicked in, a better guitar was bought, and GuitarNoise was discovered!!!!!! David Hodge's wonderful lessons were (and are) eagerly devoured! After a couple of years of lurking on the site, I thought it was about time I try to give something back (even if in a simple way). So, here is my first post which takes a tab from another site and attempts to throw in some things David's lessons taught me such as fills, strum patterns and the fact the interpretation does not have to be an exact transcription of the song!!
Solitary Man
Basic Strum Pattern: D DU UDU
(Alter the strum pattern --on "found her", "I thought", "small word", & "loves you'-- to one downstroke, then do Fill 1.)
Hope this works. (Thanks David)
Solitary Man - Neil Diamond
(Strum: d du udu)
Intro:
e ---3-3---2p0-2---0-0------------0-0-------------------
B ---0-------------0----------0---0---------------------
G -------------------------0h2-----------2p0------------
D-----------------------------------------------0---2---
A ------------------------------------------------------
E ------------------------------------------------------
Em Em
d u d u udu d du udu
e----0-0----------------0-0---------------
B ---0-0----------------0-0---------------
G ---0-0----------------0-0---------------
D ---2-2-------0---2----2-2---------------
A ---2-2---2------------2-2---------------
E ---0-0----------------0-0---------------
Verse 1:
d Em Am G
Belinda was mine 'til the time
Em [Fill 1] G
that I found her,
Am [Fill 2] G
Holdin' Jim
Am [Fill 2]
And lovin' him.
Em Am G
Then Sue came a-long,loved me strong
Em [Fill 1] G
that's what I thought,
Am [Fill 2] G
But me and Sue
Am [d dddddd]
That died too.
Chorus:
G C G D
Don't know that I will but un-til I can find me
G C G D
A girl who'll stay and won't play games be-hind me,
D Em [Fill 3] D
I'll be what I am
Em [Fill 3] D
A solitary man
Em
A solitary man.
Verse 2:
Em Am G
I've had it to here, being where
Em [Fill 1] G
love's a small word
Am [Fill 2] G
A part-time thing
Am [Fill 2]
A paper ring.
Em Am
I know it's been done
G Em [Fill 1] G
havin' one girl who loves you,
Am [Fill 2] G
Right or wrong
Am [d dddddd]
Weak or strong
Chorus - [then end with Fill 3 & Fill 4]
[Fill 1] [Fill 2]
Em Am
e ---------------------- e ----------------0-----
B ---------------------- B -------------1--------
G ---------------------- G -------2--------------
D -----0-2------0-2----- D ---2------------------
A ---2-------2---------- A ----------------------
E ---------------------- E ----------------------
[Fill 3] [Fill 4]
Em D Em
e ------------------2---- e -------------------0----
B ----------0-------3---- B -------------------0----
G -------0------0---2---- G ---2---0-----------0----
D ---2--------------0---- D ------------4---0--2----
A ----------------------- A -------------------2----
E ----------------------- E -------------------0----
"Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak."
Nice work Shug! Plenty more of us middle-aged-suddenly-got-motivated guitarists in here.....
Got to be honest, I haven't listened to Neil D for a good few years - funny though, when an oldie like this or Cracklin' Rosie or I am I said comes on the radio, I still sing along.....I liked ND when it was just him and a guitar rather than the saccharine and string laden stuff he's been putting out.....
I'll enjoy having a go at this in the A.M.....
:D :D :D
Vic
(Middle-aged guitarist who found GN a couple of years ago and got motivated......)
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
Thanks Vic. (We apparently share the same surname!) I couldn't agree more. Early stuff was much better. (BTW, I was, am and will always be a HUGE Beatles fan.)
"Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak."
This was covered by HIM a coupls of years back - it makes a good metal anthem.
A :-)
"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk
Okay, for anybody that might be interested, I went back and listened to Neil's early version of this song, and there was a simple, but catchy Em riff. After strumming the Em chord twice at "found her"; "I thought"; ""small word"; and/or "loves you" - basically hold the Em shape and lift and return the finger you use on the 4th string to try the following":
Em
l-----------------------------------------
l-----------------------------------------
l-----------------------------------------
l---------0--2--------0--2--------------
l------2-----------2---------------------
l-----------------------------------------
then immeditately go to the G chord. A hammer-on of the 0h2 works as well.
"Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak."
Hey, Shug, I think you've got five chords in that one! Well done! :wink:
That's some very good stuff. You can't beat those good old tunes. Thanks for passing that along.
I should go practice some of the Badfinger stuff I managed to get before MySongBook.com was locked up.
"I know three chords, and sometimes I even get them in the right order." :lol:
Sorry to bump my own post, but I cleaned up the original format a bit, and inserted an additional fill and intro into the body. The intro is somewhat similar (but not close to exact) to the recording . . . but it works for me :wink: Thanks for bearing with me as I struggle with the computer (as well as the guitar)!
"Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak."
this is indeed a great song...i'm doing a very downbeat version....slowed down it still sounds good and it suits my voice more
top marks shug 8)
Sounds spot on with capo on fret 3
