Transcribed by Tony Guardia
This tab was transcribed from the following shows.
- Comcast "Studio C" Broadcast
- Bluebird Theater, Denver,CO (6-20-03)
- The Bearsville Theater, Woodstock, NY (9-14-01)
-------------------
Tuning: standard tuning (Although Marty is usually tuned down)
D (xx0323)
E9sus/A (x02232) I'll call this E9s
Gmaj7 (X20032)
Gsus2maj7 (300032) I'll call this Gsus
C9+11 (x30032)
Cadd9 (x32033)
SONG:
- In its simplest form this song is very easy to play only 5 chords however,
as usual, Marty uses several tricks to add some flair.
- He alternates the Bass line and string slapping depending on the tempo
that he's playing at.
- He also alternates the notes on the high E string (between the G,F# and open E)
- I have attemped to capture some of these nuances in this tab.
VERSE:
_ Here are the standard chords Marty uses for the verse
D E9s Gmaj7 Gsus
E ----2-----------|----2-----------|----2-----------|----2-----------|
B ----3-----------|----3-----------|----3-----------|----3-----------|
G ----2-----------|----2-----------|----0-----------|----0-----------|
D 0---------------|----2-----------|----0-----------|----0-----------|
A ----------------|0---------------|2---------------|----------------|
E ----------------|----------------|----------------|3---------------|
^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .
- I heard some of this on Comcast (Note Change on high E string)
D E9s Gmaj7 Gsus
E ----2-3---------|----2--0--------|----2--0--------|----2--0--------|
B ----3-3---------|----3--3--------|----3--3--------|----3--3--------|
G ----2-2---------|----2--2--------|----0--0--------|----0--0--------|
D 0---------------|----2--2--------|----0--0--------|----0--0--------|
A ----------------|0---------------|2---------------|----------------|
E ----------------|----------------|----------------|3---------------|
^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .
- ...and some of this at Woodstock (Note change on high E string)
D E9s Gmaj7 Gsus
E ----2-3---------|----3--2--------|----3--2--------|----2--0--------|
B ----3-3---------|----3--3--------|----3--3--------|----3--3--------|
G ----2-2---------|----2--2--------|----0--0--------|----0--0--------|
D 0---------------|----2--2--------|----0--0--------|----0--0--------|
A ----------------|0---------------|2---------------|----------------|
E ----------------|----------------|----------------|3---------------|
^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .
- So basically just play around with the high E string notes......
D E9s
Does Satan wear a suit and tie Or does he work at the Dairy Queen
Gmaj7 Gsus
Does he listen to rock and roll Does he feed the mean
CHORUS
- The chorus is the same as the verse except for the C9+11 (or Cadd9)
instead of Gsus
- Again, you can play with notes on the high E string
D E9s Gmaj7 C9+11 (or Cadd9)
E ----2-----------|----2-----------|----2-----------|----2-----------|
B ----3-----------|----3-----------|----3-----------|----3-----------|
G ----2-----------|----2-----------|----0-----------|----0-----------|
D 0---------------|----2-----------|----0-----------|----------------|
A ----------------|0---------------|2---------------|3---------------|
E ----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .
D E9s Gmaj7 C9+11
Singing Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
VERSE
D E9s
What about Jesus Didn't he do it too?
Gmaj7 Gsus
Hang out with prostitutes And have a drink or two.
D E9s
Power of example My mama said it and I heard
[ Tab from: https://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/m/martin_sexton/hallelujah_tab.html ]
Gmaj7 Gsus
She says one ounce of action Beats a ton of words.
CHORUS
Singing Hallelujah.
Mama said there would be angels
Hallelujah
Mama said there would be sun
VERSE
Is the devil in Elvis to go where no white man went
Or hiding in Hugh Hefner's body or maybe even Larry Flynt.
Say, hows about the President shielding all them stones
Man if I could find a shield like that I'd run 'round naked
in my glass home.
CHORUS
Sippin' Hallelujah
I think my angel's gone to Vegas Hallelujah
Holding aces in her hand. Hallelujah
As she's singing rock of ages. Hallelujah
On the table at the Sands.
INTERLUDE
- Just plays the Cadd9 and sings "oooohhhh"..........
Cadd9 ..........................................................
E 3---------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B 3---------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
G 0---------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
D 2---------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
A 3---------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
E ----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .
ooooohhhhhh.........................................................
VERSE
Does Satan wear a suit and tie or
Does he work at the Dairy Queen.
Does he listen to rock and roll
Does he feed the mean
Streak in all of us.
All us saints here on earth
Hypnotized and over-advertised
'Til we're numb at birth
CHORUS
Singing Hallelujah
And my angel's turning pages Hallelujah
And she just don't understand Hallelujah
That the devil's hot on her trail Hallelujah
On the road to broken promised land Hallelujah
On the TV and the radio Hallelujah
On the money public waves Hallelujah
Good and evil look the same to you Hallelujah
Jesus lives and Elvis saves our soul
(And for those of you who really want to get this song down)
SONG TEMPO
- A I mentioned, Marty has a few different bass lines and string slaps for this song.
- Usually emphasizes this when song tempo picks up
x - indicates slapping percussively against the strings
An Example of string slapping:
- Here he slaps on the 2nd and 4th beat
D E9s Gmaj7 Gsus
E ----x-----2-x---|----x-----2-x---|----x-----2-x---|----x-----2-x---|
B ----x-----3-x---|----x-----3-x---|----x-----3-x---|----x-----3-x---|
G ----x---2---x---|----x---2---x---|----x---0---x---|----x---0---x---|
D 0---x-0-----x-0-|----x-------x---|----x-------x---|----x-------x---|
A ----x-------x---|0---x-0-----x-0-|2---x-2-----x-0-|----x-------x---|
E ----------------|----------------|----------------|3-----3---------|
^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .
- Here he slaps on the 2nd and 4th beat (listen to Denver at about 4:00)
- He strikes the strings while slapping (a great effect- very powerful!)
D E9s Gmaj7 Gsus
E ----2-------2---|----2-------2---|----2-------2---|----2-------2---|
B ----3-------3---|----3-------3---|----3-------3---|----3-------3---|
G ----2-------2---|----2-------2---|----0-------0---|----0-------0---|
D 0---x-----0-x---|----x-------x---|----x-------x---|----x-------x---|
A ----x-------x---|0---x-----0-x---|2---x-----2-x-2-|3---x-----3-x---|
E ----------------|----------------|----------------|----x-------x---|
^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .
- Some variations on the bass line (only showing bass notes)
D 0---x-----0-x-0-|----x-------x---|----x-------x---|----x-------x---|
A ----x-------x---|0---x-----4-x-4-|2---x-----2-x---|----x-------x---|
E ----------------|----------------|--------------2-|3---------------|
^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .
D 0---x-----0-x-0-|----x-------x---|----x-------x---|----x-------x---|
A ----x-------x---|0---x-----0-x-4-|2---x-----2-x2p0|----x-------x---|
E ----------------|----------------|----------------|3---------------|
^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .
