| Don't Think Twice (It's Alright) |
| Copyright 1963 Bob Dylan |
| Columbia Records |
10:01 AM 2/8/2008
[Tabbed by] SJ (sljohnson12@live.com)
[Comments]
— A very fun song to play. I took about an hour writing up
this tab because I AM F—in' SICK OF THE TABS OUT THERE FOR THIS
SONG! If I were Dylan I would be insulted... well, it's just when
you look at most tabs, they list chords but most of them have the
song in G (or D) when in all actuallity the SONG IS IN E!!!!
Also, none of the tabs I have ever seen have EVER GOTTEN THE FINGERPICKING
PROPER except for a Musicians Friend magazine, which only provided
half of a verse.
— The chorus I had to figure out the rest of the song from a very early
live recording — an old take of Don't Think Twice, where Dylan does not
play the harp with the song.
— Note the hammers and pulls (notated with an "h" and a "p" respectively) and
once you get the muscle memory down for the chords, which are
relatively easy actually, then the song will be a snap.
— I noticed that in the recording that was released on The Freewheelin',
The intro is slightly different than the recording on the 1967 Live at
Albert Hall version. I find the Live recording more entertaining, and
it can be played with a harp, so I figured, why not? I only play it
this way, people.
— I have also noticed variations on the lyrics, and I assume it is because
Dylan himself changed some of the verses around and added/removed
stuff throughout the years. For example, in one recording Dylan
sings "So long honey babe/ Where I'm bound/ I can't tell" rather
than "I'm a headin' down that long lonesome road, babe / Where
I'm bound/ I can't tell."
— Also, sometimes the third and fourth verse are swapped, similar to
how many people mix the second and third verse of Dylan's "Blowin'
In the Wind," though arguably the question you should ask yourself
when performing the song (if you so wish to— I know I sure as hell
have played this in front of a lot of people!) is "what message
do I want to leave the audience with? Either 'you just kinda wasted
my precious time' or 'I give her my heart but she wanted my soul.'"
In many ways the latter is much more meaningful, because it can
represent a youthful zealous woman. Dylan was such a pimp!
— And last but not least: THE SONG IS PLAYED WITH A CAPO ON IV!!!
(Thus transposing the song from C to E)
— On the recording of the Live at Albert Hall version (which is what the tab is based
the capo is placed on V, thus transposing the song to F. Play whichever is easier to sing,
overall the song is pretty easy to sing.
[Tips & Tricks]
* Slightly palm mute the notes to create a softer timbre
* The song has a fairly simple structure: The intro is essentially
the first half of the verse — in the early version of the song
Dylan actually plays the entire verse and chorus for the intro.
* This song uses Travis Fingerpicking, which is alternating a bass
notes within a melody; usually they are fifths (for example,
alternate bass between C and G, or A and E, etcetera)
* It is good to think of the song as segments. The verse is
split into two parts, which will be clarified in the tab.
* The chorus is just one straight progression of chords that does
not loop around to repeat itself like the verse does.
* The Chords are listed at the end of the Tab, though the Author
(and probably Dylan) would prefer the fingerpicked version over
simple strumming of chords...as stated earlier, your hands will
retain the shape of the chords, and once you get those down,
just work on making the transitions smooth.
* If you want to sing while you play it, I strongly reccomend
listening to how Dylan sings it. He will pause his voice at
certain points and also hold specific notes for longer
than others: e.g. "When the rooster crows at the breeeaaaaak of dawn,
look—out—your—window—and... I'll be gone... you're the reason I'm a
traaveliin' on—Don't Think Twice It's Alright."
Intro
e|—————|———————————————0h1—————————|————————————————————————————————|
B|—————|———————1—————————————————1—|———1—————————————————1————————1—|
G|—————|———0———————0—————————0—————|———————————2—————0h2———————0————|
D|———2—|—————2———————0—————————0———|——————2——————2—————————2—————2——|
A|—3———|———————————————————————————|—0———————0——————————0———————————|
E|—————|—3———————3—————————3———————|—————————————————————————3——————|
|———————————————————————————————————|——————————————————————————0h1—————————|
|—h1—————1———————1————————————1—————|—0h1—————1———————0——————————————————1—|
|————2———————2———————2———0h2——————2—|—————0———————0———————0——————————0—————|
|——————3———————3———————3————————3———|———————2———————2————————0—————————0———|
|———————————————————————————————————|——————————————————————————————————————|
|—h1———————1———————1—————————0——————|—h3————————3———————3——————————3———————|
|——————————————|
|———————————1——|
|———————0——————| < Play this 4 times before each verse. This is a Prime
|———2—————2————| Example of Travis Fingerpicking.
