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Highway Blues

Roy Harper

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From: Aaro J Koskinen [Song: Roy Harper "Highway Blues"] [Transcription by Dave Coniam (B096770@vax.csc.cuhk.hk)] I dunno which open tuning Roy uses but you'll a lot of stuff is in some open tuning or other - as Gordon's naming of chords like G1 and Bm1 suggests. I play a lot of stuff in open E tuning - just crank the 3rd, 4th and 5th strings up so that when you hit them you get the E chord without holding down any strings. I find it's a great tuning for a lot of old Joni and Beatles songs. Here's an attempt at Highways Blues, which, like a lot of Harper songs, requires very few chords. In the "main" verses you hammer a sort of E and a vague D6; following Gordon's line, I've called these E1 and A1. The chorus then shifts to a good old E - A - B run. I've only included a few of the words. Mebbe some kinder soul cd stick the whole song on the list: the last verse I cant remember/work it all out. Fret :0... _ _ _ _ _ ... _ _ _ _ _ ... _ _ _ _ _ ... _ _ _ _ _ 1 |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| 2 |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| 3 |_|_|_|_|_| |_1_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| 4 |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| 5 |_1_|_|_|_| |_|_4_|_|_| 1_1_1_1_1_1 |_|_|_|_|_| 6 |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| 7 |_|_4_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| 1_1_1_1_1_1 E1 D1 A B Intro : E1 - D1 - E1 - D1 - E1 - D1 - E1 E1 D1 E1 Take a walk down your highway, tell me what you see E1 - D1 - E1 - D1 - E1 D1 E1 If you're down my way, well it could well be me [.....] A E1 A E1 Please give me a lift man, you know it won't be for far A E1 A B The way that you shift man, in your empty car [.....] E1 D1 E1 D1 I got the Highways Blues in my holey shoes E1 D1 E1 and I cannot choose what I look like [.....] Like anything in an open tuning, this is pretty approximate, but hammer away at it after a beer or two and it shdnt sound too bad! "Once" goes pretty OK in open E as well- you basically fiddle around on the top and second strings, picking out the melody, and plonking a few chords (A, G# and B) in here and there. I'll bung that up on the list as well if anybody's intrested. Bash away Dave Coniam Hong Kong
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