Songquest 2010, Take Me With You

This is ever so slightly late. I actually had this worked out a while ago, but a combination of illness and forgetfulness caused me to fail to put it up correctly.

The song for the month is "Take Me With You (When You Go)" by the Jayhawks, from their major label debut, Hollywood Town Hall. I have known the song for 18 years, and I learned the opening riff as one of the first things I picked up by ear.

Except I got it wrong.

Here's what I thought it was:

E -------------------------------------------3----2------------------------------
B -----------1-------------------------------3----3------------------------------
G -----------0-------------------------------2----2------------------------------
D -----------2--------------------------0----0----0------------------------------
A --0--2--3--3---3--2--0--2--0---------------------------------------------------
E ------------------------------3--1--0------------------------------------------

Here's what I now believe it to be:

E -------------------------------------------2----0------------------------------
B -----------1-------------------------------3----3------------------------------
G -----------0-------------------------------2----2------------------------------
D -----------2--------------------------0----0----0------------------------------
A --0--2--3--3---3--2--0--2--0---------------------------------------------------
E ------------------------------3--1--0------------------------------------------

Up to the cowboy and back down, coming off like an alternative bluegrass G-run, ending that staple, suspending the third on a D chord. Except I thought it was sus4-to-major when it was really major-to-sus2.

Here's the chordal structure for the verse and chorus. Remember, it's the acoustic guitar, not the electric, that carries the freight on this song. You could easily play just the chords and sing, plus one or two of the fills, and have it work in a singer-songwriter open-mic night.

Verse

    C   /    /    G
    D   /    F    /  (x4)

Chorus

    G   /    D    /
    C   /    /    /  (x2, or maybe 3, I forget)

There's a cool lick which I think is mostly the bass. I like how it goes on the six-string guitar, though.

E -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D ------------------------0------------------------------------------------------
A ---3--2--0-----0--2--3---------------------------------------------------------
E ------------3------------------------------------------------------------------

The solo took me a while to suss out. Much like last time, this solo involves R&B-style B-and-E string alternating. There's a third tone in double stops, and I think that thickening third tone is what really got me. Or I might just be dim. The first chunk, it uses that a lot, kinda implying the C and D chords with the 3rd and octave on the first and third string.

E ---8------------------9------10--10--9---8------------------8----9---10---10s--
B --------------------------------------------8b10-8b10-b10r8---------------------
G -9---9b10r9-7-9-7--10---10s11--11--10--9-------------------9---10---11---11s---
D -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a must-know: the major-third jump between the G and B strings gives you the easiest bend-to-unison.

E -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B -10-10-10-------10-10-10-10-------10-10-10-10-------10-10-10-10-------10-10-10-
G ---------12b14h------------12b14h------------12b14h------------12b14h----------
D -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't know which key this thinks it is, but there's an F# and a C# (Db?) that are surely nice and chromatic in this part.

E -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G -----12----10--11--------------------------------------------------------------
D --12----12---------12--11--10---------10--12--10-------------------------------
A -------------------------------10--12-------------12--10-----------------------
E ----------------------------------------------------------9-10-slide-down------

Here's the original. Well, mostly. More recent and live. Back in the day, the part was done on an SG with a tremolo (Lyre or Maestro). For this one, he has a Tele with a Bigsby, which of course makes me smile. It's a thick, distorted tone, not the normal country tone. I like that.

As I've pointed out before, this isn't dirty, or at least dirty thudding chords, so the hugeness of the lead guitar sound comes from the tremolo. But there is a fair amount of gain in there. There's a second, to-the-outro solo up in there, but I'm not touching it here, but it is of the same style as the first.

And that's it for this month's Songquest post. I'm considering doing the solo for Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" next time.