Tab: "Train Wreck (Demo Version)" by Glen Phillips
He changes how he plays it live but it's mostly just moving the capo.
a couple of things about this song... first of all, most of the
song (guitarwise) consists of simple arpeggiated chords, so i
won't go into much detail there. if you follow the chord
structure of the song, you'll be fine. i've given the first verse
as an example though... there's also an acoustic guitar during the
bridge and ending that strums the same chords that i've omitted,
but not ignored.
this transcription is based on the recorded demo, but, at the end,
i've also given a few variations that glen does live.
Capo 4 (Guitars 1 and 3)
Except where noted, all tab is for Guitar 1.
Intro:
D
|--------------------|--------------------|
|--3--------3--------|--3--------3--------|
|--2--2-----2--2-----|--2--2-----2--2-----|
|--0--4-----2--4-----|--0--4-----2--4-----|
|--------------------|--------------------|
|--------------------|--------------------|
Verse:
D G D Bm
|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
|--------------|--------------|--------3-----|--------3-----|
|--------2-----|--0-----------|-----2--------|-----4--------|
|--0-----------|--0-----0-----|--0-----------|--4-----------|
|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
G Em D A
|--------------|--------------|--------|--------|
|--------3-----|-----------0--|--3-----|--2-----|
|-----0--------|-----0--------|--2-----|--2-----|
|--0-----------|--2-----------|--------|--------|
|--------------|--------------|--------|--------|
|--------------|--------------|--------|--------|
D
she looked just like a train wreck
G
that could've been avoided
D
in a third world country
Bm
by a long stretch of farmland
G
where the waters have run high
Em
run the topsoil down the river
D A
so that next year there'll be no crops
she was as desperate as a salesman
at a company that's folding
but they haven't told the staff yet
they're bankrupt and back-ordered
and they're funneling the pensions
to the CEO's back pockets
so in one week they'll have nothing
Chorus:
G D Bm F#
|--------------|-----|-----------|-----------|
|--------3-----|-----|--------3--|--2--------|
|--0-----------|-----|--4--------|--------3--|
|--------------|--4--|-----------|--------4--|
|--------------|-----|-----------|-----------|
|--------------|-----|-----------|-----------|
G A Bm A
|-----------|-----------|
|-----------|-----------|
|--5-----2--|-----------|
|--4-----2--|--4-----2--|
|-----------|--2-----0--|
|-----------|-----------|
G
miss you now
D
hope you're fine
Bm
good luck, love
F#
or goodbye
G A Bm A
or goodbye
D
|----------------|-------------|
|----------------|-------------|
|--------2--2-2--|-----2--2-2--|
|--0-----4--2h4--|-----4--2h4--|
|----------------|-------------|
|----------------|-------------|
Verse:
D
she was the girl from central casting
G
always played the sweet young orphan
D
or the hooker with the heart of gold
Bm
but she got her SAG card pulled
G
turns tricks down on Cahuenga
Em D
she tells herself it's research for her next
A
greatest role
Chorus:
G
miss your light
D
your eager eyes
Bm
good luck, love
F#
or goodbye
G
goodbye
The last two measures of the chorus (G A Bm A) are played twice
this time, and Guitar 2 enters, playing the two measures below.
(Guitar 2 is transcribed without a capo).
|---------14--14----------14--14---|---------14--14--14--13--|
|--14h16-----------14h16-----------|--14h16------------------|
|----------------------------------|-------------------------|
|----------------------------------|-------------------------|
|----------------------------------|-------------------------|
|----------------------------------|-------------------------|
Bridge:
Bm
she'll call you up
B Em
just to hear you say she's fine
D C
then she's gone away
Am F#
and you know there's only
Bm E A
one more time you'll hear about her again
Verse:
D
well it's life informing art
G
informing life again like every stupid kid
D
who thinks that they're the first in pain
Em
first to rip themselves apart
D
first to try to live without a heart
Chorus:
G
wanna see your face
D
even hear your lies
Bm
good luck love
F#
or goodbye
G
miss you now
D
hope you're fine
Bm
good luck girl
F#
or goodbye
G
or goodbye
goodbye
Ending:
Guitar 1 continues repeating the last two measures of the chorus.
Guitar 2 plays the same two measure pattern it played before
throughout the ending.
Guitar 3 enters, playing the first two measures below twice, and
then repeats the second two measures below, roughly,
throughout the ending.
G A Bm A
||------2--2--------0--0-----|---------------------||
||---3--------3--2--------2--|-----3--3-----2------||
||*--------------------------|--4--------4--2--2--*||
||*--------------------------|--------------------*||
||---------------------------|---------------------||
||---------------------------|---------------------||
||----------------|--------------------------------||
||---3-2--2-2-----|--------------------3-----------||
||*--4p2--2h4-----|--2h4----------2-2--4--4p2-----*||
||*------------4--|--0-0--2h4--2--2h4----------4--*||
||----------------|--------------------------------||
||----------------|--------------------------------||
Live Variations:
The way Glen plays this live now is pretty much like it is on the
demo, except without the extended ending. (and of course, without
the band). One thing that he does is he usually replaces the first
G chord in the chorus with a Gadd9 (32023x)... He also plays the
last three measures of the chorus a little more elaborately:
F#(add4) G(maj7) A G/B A/C#
|-----------------|-----2--------|---------------------------|
|-----------0--2--|-----0--------|----------3----------2-----|
|-----3-----------|--------0--2--|-------------0----------2--|
|--------4--------|-----------2--|-------0-------------------|
|-----------------|-----------0--|--0h2-----------2/4--------|
|--2--------------|--3-----------|---------------------------|
And, not to be excluded, the country version... It's pretty much
the same song, only played on an acoustic with an upbeat strum
pattern... here's the first two measures of the verse, the catchy
guitar part. (The first measure is also the intro).
D G
|-----2--------0--2--0--2--|-----3--------5--3--2--0--|
|-----3--3-----3--3--3--3--|-----3--------3--3--3--3--|
|-----2-----2--2--2--2--2--|-----0--0-----0--0--0--0--|
|--0--0--------0--0--0--0--|-----0-----0--0--0--0--0--|
|--------------------------|-----2--------------------|
|--------------------------|--3--3--------------------|
The rest of the song follows the same chord progression, with
lots of walking bass notes. The chorus has a nice country rhythm
to it, complete with alternating bass riffs:
G
|------------------------------------------|
|-----3--3-------3--3-----3--3-------3--3--|
|-----0--0-------0--0-----0--0-------0--0--|
|-----0--0-------0--0-----0--0-------0--0--|
|-----------0h2-----------------0h2--------|
|--3-------------------3-------------------|
D
|-----2--2-----2--2-----2--2-----2--2--|
|-----3--3-----3--3-----3--3-----3--3--|
|-----2--2-----2--2-----2--2-----2--2--|
|--0-----------------0-----------------|
|-----------0-----------------4--------|
|--------------------------------------|
... and so on.
