Hey all. No claims to complete accuracy here, but better than the tabs that have been
put up in standard tuning.
The song is in open D tuning, as is quite customary for Marcus' songs.
Chords:
D: 0-0-0-0-x-x or 12-0-0-12-x-x-|
G: 5-x-0-5-x-x------------------|
A: 7-x-0-7-x-x------------------|
Bm: 9-x-0-8-x-x------------------|
Note: Those are how I prefer to play the G, A, and Bm chords, if you want however you
can fill in the middle D string or unmute the A string. Obviously there is plenty of
variation allowed by the open tuning. Go for whatever tone you like.
Intro and Verse: Begin strumming on the Bm then hit G twice
D |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
f#|---8--------5---5------------------------------------------------------------|
D |---0--------0---0------------------------------------------------------------|
A |---x--------x---x------------------------------------------------------------|
D |---9--------5---5------------------------------------------------------------|
Verse Fill: The fun romp played in between the lyrical portions of the verses. Obviously
if you just strum these chords as they are written it will sound terrible. This part
(the whole song really) is strummed in a heavily rhythmic manner, and you will need to
focus some of the strumming around the 3rd and 4th strings for those notes to come through
well. As always just listen to the song. This can be difficult for newer players; just
keep at it, this will work wonders for developing your strumming abilities. In addition,
the switch from the end of this fill back to the verse Bm happens FAST! Be ready.
[ Tab from: https://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/m/mumford_and_sons/babel_tab.html ]
Verse Fill
D |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
f#|---0---3---5---3----0---3---5--3--1--0------------------------------------|
D |---0---0---0---0----0---0---0--0--0--0-----(x2)---------------------------|
A |---0---0---0---0----0---0---0--0--0--0------------------------------------|
D |---0---0---0---0----0---0---0--0--0--0------------------------------------|
Chorus: First time through just strummed once each is good
D |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
f#|----5---7---8---12-------5---7---8---12--7-----------------------------------------|
D |----0---0---0----0-------0---0---0----0--0-----------------------------------------|
A |----x---x---x----x-------x---x---x----x-- x----------------------------------------|
D |----5---7---9---12-------5---7---9---12--7-----------------------------------------|
Bridge: Definitely the part I'm least sure of, see what you think. Marcus fiddles with
some hammers on those open D's if you want to.
D |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
f#|---8---5---0---0-------------7---5---8--7--5----7----7-5-0-----8---5---0------------|
D |---0---0---0---0-------------0---0---0--0--0----0----0-0-0-----0---0---0------------|
A |---x---x---0---0-------(x2)---x---x---x--x--x----x----x-x-0-----x---x---0-----------|
D |---9---5---0---0-------------7---5---9--7--5----7----7-5-0-----9---5---0------------|
"tear...tear them"
"You'll build..." starts at the A chord.
Then just repeat the chorus strumming hard this time, and end on the verse fill.
