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Highway Blues

Roy Harper

Text File

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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Highway Blues

Roy Harper