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THICK AS THIEVES - The Jam
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Tabbed by: GuitarRikk
Email: rik9999@hotmail.com
Tuning: Standard
(There are various versions of this song, and Riffs 1 & 2 are
somewhat interchangeable, but I'm gonna write it how I learned it)
Also, some of the measures below are different lengths, please
ignore that point. The whole song is in 4/4 time, and I simply
made some measures shorter or longer to accomodate the space
needed. Note that the '|' indicates the end of a measure.
Riff 1: (Palm Muted)
e|------------------|--2--2--2------|
B|-2--2--2--0--0--0-|--0--0--0--0--2|
G|-2--2--2--2--2--2-|--2--2--2--2--2|
D|-2--2--2--2--2--2-|-----------2--2|
A|------------------|---------------|
E|------------------|---------------|
Riff 2: (Palm Muted)
e|------------------|----------------|
B|-2--0--2--0--2--2-|--2--2--2--0--2-|
G|-2--2--2--2--2--2-|--2--2--2--2--2-|
D|-2--2--2--2--2--2-|--2--2--2--2--2-|
A|------------------|----------------|
E|------------------|----------------|
Riff 3:
A
e|-----------------|
B|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|
G|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|
D|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|
A|-----------------|
E|-----------------|
Riff 4: (just basically alternating A and E chords...let each
one ring for the entire measure)
A E
e|-0-------------|---------------|
B|-2-------------|---------------|
G|-2-------------|-1-------------|
D|-2-------------|-2-------------|
A|-0-------------|-2-------------|
E|---------------|-0-------------|
Riff 5: (just stringing some chords together)
^ = upstroke
F#m Bm
e|---------------|---------------|
B|---------------|---------------|
G|---------------|---------------|
D|---------------|---------------|
A|---------------|---------------|
E|---------------|---------------|
G#m ^ E ^ E ^
e|-4-----4-------|-0----0-------|-0----0---------|
B|-4-----4-------|-0----0-------|-0----0---------|
G|-4-------------|-1------------|-0--------------|
D|-6-------------|-2------------|-1--------------|
A|-6-------------|-2------------|-2--------------|
E|-4-------------|-0------------|-0--------------|
E E
e|-----------------|-----------------|
B|-----------------|-----------------|
G|-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-|-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-|
D|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|
A|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|
E|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|
Riff 6: (another string of chords)
^ = upstroke
F#m G#m
e|---------------|---------------|
B|---------------|---------------|
G|---------------|---------------|
D|---------------|---------------|
A|---------------|---------------|
E|---------------|---------------|
A ^ B ^ B ^
e|-5-----5-------|-7----7-------|-7----7---------|
B|-5-----5-------|-7----7-------|-7----7---------|
G|-6-------------|-8------------|-8--------------|
D|-7-------------|-9------------|-9--------------|
A|-7-------------|-9------------|-9--------------|
E|-5-------------|-7------------|-7--------------|
Riff 7: (more chords)
C#m A A B C#m E E B
e|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
B|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
G|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
D|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
A|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
E|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
C#m A B B
e|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
B|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
G|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
D|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
A|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
E|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
[ Tab from: https://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/j/jam/thick_as_thieves_tab.html ]
G#m
e|-----------------|-----------------|
B|-----------------|-----------------|
G|-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|
D|-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-|-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-|
A|-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-|-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-|
E|-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|
Intro:
Riff 1: x4
Riff 3: x2
Verse 1:
Riff 2
Riff 1
Riff 2
Riff 5
verse 2:
Riff 2
Riff 1
Riff 2
Riff 5
Chorus 1:
Riff 4 (4x)
Riff 6
Riff 1 (2x)
Riff 7
Musical Break:
Riff 1: x3
Riff 5: (you can use the fill below over the G#m chord)
Fill 1:
G#m
e|---------0-----|
B|-------4---4---|
G|-----5---------|
D|---6-----------|
A|---------------|
E|---------------|
Chorus 2 ['We stole the love from young girls...'] :
Riff 4 (4x)
Riff 6
Riff 7
verse 3:
Riff 2
Riff 1
Riff 2
Riff 5
Chorus 3: [The Ending]
Riff 4 (12x) [start hardly playing it at all, then get louder!]
Riff 6
then end on E,E,E,E,E,E,A...
below are the lyrics and the riffs above about where they
go. I didn't have the patience to do the whole song this way.
Besides, I gave you the whole song above, so work with that.
Riff 2 Riff 1
Times were so tough, but not as tough as they are now,
Riff 2 F#m
We were so close and nothing came between us
Bm G#m E
and the world -No personal situations.
Riff 2 Riff 1
Thick as thieves us, we'd stick together for all time,
Riff 2 F#m
And we meant it but it turns out just for a while,
Bm G#m E
We stole - the friendship that bound us together -
A E
We stole from the schools and their libraries,
A E
We stole from the drugs that sent us to sleep,
A E
We stole from the drink that made us sick,
A E
We stole anything that we couldn't keep,
F#m G#m A
And it was enough - we didn't have to spoil anything,
B B
And always be as thick as thieves.
Riff 1: x2
C#m A A B C#m E E B
Like a perfect stranger - you came into my life,
C#m A B B
Then like the perfect lone ranger - you rode away - rode away,
G#m G#m
Rode away - rode away.
A E
We stole the love from young girls in ivory towers,
A E
We stole autumn leaves and summer showers,
A E
We stole the silent wind that says you are free,
A E
We stole everything that we could see,
F#m G#m A
But it wasn't enough - and now we've gone and spoiled everthing,
B B
Now we're no longer as thick as thieves.
You came into my life -
Then like a perfect stranger you walked away - walked away -
Walked away - walked away.
Thick as thieves us - we'd stick together for all time,
And we meant it but it turns out just for awhile,
We stole the friendship that bound us together.
We stole the burning sun in the open sky,
We stole the twinkling stars in the black night,
We stole the green belt fields that made us believe,
We stole everything that we could see.
But something came along that changes our minds,
I don't know what and I don't know why,
But we seemed to grow up in a flash of time,
While we watched our ideals helplessly unwind.
No - we're no longer as thick as thieves - no,
We're not as thick as we used to be - no,
We're no longer as thick as thieves - no,
We're not as thick as we used to be -
No it wasn't enough - and we've gone and spoiled everything
Now we're no longer as thick as thieves.
Great song, without too much structure, give it a shot...
send questions, complaints, compliments, and penis enlargement
ads to:
rik9999@hotmail.com
