Hi everybody... I've gotten so much from this newsgroup that I decided that I
just *have to* post a good song to partially repay you all. Well, this one is
my favorite of *all* to play. The music can be found in the book, "The
Authentic Guitar Style of Suzanne Vega," Cherry Lane Music, transcription by
Mark Phillips. It's a fantastic book, and I hope this sampling encourages you
to go out and buy it.
I've made a few small changes where playing has shown me that there must have
been a typo in the original. And I've included the timing and melody for those
of you who don't know the song. Vega sings it on the amazing Solitude Standing
album.
For those of you new to fingerpicking, don't be freaked by the apparent com-
plexity. It's not nearly as hard as it looks, because there's a lot of
repetition and the fingerwork is not difficult. Believe me, I'm no wizard on
the guitar, and I do fine with this. Learn it slowly, then eventually speed
up to the indicated tempo.
Enjoy the song, Rich.
GYPSY
by Suzanne Vega
Capo at 2nd fret. Quarter note = 147 (approx)
Key:
0h2 - hammer-on to second fret from open string
% - "D.S. al coda" symbol
@ - Coda symbol
|[ - Beginning of a section to be repeated
]| - Repeat the section, starting from "|["
|| - End of song
INTRO SECTION:
E-----------------|-----------------|---------3-------|---------3-------|B-----------3-----|---3-------3-----|---3-------3-----|---3-------3-----|G-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|D-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|-----0-------0---|-----0-------2---|A-----------------|---------3-------|-2---------------|---------3-------|E-3-------2-------|-0---------------|---------2-------|-3---------------|1 2 3 4
|-----------------|------------------|-3---------------|-3-------2-------||---3-------3-----|---3--------3-----|---3------3------|---3-------3-----||-------0-------0-|-------0--------0-|-------0------0--|-------2-------2-||-----0-------0---|-----2--------2---|-----2------2----|-----0-------0---||-----------------|---------0h2------|-3-------3-------|-0---------------||-3-------2-------|-0----------------|-----------------|-----------------|5 6 7 8
|-3-------2h3-----|-3----------------|-3----------------||---3-------3-----|---3--------3-----|---3--------3-----||-------2-------0-|-------0--------0-|-------0--------0-||-----0-------0---|-----0--------0---|-----0--------0---||-----------------|---------0h2------|---------0h2------||-----------------|-3----------------|-3----------------|9 10 11
VERSES:
% |[-3---------------|-----------------|-3---------------|------------------||[---3-------3-----|---3-------3-----|---3-------3-----|---3--------3-----||[-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------0--------0-||[-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|-----0--------0---||[-----------------|---------2-------|-3-------3-------|---------0h2------||[-3-------2-------|-0---------------|-----------------|-3----------------|
|-3---------------|-----------------|-3---------------|---------2h3-----||---3-------3-----|---3-------3-----|---3-------3-----|---3-------3-----||-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------2-------0-||-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|-----0-------0---||-----------------|---------2-------|-3-------3-------|-0---------------||-3-------2-------|-0---------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-3---------------|-----------------|-3---------------|------------------||---3-------3-----|---3-------3-----|---3-------3-----|---3--------3-----||-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------0--------0-||-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|-----0--------0---||-----------------|---------2-------|-3-------3-------|---------0h2------||-3-------2-------|-0---------------|-----------------|-3----------------|
|-3---------------|-----------------|-3-------3-------|------------------||---3-------3-----|---3-------3-----|---3-------3-----|---3--------3-----||-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------0--------0-||-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|-----2-------0---|-----0--------0---||-----------------|---------2-------|---------0-------|---------0h2------||-3-------2-------|-0---------------|-3---------------|-3----------------|
CHORUS:
|-0-------0-------|-2-------3-------|-0-------0-------|-2-------3-------||---1-------0-----|---3-------3-----|---1-------0-----|---3-------3-----||-------0-------0-|-------2-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------2-------0-||-----2-------2---|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|-----0-------0---||-0-------0-------|-0---------------|-0-------0-------|-0---------------||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
to coda @|-0-------0-------|-2-------3-------|-0-------0-------|-2-------3-------||---1-------0-----|---3-------3-----|---1-------0-----|---3-------3-----||-------0-------0-|-------2-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------2-------0-||-----2-------2---|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|-----0-------0---||-0-------0-------|-0---------------|-0-------0-------|-0---------------||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
____________________ |1. | | ||-3---------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------]||---3-------3-----|---3-------3-----|---3-------3-----|---3--------3-----]||-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------0--------0-]||-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|-----0-------0---|-----0--------0---]||-----------------|---------3-------|-2---------------|---------0h2------]||-3-------2-------|-0---------------|---------2-------|-3----------------]|
__________________________________________________________________________|2. |3. D.S. al coda | | %|------------------|-3---------------| ]|------------------| |---3--------3-----|-----------3-----| Repeat bars ]|---3--------3-----||-------0--------0-|-------0-------0-| 6-11 of intro ]|-------0--------0-||-----0--------0---|-----0-------0---| ]|-----0--------0---||---------0h2------|-----------------| ]|---------0h2------||-3----------------|-3-------2-------| ]|-3----------------|
ENDING SECTION:
Coda@ |-----------------| |-3---------------|-3-------2-------||---3-------3-----| Repeat bars |---3-------------|---3-------3-----||-------0-------0-| 2-6 of intro |-------0---0---0-|-------2-------2-||-----0-------0---| |-----2-------2---|-----0-------0---||-----------------| |-3-------3-------|-0---------------||-3-------2-------| |-----------------|-----------------|
|-3-------2h3-----|-----------------|-3---------------|-----------------||---2-------3-----|---3-------3-----|---3-----3-------|---3-------3-----||-------2-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-||-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|-----0-------0---||-----------------|-----------------|---2-----3-------|-2---------------||-----------------|-3-------2-------|-0---------------|---------2-------|
|---------3-------|||-----------------|||-----------------|||-----------------|||-----------------|||-3---------------||
Tab notes:
1. I keep my left pinky and little fingers anchored on the bottom
two strings for most of the song. The places where they should
be removed and put elsewhere should become obvious when you start
to learn the song.
