Teach me a great 3-chord song

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I don't care which one. Just tell me the song and the chords and I'll go from there.

― JesseFox (JesseFox), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 02:02 (twenty-two years ago)

"was there anything i could do" by the go betweens

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 02:07 (twenty-two years ago)

I mean teach me to play it. Patternwise. Is it I-IV-IV-V-I, or I-IV-V-IV-V, or not even I-IV-V at all, etc. And what key you play it in too. Or if you just have a link to a site with the chords, lyrics, etc.

― JesseFox (JesseFox), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 02:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Can I just say etc. again, etc.

― JesseFox (JesseFox), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 02:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Three chords is two chords too many.

― Sonny A. (Keiko), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 02:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Just look for the guitar tab on the Web.

My pick: "What´s Going On" by 4 Non Blondes

― Francis Watlington (Francis Watlington), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 02:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Miss Lucifer

― samuel, Tuesday, 2 September 2003 04:06 (twenty-two years ago)

"Jambalaya" only has two chords. I can't remember what key it's in, you should just choose one that suits your range. The chords are I and V, and it's pretty obvious where you should change. There's tons of 3-chord Hank Williams songs. "Mind Your Own Business" is good, it's in D I think. Get a little "Rock This Town" rhythm going on the D chord and let that ride for awhile, and then start singing. Before you change to G for the "mind your own business" part—which is sort of like the chorus but is really just the end of each verse—you can make the D a D7 and it sounds cool. Switch back to D for the response "mind your own business," and the turnaround is A of course: "cause if you MIND"—on MIND switch to A—"your own business then you WON'T"—switch to G on WON'T—"be minding mine" and come back to D for "mine." This is a good song to make up your own lyrics to, btw

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 04:28 (twenty-two years ago)

"This Land is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie.

G/D/A7/G

There ya go; your gramma will like it!

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 04:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Try here:
http://www.aztabs.com/default.asp

Do "Cortez the Killer" (Em7/D/Am7) and you get to make up your own two-note guitar solo.

― weatheringdaleson (weatheringdaleson), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 04:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Splodge, "Two Pints of Lager". E-A-D minor, for that Jandek feel.

― dave q, Tuesday, 2 September 2003 07:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Three chords is generally way too little, but "Mr. Tambourine Man" is nice, at least in The Byrds' version.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 08:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Hey Geir - heeheehee...how do you manage to bring that subject into every single post? ;-)

― Jez (Jez), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 10:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Ooo, good ones. Thanks. "Jambalaya" reminds me that "Iko Iko" is only 2 chords too. The same 2 chords, actually. I love that stuff. I guess I have fun playing it on the guitar because I'm mostly a drummer and I play guitar kind of the same way I play drums, which makes the New Orleans polyrhythms fun.

― JesseFox (JesseFox), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 14:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Pavement, "Summer Babe":

I-V-IV, though this ignores the preposterous tuning that I'm sure the song is in

And, at the risk of sounding suck-uppy (and possibly wildly incorrect), I think the Mountain Goats' "Grendel's Mother" goes

I-IV
I-IV
I-V
I-V
I-IV
I

― Ess, Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:13 (twenty-two years ago)

these are neat indie tunes with economical use of three chords:

"going to georgia" by the mountain goats: D A G
"the shins" by flake music: E A D

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Beck "Jackass" G/D

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Shudder to Think's "X-French Tee-Shirt" has three chords, but one of them takes up over 90% of the song...

― Douglas (Douglas), Friday, 5 September 2003 03:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Talking Heads' "Road To Nowhere" verse=E/C#, chorus=B/E/C#, easy peasy lemon squeezy

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 5 September 2003 03:30 (twenty-two years ago)

King Crimson, "Red" - E, F#, G (with #11, and probably b7) - except for the bridge, which has a few other chords.

― dleone (dleone), Friday, 5 September 2003 13:36 (twenty-two years ago)

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