Needle And The Damage Done V8 by Neil Young
This is how I play The Needle and the Damage Done. It is the first
song I learned on the guitar, and the song that made me decide to
learn 13 years ago.
Neil is a very raw player: don't treat this piece as classical music
you must get right, because he himself is not consistent throughout.
Many of the notes I have marked as single notes he sometimes plays
together with others, picking on two strings together. The very first
D note, for example, sounds good if you also lightly hit the open A
string at the same time.
If you have any comments, please send them to me and I will revise
this before reuploading it to TabCrawler.
The Needle and the Damage Done
by Neil Young, on Harvest (1972)
Intro and half-way interlude without vocals:
[I play this as an extremely regular alternate bass/high picking with
either a flat pick or two fingers; all notes (or pairs of notes in the
hammer-ons and slides) in what I outline here should have the same
duration]
D D/C D/B D/Bb
e---2---0---------------0---------------0---------------0---------------
b-----------3---3---3-------3---3---3-------3---3---3-------3---0-------
g-----------------------------------------------------------------------
d-0---0---0---0-------0---0---0-------0---0---0-------0---0-------------
a-----------------3---------------2---------------1-----------0---------
e-----------------------------------------------------------------------
C F Esus4 E
e-----------------------------------------------------------------------
b---1---1---1---1---1---1---1---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0-------
g---------0--0h2--3---2---0-------2---------------1---------------------
d----0h2----------------------3-------2-------2-------2-----------------
a-3---------------------------------------2---------------2---0---------
e-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Verses:
[Note how the first strip of tab is identical; what changes is the way
the C and F chords are played (simplified) and the passage from the
concluding E chord to the D chord that starts off the next verse.]
D D/C D/B D/Bb
e---2---0---------------0---------------0---------------0---------------
b-----------3---3---3-------3---3---3-------3---3---3-------3---0-------
g-----------------------------------------------------------------------
d-0---0---0---0-------0---0---0-------0---0---0-------0---0-------------
a-----------------3---------------2---------------1-----------0---------
e-----------------------------------------------------------------------
C F Esus4 E
e-----------------------------------------------------------------------
b---1---1---1---1---1---1---1---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0-------
g---------0---------------2------0h2--------------1---------------------
d----0h2------2-------3-------3-------2-------2----------24--2---------
a-3---------------3-----------------------2----------0h2----------------
e-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Conclusion:
[This is just the intro but truncated early]
D D/C D/B D/Bb
e---2---0---------------0---------------0---------------0---------------
b-----------3---3---3-------3---3---3-------3---3---3-------------------
g-----------------------------------------------------------------------
d-0---0---0---0-------0---0---0-------0---0---0-------0-----------------
a-----------------3----------------2--------------1---------------------
e-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lyrics:
[I couldn't fit these too well under the tab, but knowing how to play
the tab and knowing the song well should allow you to sing while
playing. To synchronize the lyrics and tab I have placed the approximate
chords on the text. But DO NOT try to just strum these chords; that
idea just does not work with this song: you must pick it!]
D D/C
I caught you knocking at my cellar door
D/B D/Bb
I love you baby, can I have some more
C F Esus4 E
Ooo ooo the damage done
D D/C
I hit the city and I lost my band
D/B D/Bb
I watched the needle take another man
C F Esus4 E
Gone, gone, the damage done
[repeat the intro without words]
D D/C
I sing the song because I loved the man
D/B D/Bb
I know that some of you won't understand
C F Esus4 E
Milk, blood to keep from running out
D D/C
I've seen the needle and the damage done
D/B D/Bb
A little part of it in everyone
C F Esus4 E
But every junkie's like a setting sun
|
