Kurt Vile – Yeah Bones (Guitar Tab)

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Chords

This song is more complicated than it first seems, for three main reasons:   1. Kurt uses a 12 string guitar, finger picking in standard tuning, which affects how the riff sounds because of the peculiar way those guitars use octave pairs for EADG but unison strings for the B and high E strings. If you don't have a 12 string, you can get closer to the sound with a chorus pedal.
  2. His chord choices are harmonically weird. Aside from the instrumental bridge, the entire song is four major add9 chords, all using the same shape slid up and down the neck. Since the song is in the key of C, the Aadd9 is the odd one out for having an out-of-key C# in it, so each time that chord is played it feels a little twisted.
  3. Those chords are sequenced in unusual patterns that shift throughout the song, so you never quite know where a phrase starts or ends. We're used to hearing phrases in 4 or 8 bars, but a lot of them here are 3 or 5 bars long. It's completely disorienting and I think brilliant. There's a video of him playing at WFUV, and his band looks like they are concentrating *so hard* to keep up with him.     The chord shapes:     Cadd9      Gadd9     Fadd9     Aadd9
e|---10---------5---------3---------7--------|
B|-------8---------3---------1----------5----|
G|-----9---------4---------2----------6------|
D|-10---------5---------3---------7----------|
A|-------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------|

 
 
But to make it simpler to follow along, I am laying out the chords without the 'add9' in the symbols. The only
parts that *don't* use this chord shape are the two instrumental bridges:
 
   C  F          C  F
e|-3--1--1---1---3--1--1---1----|
B|-1--1--1---1---1--1--1---1----|
G|-0--2--0h2-2---0--2--0h2-2----|
D|-2--3--3---3---2--3--3---3----|
A|-3----------------------------|
E|------------------------------|

 
   C  Dm       Am      F
e|-3--1---1----0--0----1--------|
B|-1--3---3----1--1----1--------|
G|-0--2---0h2--2--0h2--2--------|
D|-2--0---0----2--2----3--------|
A|-3-----------0--0-------------|
E|------------------------------|
  *********************************** | h Hammer-on ***********************************     [Intro]   C G F C G F C G F* (*=stop)     [Verse]   C G F F F A F F F A   C G F* (G-Gb)   F C A G A C G F A C G F A C G F*   C G F F F A F F F A   C G F* (G-Gb)   F C A G A C G F A C G F A C G F*     [Bridge]   C  F  F  F C  F  F  F C  Dm Dm Am Am F  F  F   C  F  F  F C  F  F  F C  Dm Dm Am Am F  F  F     INTRO REPRISE C G F C G F C G F*     [Verse] C G F F F A F F F A C G F* (G-Gb)   F A C G C G F C G F C G F C G F C G F C G F C G F C G F     [Bridge]   C  F  F  F C  F  F  F C  Dm Dm Am Am F  F  F   C  F  F  F C  F  F  F C  Dm Dm Am Am F  F  F     [Outro] A C G F A C G F A C G F A C G F   (repeat til fade/collapse)               ================ WITH LYRICS ================   [Intro]   C G F C G F C G F*     [Verse]   When nobody   C G F F calls you on the phone, Don't break your bones over it   F A You'll only leave yourself   F F F A Lonesome To show for it   C G F* (G-Gb) When nobody   F C A G A calls you on the phone, Don't break your bones, dyin' dead in a black sea of tears over me   C G F A C G F A C G F*   When you're   C G F F runnin' on the run but you run, run too far (tomfoolin' and buckwild)   F A F F F A Deep in the country wildcats get shot at (alright)   C G F* (G-Gb) When you're F C A G runnin' on the run but you run too far, where the rednecks raise hell with the shotgun shell…blast   A C G F A C G F A C G F*     [Bridge]   C  F  F  F C  F  F  F C  Dm Dm Am Am F  F  F   C  F  F  F C  F  F  F C  Dm Dm Am Am F  F  F     INTRO REPRISE   C G F C G F C G F*     [Verse]   When nobody C G F F calls me on the phone won't break your bones over it   F A I don't believe myself   F F F A Lonesome to show for that   C G F* (G-Gb) When nobody   F A calls me on the phone won't break your bones   C G Dyin' dead in a black sea of tears   C G F over me (over me, over me now)   C G F C G F C G F C G F C G F C G F C G F     [Bridge]   C  F  F  F C  F  F  F C  Dm Dm Am Am F  F  F   C  F  F  F C  F  F  F C  Dm Dm Am Am F  F  F     [Outro]   A C G F A C G F A C G F A C G F   (repeat til fade/collapse)