Anyone got the sheet music or tabs? I've figured a version out by ear (in D), but it would be nice to compare it with something more "official". Also, is he lifting a traditional Irish tune for the lead melody lines on this song or is it original?
Anyone got the sheet music or tabs? I've figured a version out by ear (in D), but it would be nice to compare it with something more "official". Also, is he lifting a traditional Irish tune for the lead melody lines on this song or is it original?
I play this tune with my band. I don't have tab but the chord progression goes like this:
D-G-D-G-D-Bm-D-A-D
I believe there is a YouTube video of Steve Earle playing this tune solo mandolin.
Living’ in the Mitten
Yeah, I knew this song was requested before. Here's a tab I found on a tab request thread at Mudcat.org. NOTE: The forum (Mandolin Cafe) does not format the tab right even if you use Courier New font. The original poster's instruction (bolded) to copy it to Notepad and use Courier or Courier New, does work when you copy it from the linked location.
Subject: Tune Add: GALWAY GIRL (Steve Earle)
From: DaveP
Date: 05 May 08 - 05:43 PM
I converted the ABC into Mandolin TAB using a program I wrote a few years ago. The TAB looks wrong here because of the proportionally spaced font.
Copy the section between the @@@@@@ lines into notepad and change the font to "Courier" or "courier new" it should then look OK.
If it works for you see thread
Tech: FREE ABC to TAB software
where you get guided to a totally free copy of the converter.
Any queries PM me
DaveP
@@@@@@@@@
Galway Girl
Time signature = 4/4 DefaultNoteLengh = 1/8 Key = D
E 4 |-----|---------------|-------------|-------------|-----------|---------|
A |-----|---------------|-----------0-|-2-2-2-4-5-4-|-2-0-0---0-|-2-2-0---|
D 4 |-0-2-|-4-2-4-2-0-0-2-|-4-4-4-2-0---|-------------|-------4---|-------4-|
G |-----|---------------|-------------|-------------|-----------|---------|
e e q _____ q e e q q e e e e q q e e e e q q q e e q q q q
=2*e
E 4 |-----------|-------------|---------|-----------|---------|
A |-----------|-------------|-------0-|-2-0-2-0-2-|-4-5-2-0-|
D 4 |-5-4-5-4-0-|-2-2-2-4-5-4-|-2-0-0---|-----------|---------|
G |-----------|-------------|---------|-----------|---------|
e e q q q q q e e e e q q q q . e . e q q q q q
q q
E 4 |-------------|---------|-----------|-----------|-------------|--- |
A |-0-2-0-------|---0-2-2-|-0-----0---|-----------|-------------|---:|
D 4 |-------5-4-2-|-2-------|---4-5---5-|-4-0-2-2-0-|-2-4-5-4-2-0-|-0- |
G |-------------|---------|-----------|-----------|-------------|--- |
e e e e q h q q q q q q e e q q q q e e e e e e q q h
@@@@@@@@@
Last edited by Jim Broyles; Oct-11-2008 at 10:11pm. Reason: Added link to original tab.Tried to fix font. Added notes.
"I thought I knew a lot about music. Then you start digging and the deeper you go, the more there is."~John Mellencamp
"Theory only seems like rocket science when you don't know it. Once you understand it, it's more like plumbing!"~John McGann
"IT'S T-R-E-M-O-L-O, dangit!!"~Me
Intro:
D D
Verse 1:
D
Well, I took a stroll on the old long walk
.......D........A......G
On a day -I-ay-I-ay
D
I met a little girl and we stopped to talk
......G...........D
On a fine soft day -I-ay
.......G..........D....................G........D
And I ask you, friend, what's a fella to do
..............Bm...........................G...... .......D
'Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue
.......G.............D.............G.........D
And I knew right then I'd be takin' a whirl
...............Bm......................G........D
'Round the Salthill Prom with a Galway girl
Bridge:
D / / / Bm / G D
D / / / A / G D
Verse 2:
D
We were halfway there when the rain came down
G
On a day -I-ay-I-ay
D
And she asked me up to her flat downtown
D G D
Of a fine soft day -I-ay-I-ay
G D G D
And I ask you, friend, what's a fella to do
Bm G D
'Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue
G D G D
So I took her hand and I gave her a twirl
Bm G D
And I lost my heart to a Galway girl
BRIDGE (2X)
Verse 3:
D G
When I woke up I was all alone
D G D
With a broken heart and a ticket home
G D G D
And I ask you now, tell me what would you do
Bm A G D
If her hair was black and her eyes were blue
G D G D
'Cause I've traveled around. I've been all over this world
Bm G D
Boys I ain't never seen nothin' like a Galway girl
BRIDGE (3X)
The bridge I picked up easily because it was played on a tinwhistle. I make a mando tab but I have difficulty showing the time. Here are the tonic solfa notes:
d r m r d r m m m r d
l l t d t l s m
s l l s m f m r m
r r r m f m r d d
l l s l t d t l
s s f m r r
l l s m f m r m
r r r m f m r d d
I use a lot of cuts, crans and rolls - (read slides, triplets, and hammers) to get the flow.
