Train Wreck - Glen Phillips
Capo: Fret 4
Tuning: , E A D G B E
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:
|-------------
|--3--------3-
|--2--2-----2-
|--0--4-----2-
|-------------
|-------------
-------|------
-------|--3---
-2-----|--2--2
-4-----|--0--4
-------|------
-------|------
--------------
-----3--------
-----2--2-----
-----2--4-----
--------------
--------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
Verse:
|-------------
|-------------
|--------2----
|--0----------
|-------------
|-------------
-|------------
-|------------
-|--0---------
-|--0-----0---
-|------------
-|------------
--|-----------
--|--------3--
--|-----2-----
--|--0--------
--|-----------
--|-----------
---|----------
---|--------3-
---|-----4----
---|--4-------
---|----------
---|----------
----|
----|
----|
----|
----|
----|
|-------------
|--------3----
|-----0-------
|--0----------
|-------------
|-------------
-|------------
-|-----------0
-|-----0------
-|--2---------
-|------------
-|------------
--|--------|--
--|--3-----|--
--|--2-----|--
--|--------|--
--|--------|--
--|--------|--
------|
2-----|
2-----|
------|
------|
------|
she looked jus
t like a train
wreck
that could've
been avoided
in a third wor
ld country
by a long stre
tch of farmlan
d
where the wate
rs have run hi
gh
run the topsoi
l down the riv
er
so that next y
ear there'll b
e 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:
|-------------
|--------3----
|--0----------
|-------------
|-------------
|-------------
-|-----|------
-|-----|------
-|-----|--4---
-|--4--|------
-|-----|------
-|-----|------
-----|--------
--3--|--2-----
-----|--------
-----|--------
-----|--------
-----|--------
---|
---|
3--|
4--|
---|
---|
|-----------|-
|-----------|-
|--5-----2--|-
|--4-----2--|-
|-----------|-
|-----------|-
----------|
----------|
----------|
-4-----2--|
-2-----0--|
----------|
miss you now
hope you're fi
ne
good luck, lov
e
or goodbye
or goodbye
|-------------
|-------------
|--------2--2-
|--0-----4--2h
|-------------
|-------------
---|----------
---|----------
2--|-----2--2-
4--|-----4--2h
---|----------
---|----------
---|
---|
2--|
4--|
---|
---|
Verse:
she was the gi
rl from centra
l casting
always played
the sweet youn
g orphan
or the hooker
with the heart
of gold
but she got he
r SAG card pul
led
turns tricks d
own on Cahueng
a
she tells hers
elf it's resea
rch for her ne
xt
greatest role
Chorus:
miss your ligh
t
your eager eye
s
good luck, lov
e
or goodbye
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--
|--14h16------
|-------------
|-------------
|-------------
|-------------
14----------14
-----14h16----
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--14---|------
-------|--14h1
-------|------
-------|------
-------|------
-------|------
---14--14--14-
6-------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
-13--|
-----|
-----|
-----|
-----|
-----|
Bridge:
she'll call yo
u up
just to hear y
ou say she's f
ine
then she's gon
e away
and you know t
here's only
one more time
you'll hear ab
out her again
Verse:
well it's life
informing art
informing life
again like ev
ery stupid kid
who thinks tha
t they're the
first in pain
first to rip t
hemselves apar
t
first to try t
o live without
a heart
Chorus:
wanna see your
face
even hear your
lies
good luck love
or goodbye
miss you now
hope you're fi
ne
good luck girl
or goodbye
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.
||------2--2--
||---3--------
||*-----------
||*-----------
||------------
||------------
------0--0----
3--2--------2-
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
-|------------
-|-----3--3---
-|--4--------4
-|------------
-|------------
-|------------
---------||
--2------||
--2--2--*||
--------*||
---------||
---------||
||------------
||---3-2--2-2-
||*--4p2--2h4-
||*-----------
||------------
||------------
----|---------
----|---------
----|--2h4----
-4--|--0-0--2h
----|---------
----|---------
--------------
-----------3--
------2-2--4--
4--2--2h4-----
--------------
--------------
---------||
---------||
4p2-----*||
-----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:
|-------------
|-----------0-
|-----3-------
|--------4----
|-------------
|--2----------
----|-----2---
-2--|-----0---
----|--------0
----|---------
----|---------
----|--3------
-----|--------
-----|--------
--2--|--------
--2--|-------0
--0--|--0h2---
-----|--------
--------------
--3----------2
-----0--------
--------------
--------2/4---
--------------
-----|
-----|
--2--|
-----|
-----|
-----|
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).
|-----2-------
|-----3--3----
|-----2-----2-
|--0--0-------
|-------------
|-------------
-0--2--0--2--|
-3--3--3--3--|
-2--2--2--2--|
-0--0--0--0--|
-------------|
-------------|
-----3--------
-----3--------
-----0--0-----
-----0-----0--
-----2--------
--3--3--------
5--3--2--0--|
3--3--3--3--|
0--0--0--0--|
0--0--0--0--|
------------|
------------|
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:
|-------------
|-----3--3----
|-----0--0----
|-----0--0----
|-----------0h
|--3----------
--------------
---3--3-----3-
---0--0-----0-
---0--0-----0-
2-------------
---------3----
--------------
-3-------3--3-
-0-------0--0-
-0-------0--0-
----0h2-------
--------------
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
|-----2--2----
|-----3--3----
|-----2--2----
|--0----------
|-----------0-
|-------------
-2--2-----2--2
-3--3-----3--3
-2--2-----2--2
-------0------
--------------
--------------
-----2--2--|
-----3--3--|
-----2--2--|
-----------|
--4--------|
-----------|
... and so on.