Cinnamon Girl Intro

[Brucifer]

Hi folks. I'm trying to learn Neil Young's Cinnamon Girl and I'm having trouble with the main riff, the riff used in the intro and after the verses. It's my mom's favorite song and I want to play it for her birthday. I've got the verses down fine and I even figured out most of the solo, but that intro has escaped me. If anyone an assist with a short tab or just an explanation of that peice of the song I'd be truly grateful.

Thanks!

[Jim Broyles]

Okay, it sounds a little different on a mandolin if you keep it in the original key, but you can get a pretty cool rendition of it like this:

-----|----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
-----|-3-5-5-5-3-5----|-3-2-0-----------|-3-5-5-5-3-5-----|-3-2-0-----------|
-----|-5-7-7-7-5-7----|-------3-5-------|-5-7-7-7-5-7-----|-------3---------|
-----|----------------|-------2-4-------|-----------------|-------2---------|

D.......................Am
I want to live with the Cinnamon Girl
C.....................G
I could be happy the rest of my life with the

"Cinnamon Girl" is sung over the following riff:

-----|-------------------|-----------------|-----------------|
-----|-----0-3-5-5-3-2-3-|-0---------------|-----------------|
-----|-3-5---2-4-4-------|-2---------------|-----------------|
-----|-------------------|-2---------------|-----------------|


Hope this helps a little. If you have Skype I'll show it to you "in person" if you want me to. PM me if you need more help.

[Brucifer]

Brilliant! Thanks so much! Can't wait to try it out.

[Christian McKee]

...About the second time I saw Los Lobos (with Dave Alvin sitting in, I was right up front) they came out for an encore and Dave Hidalgo started tuning his tele down to D. I thought "wouldn't it be *awesome* if they did Cinnamon Girl" just before they THUNDERED into it. I jumped up and down like I was getting paid... Good tune.

Christian

[kazbah_707]

Hi Brucifer,

The outline Jim gave above is an excellent approximation of the main riff-age,
but there is a subtle difference in the first bar of the riff. Note that the riffs occur
4 times between verses and once in the middle of each (double)-verse.

There is a mega-riff each first time thru (more below). As Jim points out, when you're
doing the 4 riffs between verses, the 1st and 3rd passes end on F-G, where the 2nd and
4th hang on an F.

In the middle of the double verse, there's a variant where you start with the mega-riff,
but end hanging on an F.

It's tough to make it sound convincing without at least one guitar in the original tuning,
which I refer to as double-drop-D, although I'm not sure that's an official tuning name.
Basically, both top(1st) and bottom(6th) Es on a guitar are dropped to D, giving a
non-open tuning of (lo-to-hi) D-A-D-G-B-D.

The 1st and 3rd bars of Jim's first example would be played by hammering between
0-0-0-5-5-5 and 0-0-0-7-7-7 (DADCEG) to (DADDF#A) - i.e. C with a lot of D in the
bass to true D.

The first bar of the mega-riff uses similar 3-finger-at-the same-fret technique, but on
the bass strings (6-5-4). So it goes something like this between verses:
3-3-3-0-0-0
5-5-5-0-0-0
0-0-0-0-0-0 (selective striking perhaps)
0-0-0-5-5-5
0-0-0-7-7-7
0-0-0-7-7-7
The 3-2-0 Jim shows in bars 2 & 4 is done on the A(5th) string,
followed by either
3-3-3-0-0-0
5-5-5-0-0-0 (F-G)
or
3-3-3-0-0-0 (hang on F)

If you've got nothing better to do Saturday, my band will be
performing this at the Yarmouth Clam Festival - No Banjos,
Memorial Green, 2:00 p.m. No mando on this one, but I'll
be playing the part outlined above, and playing octave mando
for most of the rest of the set.

I'd be happy to walk you thru the riffs after the show.

Alan

[Brucifer]

Wow, wish I has seen this earlier. Sorry I didn't see this in time for your show, be sure and keep me posted on future gigs.

Thanks for the tips. I did in fact pull out my git to play around with the riff on an acoustic to get a frame of reference. My challenge is trying to get a faithful variation on the mando. With all the distortion and drop D tuning Neil uses, plus the way he lets the chords ring and wash over each other makes it a challenge to with a much higher range acoustic instrument. I'll keep plugging away!

[Steve Sikes-Nova]

I can't help you with the tab but here's a big thumbs up to your and your mom's taste in music. Neil rocks! SS-N

[Ed Goist]

Hi Jim:
Just a huge THANK YOU eight months down the line.
I'm planning on acquiring my first e-mando in the very near future, and this song (along with Rockin' in the Free World, Rise and Wish You Were Here are at the top of my "projects list" for the new e-mando).
Thanks;
Ed

Okay, it sounds a little different on a mandolin if you keep it in the original key, but you can get a pretty cool rendition of it like this:

-----|----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
-----|-3-5-5-5-3-5----|-3-2-0-----------|-3-5-5-5-3-5-----|-3-2-0-----------|
-----|-5-7-7-7-5-7----|-------3-5-------|-5-7-7-7-5-7-----|-------3---------|
-----|----------------|-------2-4-------|-----------------|-------2---------|

D.......................Am
I want to live with the Cinnamon Girl
C.....................G
I could be happy the rest of my life with the

"Cinnamon Girl" is sung over the following riff:

-----|-------------------|-----------------|-----------------|
-----|-----0-3-5-5-3-2-3-|-0---------------|-----------------|
-----|-3-5---2-4-4-------|-2---------------|-----------------|
-----|-------------------|-2---------------|-----------------|


Hope this helps a little. If you have Skype I'll show it to you "in person" if you want me to. PM me if you need more help.

[kazbah_707]

Hi Brucifer,

Can't figure out how to personal mail you, so I'll tack onto this thread for now.
My 3-piece (No Banjos) will be at the SeaDog in So Portland (formerly Eggspectations)
this Sat 3/19. Cinnamon Girl will be on the set-list, along with a bunch of Octave
stuff. Hope to see you there....Alan