Good Luck.
Sorry about the chords being on top of each other, they looked fine when I posted it and when I edit it.
I've added dots to the first verse and chorus to show the chord spacing.
Thanks. I'd already figured the chord changes out but the tabbed melody line is cool too see. I already have a passable version, but I wasn't teribly pleased with a few bars and wanted to see what others had come up with. I'm looking forward to playing it when I get home.
So, I'm curious did he lift the lead melody line from an existing Irish reel or did he make it up himself?
If he did then its one I haven't heard before... but then again just a change of tempo can yield a different tune....
Found this great version on youtube, with Sharon Shannon sharing the stage with Steve at the Kennedy Center Gala for Irish Music:
"The problem with quotes on the internet, is everybody has one, and most of them are wrong."
~ Mark Twain
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Not to shabby! That's Donal Lunney on the bouzouki...
Last edited by Jim MacDaniel; Aug-27-2009 at 7:00pm.
"The problem with quotes on the internet, is everybody has one, and most of them are wrong."
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Ok, I'm going crazy trying to play, I can't figure out what D chord he's playing, I don't think it's the "standard" D
Can anyone tell me what D chord he is playing?
I think the G is:
Thanks to the previous posters for getting me started on this song!
Just food for thought, Earle does use that D chord but he reaches for the B note on the G string for a G chord sometimes (at least that's what I think goes on on Copperhead Road). I have not listened to Galway Girl but that may be why it does not sound normal to you. This is just a wag but it might help you think it out.
That song became the bane of my life whenever i have returned home... every second jack or nancy, on seeing the mandolin presumed that i'd know it... i did not.
That youtube video is my first time hearing it in full... another fine bootstomper from Mr Earle, i suppose theres worse things to be hassled for
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/8942
Maybe this is what you're after?
david blair
Working on this talk now and almost have it licked but having problems on the line "On a fine soft day ay ay".
I have tried playing it:
......G...........D
On a fine soft day -I-ay
and
......D...........G
On a fine soft day -I-ay
Neither way sounds right. What is Steve doing there? Any help appreciated!
Now you've got me going on this song. Perfect for singing in the pub, which is what I usually do. I only knew it by the Elders before this though:
That's a live version, where you can see them playing, but the sound is not too great. Here's a link to a recorded version with better sound.
Great song. Gotta go practice. Gotta stop finding new songs to learn until I catch up some.
We recently recorded a version of it in D just for ourselves. Sounded pretty good. Fun song to sing.
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I do like the Elders version I posted (well, I AM Irish) and tried to play along with it, using the chords posted here. Apparently, they don't play it in D like Steve does, so I went back to Steve's version. The Elders do the lyrics a bit different too. Really nice song though.
Steve is selling that Jimmy Moon mandolin ( from the Kennedy Center video) by the way. I don't know where it is now, probably Matty has it in the Village-- Steve likes to hang at Umanov Guitars so that is who would be handling it .Steve is not interested in selling the Gil..
Anyone ever see him play his Vox/Hammertone/Phantom-inspired Spicer eMando as below? (I've never seen him play it live or in a vid, and wonder if he still even has it.)
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~ Mark Twain
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Didn't work.
Last edited by Jim Broyles; May-02-2011 at 11:34am. Reason: Tried to align chords with words.
"I thought I knew a lot about music. Then you start digging and the deeper you go, the more there is."~John Mellencamp
"Theory only seems like rocket science when you don't know it. Once you understand it, it's more like plumbing!"~John McGann
"IT'S T-R-E-M-O-L-O, dangit!!"~Me
Steve is a hound for sure when it comes to instruments. He's pretty knowledgeable about them I've found. Did you ever see the Kopple interview? He's sitting in a room with a 20 foot row of guitars hanging on hooks and in the space between the next 20 foot row of guitars is a set of drums set up and the logo on the base drum says "The Beatles". He shared that studio with someone so maybe they weren't ALL his. He was still in Nashville when that interview took place. Mostly I see that he is using his Gilchrist and his Martin "Steve Earle" signature model that he designed with Matt Umanov. He lives in New York now so I wonder if he has the space for all of that.
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