Drive-By Truckers – Cottonseed (Guitar)
Capo 3
Key
-
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Speed:
1.0x
Chords
Kinda shocked there isn't a good tab or chord diagram for this song, and I wanted to learn it, so I sat down
for an hour tonight and this is what I came up with. I know it's not perfect but I wanted to put something out
there. I'll update it at a later date if I get it down better. I hope it helps someone out, and please share
any corrections you can see.
It's pretty much just five chords from what I can tell with some little hammer-on and pull-off riffs thrown in
Am - x02210
C - x32010
D - x54030
Bm* - x20010
Dsus2 - x00230
*The D and the Bm I'm not sure of the name of the chords.
Don't worry about being clean with these chords though, he's hitting the open E all the time.
The D is just the C shape slid up two frets and he hammers on the 4th fret of the D string occasionally. He
also does little embellishments on the Am chord with little hammer-ons on the 2nd fret of the D string and the
1st fret of the B string
The little riff on the Am chord in the intro goes something like this.
[Riff 1]
e|--0-0---0-0-------0-------------------------------------------------------------| B|--1-1---1-1-------1-------------------------------------------------------------| G|--0-0---0-0-------2-------------------------------------------------------------| D|--2-2---0-0---0---2--------------------------------------------------------------| A|--3-3---2-0---0---0--------------------------------------------------------------| E|--0-0---0-0---0---0--------------------------------------------------------------|
There is also an instrumental section which is just riffing over the verse chords with some embellishments and
the odd Dsus2 thrown in.
There is walk down from the 5th fret of the A string as a sort of a turn around at the end though. I think
it is like this - just pick the bass note and strum each chord a few times.
[Riff 2]
e|--0---0---0---0-------------------------------------------------------------| B|--1---1---1---1-------------------------------------------------------------| G|--0---0---0---2-------------------------------------------------------------| D|--0---0---0---2--------------------------------------------------------------| A|--5---3---0---0--------------------------------------------------------------| E|--0---3---2---0--------------------------------------------------------------|
He also does this at the end of the the Choruses and the "There's a pretty girl" Verses. Just listen out for
them and you'll see where they are. You can just play the normal chord progression too and it sounds totally
fine. It's up to you - play around with it.
[Intro]
Am (With Riff 1 thrown in at the end.)
[Verse 1]
Am C D I came to tell my story to all these young and eager minds C Bm Am To look in their unspoiled faces and their curious bright eyes Am C D Stories of corruption, crime and killing, yes it's true C Bm Am Greed and fixed elections, guns and drugs and whores and booze
[Verse 2]
Am C D It's been a while since I put on a suit of my own clothes C Bm Am And even longer since I cast my shadow on a church house door Am C D They say every sin is deadly, but I believe they may be wrong C Bm Am I'm guilty of all seven, and I don't feel too bad at all
[Chorus 1]
Am C D I used to have a wad of hundred dollar bills in the back pocket of my suit C Bm Am I had a .45 underneath my coat, and another one in my boot Am C D I drove a big ole Cadillac, bought a new one anytime I pleased C Bm Am And I put more lawmen in the ground than Alabama put cottonseed
[Verse 3]
Am C D I spent a few years on vacation, sanctioned by the state I mentioned C Bm Am But see, a man like me don't do no time too hard to come back from Am C D The meanest of the mean you see, you lock away and toss the key C Bm Am But they're just loud mouth punks to me, I've scraped meaner off my shoe
[Verse 4]
Am C D Somewhere, I ain't saying, there's a hole that holds a judge C Bm Am The last one that I dug myself, and I must admit I was Am C D Sad to lay him in it, but I did the best I could C Bm Am Once his Honor grows a conscience, well folks, that there just ain't no good
[Verse 5]
Am C D There's a pretty girl out there said, "Daddy, you stay cool tonight C Bm Am All I need from you is to come home and be here by my side Am C Dsus2 Say what you gotta say to shut their Bibles and their mouths C Bm Am If they was to tie a noose, they'd have to lay their Bibles down
[Instrumental]
Am C D C Bm Am
Am C Dsus2 C Bm Am (or riff 2)
[Verse 6]
Am C D I ain't here to save no souls, and even if I could C Bm Am I could never save enough to put back half the ones I took Am C D So if they rest in torment, you can't say it's cause of me C Bm Am They'd long been bought and paid for like that fool's in Tennessee
[Chorus 2]
Am C D I used to have a wad of hundred dollar bills in the back pocket of my suit C Bm Am I had a .45 underneath my coat, and another one in my boot Am C D I drove a big ole Cadillac, bought a new one anytime I pleased C Bm Am And I put more lawmen in the ground than Alabama put cottonseed
[Verse 7]
Am C D There's a pretty girl out there said, "Daddy, you stay cool tonight C Bm Am All I need from you is to come home and be here by my side Am C Dsus2 Say what you gotta say to shut their Bibles and their mouths C Bm Am If they was to tie a noose, they'd have to lay their Bibles down
[END]