|—3————————————|
|—————3————————|
The Structure of Each Verse Goes: A B A C
Verse Part A
|————————————————————0h1—————————|————————————————————————————————|
|————————————1—————————————————1—|———1—————————————————1————————1—|
|————————0———————0—————————0—————|———————————2—————0h2———————0————|
|———2——————2———————0—————————0———|——————2——————2—————————2—————2——|
|—3——————————————————————————————|—0———————0——————————0———————————|
|——————3———————3—————————3———————|—————————————————————————3——————|
C/G G7 Am C/G
Verse Part B
|———————————————————————————————————|——————————————————————————0h1—————————|
|—h1—————1———————1————————————1—————|—0h1—————1———————0——————————————————1—|
|————2———————2———————2———0h2——————0—|—————0———————0———————0——————————0—————|
|——————3———————3———————3————————3———|———————2———————2————————0—————————0———|
|———————————————————————————————————|——————————————————————————————————————|
|—h1———————1———————1—————————0——————|—h3————————3———————3——————————3———————|
F Csus/F C/G G7
Verse Part C
|———————————————————————0h1p0—————————|———————————————————————————————————|
|———————1———————1———————————————————1—|———————1———————0——————————0————————|
|———2———————2———————2———————————2—————|———0———————0———————0———————————0———|
|—————0———————0———————0———————————0———|—————2———————2————————2h3————————2—|
|—————————————————————————————————————|———————————————————————————————————|
|—2———————2———————2———————————2———————|—3———————3———————3——————————3——————|
D9/F# C/G
Chorus
|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|———————————1———————————1———————1———————1———————1———————1——|
|———————0———————————0———————3———————3———————3———————3——————|
|———2—————2—————2—————2———————2———————2———————2———————2————|
|—3———3———————3———3———————3———————3———————3———————3————————|
|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
C C7
|———————————————————0h1———————————————————————————————0h1————————|
|———————————1—————————————————1———————1———————1———————————————1——|
|———————2———————2—————————2———————2———————2———————2———————2——————|
|———3—————3———————3—————————3———————0———————0———————0———————0————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|—1———1———————1—————————1———————2———————2———————2———————2————————|
F D9/F#
|————————————————————0h1—————————|———————————————|
|————————————1—————————————————1—|————1——————————|
|————————0———————0—————————0—————|———————————0———|
|———2——————2———————0—————————0———|——————2——————2—|
|—3——————————————————————————————|—0—————————————|
|——————3———————3—————————3———————|—————————3—————|
C/G G7 Am
|————————————————————————0———————————————0h1—————————|
|—h1—————1———————h1——————————————0—————————————————1—|
|————2———————2———————0———————0———————0—————————0—————|
|——————3———————3———————2———————2———————0—————————0———|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|—h1———————1——————3————————3———————3—————————3———————|
F G/C G7
[Bridges] They are a mix and match of verses, sometimes the chorus is added,
and an E Harmonica is played along with the melody.
[Chords]
654321 — String #
EADGBE — Musical Note
C/G ——————— 332010———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— | |
G7 ———————— 320001 | For example, when you play D9/F————————————————— |
Am ———————— x02210———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— | |
F ————————— 133211———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— | |
Csus/F ———— 133010 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— |
D9/F# ————— 2x0210 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— |
x indicates the string is NOT played (Am) or is muted (D9/F#)
Use your middle finger for the 2 on the E(6th) string
Which you can use to mute the A(5th) string.
[Lyrics]
Verses...
choruses...
It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
It don't matter, anyhow
It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
Given you don't know by now
When the rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and
I'll be gone
You're the reason I'm a travelin' on
Don't think twice: It's all right
It ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe
The light I never know'd
An' it ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe
I'm on the dark side of the road
Still I wish there was somethin' you would
Do or say
To try and make me change my mind
And stay
Well, we never did too much talkin' anyway!
But don't think twice, its all right
I'm a headin' down that long
Lonesome road, baby
Where I'm bound
I can't tell
But "goodbye's" too good—a—word, gal
So I'll just say "fare thee well"
I ain't sayin you treated me unkind
You coulda' done better but
I don't mind
You just kinda wasted my precious time
So don't think twice, its all right
It ain't no use in callin' out my name, gal
Like you never did before
It ain't no use in callin' out my name, gal
I can't hear you any more
I'm a' thinkin' and a' wonderin' all the way
Down the road
I once loved a woman
A child I am told
I give her my heart
But she wanted my soul!
Don't think twice, it's all right
Questions? Comments? Feel free to send me an
E—mail. For a video of me playing it, go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXeouj0YIJc&feature=channel_page
though it is low quality, so you may have to turn your volume up.