This is another great Elliott Smith song from Heatmiser's
final album, Mic City Sons. There's also a pretty good version
on the New Moon album from '07.
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You want to start out the song picking the G and B strings, B first, playing an Em7.
Listen to the recording and this should be pretty easy to
figure out. On the 11th beat, start picking the D string, too. Again,
listen to the song and this will be easy to figure out.
Go for 5 more beats and
then switch to A and add in the A string. Again, use either version
(the acoustic Smith one or the Heatmiser one) for reference here.
Then finally hit C and keep doing the same thing.
When I'm about to go into the first verse, I always briefly hold down
the third fret of the high E to get that sound you hear Elliott playing
at the same point in the Heatmiser version. I have no idea what
he actually does in the song, but any little lick you can think of
should sound good.
After this, you repeat it again. If you're playing
with a full band, (drums, bass, etc.) this is where everything
else except vocals should come in as evident in the recording.
When I play the song alone I skip the repeat and play G, A,
and C instead.
Now, the chords:
[ Tab from: https://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/e/elliott_smith/half_right_crd.html ]
G Em7
You shouldn't talk to your yourself
A
Well, I pictured somebody else
C
Someone that looks like
C
What I look like
G Em7
Would you say that one of your dreams
A
Got in you and ripped out the seams?
C
Thats what I'd say
C
Thats what I'd say
G Em7
He was a sucker for your double-dose
A
Motherfucker turned white as a ghost
C
Don't you say hi
C
Don't you say hi
G Em7
With a broken sink for a face
A
And a head that just takes up space
C
He's not half right
C
He's not half right
Dsus2 Em
It's already half past
A7sus4 Cadd9
And it won't last
G Em7
I was sticking up for my friend
A
When there's nothing much to defend
C
It's a lost fight
C
It's a lost fight
G Em7
'Cause when I talk to you on the phone
A
Well, it's just like being alone
C
It's not half right
C
It's not half right
(Repeat the intro to end.)
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This is the simplest version of this song possible. If you want a
way more detailed overview, follow this link:
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/1032/halfrighttab.jpg
The version in the link was tabbed by this kid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k96BZMh9-E&feature=related
