UKC

YEAH, Yeah, yeah, yeah, we've heard it all before, the Quo are a shitty three chord band, same with No Way Sis, and the rest of the clones.

However the 2 chord classic probably rules, as you never get that turn around just the bones.

Born in the USA.

Rythym:
B
Born down in a dead man's town


The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
E
End up like a dog that's been beat too much


Till you spend half your life just covering up


B
Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
E B
I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A. now


B
Got in a little hometown jam


So they put a rifle in my hand
E
Sent me off to a foreign land


To go and kill the yellow man


B
Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
E B
I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A. now


B
Come back home to the refinery


Hiring man said "Son if it was up to me"
E
Went down to see my V.A. man
| B | B | B | B | E | E | E | E |
He said "Son, don't you understand"


B
I had a brother at Khe Sahn


Fighting off the Viet Cong
E
They're still there, he's all gone


B
He had a woman he loved in Saigon
| E | E | E | E |
I got a picture of him in her arms now


B
Down in the shadow of the penitentiary


Out by the gas fires of the refinery
E
I'm ten years burning down the road


Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go


B
Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
E B
Born in the U.S.A., I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A. now


Born in the U.S.A., Born in the U.S.A.
E
Born in the U.S.A., I'm a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A. now


| B | B | B | B | E | E | E | E |


B E
--2--0--
--4--0--
--4--1--
--4--2--
--2--2--
-----0--

In reply to John Simpson:


Transmission - Joy Division

D & C

In reply to The Pylon King:

Interesting, I'm not a fan but I can understand why it now sounds as it does, cheers!

In reply to John Simpson:

Love Me Do - The Beatles

G & C

In reply to The Pylon King:



And D and F!

In reply to Bulls Crack:

Oh yeah i forgot about the bloody middle 8

In reply to The Pylon King:

I thought you was on a roll, I'd make a guess that fools gold is two chords?

In reply to John Simpson:

America, Horse with no Name is renowned for been a two chord song. It’s some sort of variation on Em and D, although I suspect that the way in which they slightly embellish them during the song technically introduces further chords.

In reply to Mark Harding:

cheers

Surely a chord with a dominant root note is a chord 7th 9th #m or min still the same, i guess if you get into open d/f type terrain you're right on the boundaries.

Maybe someone will come along and start taking about modes, and i maybe may start to understand what they're talking about.

In reply to John Simpson:


possibly just 1?

In reply to The Pylon King:

Maybe so? I'm not sure, I know it starts in A but I've never looked if all the notes are in the scale of A, as I play by position and shape rather than knowing the note of each fret on individual strings, and I've been down tuned and concert pitch shifted from 440 for a long time so if last year I was to play a chord of d tone wise it's b.

In reply to John Simpson:

This died quickly so I feel entitled to a tangent - doe "Uncomplicated" by Elvis Costello and the Attractions counts as "one chord" (or indeed "classic"? ) I like it.

In reply to John Simpson:

And a naive question - is a lot of Jonathan Richman stuff two-chord?

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Thanks tangents are cool, I don't think I've heard the Elvis Costello song, and without searching I wouldn't know, same with Jonathan Richman not heard off him probably makes me as naive too.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

is a lot of Jonathan Richman stuff two-chord?

He definitely only sings one note!

Velvet Underground - Heroin

In reply to Blue Straggler:

I was going to suggest One Chord Wonders by The Adverts as a one chord song but it disappointingly uses several. Isn't there a Miles Davis album improvised around one chord or even one note if that's possible?

In reply to alan moore:


Can you please write book 4 of Halo Jones Alan, it's about time. ta.


2 Chord extravaganza - 'Breaking in my Heart' by The Blue Aeroplanes used to be a mega encore tune with loads of people on stage playing it. A/D

There are a few Dylan songs too, I think Masters of War might be one.

...oh and of course there has to be at LEAST one Fall song that only has two chords - I'd be disappointed if there wasn't!

Si

In reply to Simon:

Sadly I am not Alan Moore the grumpy comic book writing recluse, just Alan Moore the grumpy recluse.
If I was, V 2 would be my current project....

In reply to alan moore:

Good call, write it, send it to DC & they will be none the wiser eh?!

In reply to John Simpson:

Feeling alright - Traffic (A & D - capo III)

You never can tell - Chuck Berry (C & G7)

In reply to Blue Straggler:


Yup, the classic Roadrunner, D and A I think,

Fool's Gold has about four in the lines up to 'I'm seeing you sinking...'


All I can think of is '16 again' last track on side one of Another Music in a Different Kitchen, Buzzcocks. C and B. One of the first I learnt to play, funnily enough. Not heard it for years.

Or there's that kind of samba thing someone used for a world cup theme a few years back. Taught my kids to play a version - Em7 (a one finger cord) and D7 (easy for small fingers.)

Velvet underground - sister Ray. One side of an LP, two cords.

Joy Divn/N. Order - must be loads. How about Everything's gone green? (Not nonsense lyrics, they're about everything going green.

In reply to Morgan Woods:

Tom Dooley - Kingston Trio (E & B7)

In reply to John Simpson:

Folk Wisdom by Oneida manages over 20 minutes of the same chord, and doesn't get too annoying either (although you have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy it properly).

Grateful Dead - Fire on the Mountain

In reply to John Simpson:

'heroin' and 'Roadrunner' & 'Tom Dooley' are excellent.

Unversed in the way of the geetar, I propose 'Warhead' Hope it has 2 chords
youtube.com/watch?v=WQkFgkaKnHE&

Hawkwind must have some grooves. Spirit Of The Age?
youtube.com/watch?v=WQkFgkaKnHE&

In reply to thin bob:

Hi, thanks and nice to see this collection of rare grooves still getting added to. Maybe Hawkwind do, I'm not that familiar with their music, some of old band mates have been though. I've actually played a few gigs on the same line up with Alan Davey.

That link to uk subs you've posted it twice, I can't be sure if there's two or three chords. I'd have to search for the tab to be sure.

In reply to John Simpson:

I am not at all musical, so could someone explain, in simple words if you think I need it, why this Elvis Costello song is not "1/2/3 chord" (I am not totally sure what a chord is). I saw a tab thing for it that suggests lots of chords.

youtube.com/watch?v=30guCtrrbN0&

I thought that the main device of the song was that is was played on one string/one guitar/by one person/in one universe at a time.

Whatever, I like it, especially this version. I like Richman too.

In reply to mbh:

Hi, I can't play the song on my phone as only plays on PC. If you've searched for how to play and suggests many chords, it probably has. A chord is made up of more than one note, the chord note also called the root note has it's own scale which can comprise of serveral different types. So if a song start in the chord of D, you can play notes in the D scale whilst playing the chord. At some stage the tune will move to another chord like E, which has another scale.

Full tunes have chord progressions, with many differing patterns. There are certain types of music we like, I would say in a lot of cases if you look at them in terms of musical structure the music you liked would be similar in a lot of cases.

In reply to John Simpson:

It may take me some time to fully understand what you have said, but it sounds knowledgeable, so thanks very much.

In reply to mbh:

No probs, cheers