Between the Bars by Elliot Smith on the "Good Will Hunting" soundtrack Tabbed by Bruno This song seems like it's done a whole step down or I don't know how he does the bass line otherwise. Putting a bass guitar in would be stupid. It's simpler and it sounds a lot nicer solo voice and guitar. This is my insight on it: chords: I KNOW that these are right but i'm not sure about some of the names for them with question marks near them. Am7(high octave type), F, C, C/B, Fm/G# ???, G, Am7/F# ???
*warning- you must be a GOOD guitarist to play this song correctly* I'm not going to tab out an F, C, or G chord, because if you don't know them, you shouldn't be playing this song, let alone guitar. The bass line (picking) is fairly obvious except in chorus, which I've shown further down. For the verse, just pick the obvious bass string in the chord with your thumb. If you don't know what it is, then LISTEN TO THE SONG. Am7 (high octave type) _________________________________________ 1 | | | | 1 | 2 | | 2 3 | | 3 | | | | | 4 4 | | | | | | 5 | | | | | | C/B _________________________________________ 1 | | | | 1 | 2 | 3 2 | | | 3 | | | | | | 4 | | | | | | 5 | | | | | | Fm/G# ??? ________x_______x________________________ 1 | | | 1 1 1 2 | | | | | | 3 | | | | | | 4 4 | | | | | 5 | | | | | | Am7/F# _________________________________________ 1 | | | | 1 | 2 t | 2 3 | | 3 | | | | | 4 4 | | | | | | 5 | | | | | | t= thumb (if you cant do it that way, drop the 7 and do it another way) Here's the meat: Verse 1 Am7 Drink .. F stay .. C C/B the .. Am7 the .. F but .. C E F the .. Am7 drink .. F and .. C C/B the . Am7 and .. F and .. C E F the .. Chorus: Here's the bass climb during the Am chord- I'm making this REALLY specific so it should be easy to get... this is the way I do it so your guitar fretboard size and hands may cause you to have to alter it a little... but I hope it helps. b= the bass string you should pluck step 1 ________b________________________________ 1 | | | | 1 | 2 | | | 2 | | 3 | | | | | | 4 | | | | | | 5 | | | | | | step 2 ________b________________________________ 1 | | | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | | 3 | | | | | | 4 | | | | | | 5 | | | | | | step 3 ________b________________________________ 1 | | | | 1 | 2 | | | 2 | | 3 | 3 | | | | 4 | | | | | | 5 | | | | | | step 4 ________________b________________________ 1 | | | | 1 | 2 | | | 2 | | 3 | | | | | | 4 | | | | | | 5 | | | | | | step 5 ________________b________________________ 1 | | | | 1 | 2 | | 3 2 | | 3 | | | | | | 4 | | | | | | 5 | | | | | | **As I've said many times before, if you don't have big hands that enable you to hold down the second fret with your thumb you may have to drop the 7 on the Am so that you can hold the second fret down with a finger. OR you could just NOT do the bass climb... but that would make the song sound really lame...and it's not...so please don't do it.** However, if you're REALLY slick, then try sliding your third finger from the second fret to the third very quickly and then get it in position for the F chord. It flows nice and I think that's what Elliot Smith actually does. You start the chorus plucking obvious bass strings loudly and then start playing the bass climb I transcribed above by the first Am chord. After you finish that then you have to play those chords with the weird finger/thumb stretches and after that (on the third Am) you play the bass climb again. I guarantee that this WILL take some practice. F G Am people .. Fm/G# G Am7/F# that . F G Am that ... F Fm I'll .. Am7 drink .. F look ... C C/B I'll .. Am7 where .. F with .. C E F waiting .. Am7 drink .. F and .. C C/B keep .. Am7 separate .. F where .. C E F and .. Now just repeat the chorus. End on the Fm chord and just fade with it. *the ONLY way to learn this song well is to play along with it when you're first learning* Anyways, I hoped this tab helped you... I like this song and and enjoy playing it because it is something you can do on your own. If you have any GOOD corrections to this song, a rookie Juan Gonzalez card, sarcastic comments, blatant insults, crappy forwarded jokes, or just need somebody to talk to, e-mail me at: hurler77@hotmail.com or you can check out my band's site (Goldfish in the Toilet) and e-mail my friend about the song if you don't like my attitude. It's at
Alternative guitar chords and tabs for Between The Bars by Elliott Smith