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editor   Allan Harris
BellaOnline's Musician Editor
 

Here's a Popular But Simple Three Chord Song

In this little series we're having a look at some popular chord progressions which are used over and over (and over) again in many popular tunes and songs. This time we look at an old classic written by Bob Dylan and covered by many a band and player from Jimi Hendrix to U2. It's a real rock standard at this stage but originally it was performed and written in a more sorta Folk style. The most popular version today is the one by Hendrix - a stunning version!

All Along The Watchtower / Bob Dylan

You can cover this tune easily enough with just three chords: Am, G and F:

Am /  : G /  : F / : G / :
1    2  : 3 4 : 1 2 : 3 4 :

Tip: Check out the Hendrix version for inspiration!

 

"There must be some way out of here," said the joker to the thief,
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth,
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth"
 
"No reason to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke,
"There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate,
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late"
 
All along the watchtower, princes kept the view
While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too
Outside in the long distance, a wildcat did growl,
Two riders were approaching, and the wind began to howl
***

There you have it - amazingly simple but effective song to perform. Don't forget that you can always change the key to suit your voice on any song!

If you would like to learn all of the chord families, you might be interested in following this link and checking out details of my e-book Basic Chord Families shown over there to the right - it's sub-title? Play 1000s of Songs With These Chords ... and that's true! More classics have been written with these families than you can shake a stick at! (That's musician technical speak that is :).

Basic Chord Families width=150 height=200

Until the next time ... talk 2 ya' ...

 

 David Ø  BellaOnline Logo width=56 height=83

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This content was written by David Ø. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact Allan Harris for details.



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