Jack And Diane Chords & Tabs
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# This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the #
# song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. #
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[two versions in different positions]
From: dbw@svl.cdc.com (Dave Woerner)
Jack and Diane
John Mellencamp
Thanks to Stuart Hamilton down under for reminding me what at great
guitar song this is. It's pretty simple, but very tasty - one of
my all-time favorites. I play it on solo acoustic, but, of course,
to do it right, you need an electric too.
I'm using his post as a guide since it contains the words and chords. I
hope everyone that was interested got a copy of it.
Everything here was taken from the record by ear so I'm sure it's
no exact...but it's real close. The main difference between this
and Stuart's are the chord formations. I tried to represent the timing
accurately, but there are limitations here (both in the idiom and the
time I have to spend on it). You can get an idea by counting the '-'s,
but some of it wasn't cleanly on the beat. Playing along with the song
is the only way to get it perfect.
Power intro (distorted electric guitar)
A E A E D
E:5-------4---5-4-2-------------------------------------------------------
B:5-------5---5-5-3-------------------------------------------------------
G:6-------4---6-4-2-------------------------------------------------------
D:7-------6---7-6-0--00---00--00--play 3 times----------------------------
A:0-------0---0-0-0-------------------------------------------------------
E:------------------------------------------------------------------------
(I don't hear the hammer-ons (hammer's on?) Stuart posted here. I think
the acoustic is just hitting powerful D notes here. The timing varies a
little with each one - you'll have to listen and mimic for yourself)
Power ending (distorted electric guitar)
A E E A EA E D
E:5--4--4-5--45-4-2-------------------------------------------------------
B:5--5--5-5--55-5-3-------------------------------------------------------
G:6--4--4-6--46-4-2-------------------------------------------------------
D:7--6--6-7--67-6-0--00---00-0000-repeat and fade-------------------------
A:0--0--0-0--00-0-0-------------------------------------------------------
E:------------------------------------------------------------------------
Verse (Little ditty...)
Play the E and D with the index finger barring the highest three strings.
[ Tab from: https://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/m/mellencamp_john/jack_and_diane_tab_ver_2.html ]
A E D E AE A E D E A
E:5754-44-2-24-54-5754-44-2-4-5-55----------------------------------------
B:5--5-55-3-35-55-5--5-55-3-5-5-55----------------------------------------
G:6--4-44-2-24-64-6--4-44-2-4-6-66------repeat----------------------------
D:7--6-66-4-46-76-7--6-66-4-6-7-77----------------------------------------
A:------------------------------------------------------------------------
E:------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chorus (Oh yeah life goes on...)
A E D E A E D E
E:5754-44-2-24-44-5754-44-2-2-4-44----------------------------------------
B:5--5-55-3-35-55-5--5-55-3-3-5-55----------------------------------------
G:6--4-44-2-24-44-6--4-44-2-2-4-44----------------------------------------
D:7--6-66-4-46-66-7--6-66-4-4-6-66----------------------------------------
A:------------------------------------------------------------------------
E:------------------------------------------------------------------------
A E D E A E D E
E:5754-44-2-24-44-5754-44-2-4-5-55----------------------------------------
B:5--5-55-3-35-55-5--5-55-3-5-5-55----------------------------------------
G:6--4-44-2-24-44-6--4-44-2-4-6-66----------------------------------------
D:7--6-66-4-46-66-7--6-66-4-6-7-77----------------------------------------
A:------------------------------------------------------------------------
E:------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cool interlude: This is the best part of the song...Stuart calls the D
an Asus4. His are good chords, but I think they are played up the neck.
Barre the A with your index finger. The D and A use the same barre -
don't move your index finger between A and D. The E is the same formation
as the D. Slide up to the E the first time. Neither E string is played
here. Also, the consecutive D's are damped, that is, let up on the left
hand pressure after hitting the chords. They also are slightly
off the beat - you'll just have to listen to the record.
ADAE D E ADAE D A
E:------------------------------------------------------------------------
B:2325-55-3-35-75-2325-55-3-3-2-------------------------------------------
G:2224-44-2-24-44-2224-44-2-2-2-------------------------------------------
D:2426-66-4-46-66-2426-66-4-4-2-------------------------------------------
A:0000-00-0-00-00-0000-00-0-0-0-------------------------------------------
E:------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, I've spent too much time on this already. I think with this
and the previous post (and the record) most people should be able
to impress their friends with this song.
good luck,
Dave
The last person left on earth with no CD player.