2. In the chorus section, the second part of the 2nd (and 4th, 6th,
and 8th) bar should be played as the D chord; the 5th note in the
bar is played by putting down the pinky finger on the 3rd fret.
******************************************
WORDS
You come from far away with pictures in your eyes
of coffee shops and morning streets in the blue and silent sunrise.
But night is the cathedral where we recognized the sign.
We strangers know each other now as part of the whole design.
Chorus:
Oh, hold me like a baby that will not fall asleep.
Curl me up inside you and let me hear you through the heat.
Oh.___
You're the jester of this courtyard with a smile like a girl's,
Distracted by the women with the dimples and the curls,
By the pretty and the mischevious, by the timid and the blessed,
By the blowing skirts of ladies who promise to gather you to their breast.
(Chorus)
You have hands of raining water and that earring in your ear.
The wisdom on your face denies the number of your years,
With the fingers of the potter and the laughing tale of the fool,
The arranger of disorder with your strange and simple rules.
{NOTE: repeat last eight bars for the following two lines.}
Yeah, now I've met me another spinner of strange and gauzy threads
With a long and slender body and a bump upon the head.
(Chorus)
With a long and slender body and the sweetest, softest hands,
And we'll blow away forever soon and go on to different lands.
And please do not ever look for me, but with me you will stay.
And you will hear yourself in song, blowing by one day.
(Chorus)
******************************************
TIMING AND MELODY
1st VERSE: (One note shown per syllable, even if note lasts for more
than one eighth.)
____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
1. You come from far a - way___ with
d d c b a g g
_____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
pic-tures____________in your eyes___ of
a g g f# g g
_____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
cof - fee shops__ and morn - ing streets in the blue___
d d d c b a g g g g
_____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
and si - lent sun - rise. But
g g g g a g
_____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
night is the ca-the - dral____________where we
b a g g b a g g
_____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
rec- og-nized the sign.___ We
a g g f# g g
_____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
stran- gers know each___ oth- er now___ as
d d d b c b b b
_____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
part of the whole de- sign.___ Oh,_____
d b b c f# g c
CHORUS: (One note shown per syllable, even if note lasts for more
than one eighth; except for the sung word "Oh.")
_____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
_______ hold___ me like___ a ba - by that
c b a g b a a
_____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
will not___ fall a - sleep.
g g g a a
_____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
Curl me up in - side___ you___ and let me
c b a g b a a a a
_____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
hear you___ through the heat. Oh._____
a g g a a b_______
_____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
_________________("Oh." continued - sung)__________________________
_b a g_______________f# g_____g_______________________________
___________________________________
|(lead-in to next verse...) |
__________________________________|_________________________________|
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 ]|
_____("Oh." continued - sung)____________ 2. You're the
_g_______________________f# g_____g_____ g g
END OF LAST CHORUS ROUND AND SONG ENDING: (Same notation as above.)
_____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
heat. Oh,_____________________________
a g_______________f#______g e___
(One octave higher...)
_____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
_________________("Oh." continued - sung)__________________________
_e d_____________________________d c b c b_______a b___
(One octave higher....) (Back down now.)
_____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
_("Oh." contd)_ oh._______________________________________
_b_____________ (rest) c_________c b___________b a___________
_____________________________________________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 | 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
_________________("oh." continued - sung)__________________________
_a g_________________ f# g_____g_______________________________
___________________________________
| 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 |
____("oh." continued - sung)____
_g_____________ f#_____________
Timing and Melody Notes:
1. There are some slight variations in melody for each verse, not
shown above because I don't have them transcribed. You'll have to hear the
recording or put changes in as you see fit. The melody only spans a small
range, which suits Suzanne Vega's voice nicely, but it can sound a bit mono-
tonic to my ear when I sing it, unless I spice it up a bit. It doesn't
damage the song; quite the contrary.
2. Sing each "Oh." as one continuous word, i.e., all notes are
slurred. Note that there are two "Oh."s in the ending, separated by a
quarter-note rest.
