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Guitar Tab for One of These Things First by Nick Drake

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One of These Things First - Nick Drake

Found on:
Acoustic 70s(2017-11-24)
N. R. Drake, 69.(2014-09-08)
Meet on the Ledge: An Island Records Folk-Rock Anthology(2009-05-25)
Four Decades of Folk Rock(2007-09-11)
Rock Steady: 1971(2006)
easyAcoustic(2005)
Garden State: Music From the Motion Picture(2004-08-10)
Bryter Layter(2003-05-06)
Way to Blue: An Introduction to Nick Drake(2003)
NME Presents: Under the Influence(2000-11-28)
Unconditionally Guaranteed, 2000.7(2000-07)
Fruit Tree(1979-03-09)
El Pea(1971)
ONE OF THESE THINGS FIRST
     
(revised version - previously posted in EBEGBE, but although still
the same notes, this version sounds more convincing. Also instrumental
section reworked slightly)


TUNING DADF#AD capo 2nd fret (EBEG#BE is same notes of course, but
the strings sound a bit slacker to me)
     

As usual the picking varies a little bit, but these are the main 
shapes. The picking indications (t-thumb, i-index, m-middle, r-ring, 
l-little) are just what I find easiest.


Main riff:
     
|------|------|------|------|
|------|------|------|------|
|--0---|--1---|--3---|--2--1|
|--0---|--0---|--0---|--0--0|
|-0-000|-2-222|-4-444|-3--2-|
|0-----|0-----|0-----|0--0--|
   r
 timiti
     
notes:

1. the last note of 000 or 222 etc is very often omitted 
throughout the song.

2. during verses, you play bar 2 again instead of bar 4 (which
only reappears for the lines between verses, and the outro).
also, in verses nick seems just to play the bottom 3 strings,
though this can sound odd unaccompanied.

3. when leading into another section, the last bar becomes:

     |--0---|       |--0---| 
     |-0-000|   or  |-4-000| 
     |0-----|       |0-----|


"Could have been a signpost...."
     
|------|------|         |------|------| 
|------|------|         |------|------| 
|------|--5---| (twice) |------|--3---| (twice) 
|--7---|--5---|         |--5---|--3---| 
|-5-555|-5-555|         |-3-333|-3-333| 
|5-----|5-----|         |3-----|3-----|
     
"Could be here and now"
     
|------|         |------|
|------|         |------|
|--1---| (twice) |--1---| (twice)
|--0---|         |--0---|
|-3-333|         |-2-222|
|3-----|         |2-----|
     
     
(contd...)
     
     
"Could have been one of these things first"
     
|------|      |------|
|------|      |------|
|--5---| (x4) |--1---| (x4)
|--0---|      |--0---|
|-5-555|      |-2-222|
|5-----|      |2-----|


The intro, if you really want to be precise, goes:
     
|------|------|------|------|--00--|------|------|------|
|------|------|------|------|------|--0---|----0-|------|
|--0---|--1---|--3---|--2--1|--0---|--1---|--3--3|--2--1|
|--0--0|--0---|--0---|--0--0|--0---|--0---|---0--|0--0--|
|-0-00-|-2-222|-4-444|-3--2-|-0--00|-2-222|-4----|-3--2-|
|0-----|0-----|0-----|0--0--|0-----|0-----|0-----|0--0--|

     
The more complicated instrumental bits;
     
|------|0-----|------|0-----|---0--|---0--|---0--|------| 
|---0--|------|---0--|------|------|0-----|0-----|0-----| 
|--1-1-|-1---1|--1-1-|-1---1|--0---|--1---|--3---|-3----| 
|-0---0|--0-0-|-0---0|--0-0-|--0-0-|-0--0-|-0--0-|--0-0-| 
|------|3-----|------|2-----|-0----|2-----|4-----|4--0--| 
|3-----|---3--|2-----|---2--|0-----|------|------|------|
        r                      mr   r mr
 timrmi tmitim               tti t  tti t

and
     
|------|------|---0--|0--0--|------|------|---0--|0--0--| 
|------|------|-0--0-|-0--0-|------|------|-0--0-|-0--0-| 
|--5--5|--5--5|--5--5|--5--5|--1--1|--1--1|--1--1|--1--1| 
|--0--0|--0--0|----0-|----0-|--0--0|--0--0|----0-|----0-| 
|-5-55-|-5-55-|-5----|-5----|-2-22-|-2-22-|-2----|-2----| 
|5-----|5-----|5-----|5-----|2-----|2-----|2-----|2-----|
   m  m         rmrrm
 ttitti        ttitti
     
Oh well. No-one said this would be easy...
     
     
tabbed by Chris Healey

DADFAD Resources

More DADFAD Resources

Tuning Map

  • Fret
  • S6
  • S5
  • S4
  • S3
  • S2
  • S1
  • -13
  • D#
  • G#
  • C#
  • F#
  • A#
  • D#
  • -12
  • E
  • A
  • D
  • G
  • B
  • E
  • -11
  • F
  • A#
  • D#
  • G#
  • C
  • F
  • -10
  • F#
  • B
  • E
  • A
  • C#
  • F#
  • -9
  • G
  • C
  • F
  • A#
  • D
  • G
  • -8
  • G#
  • C#
  • F#
  • B
  • D#
  • G#
  • -7
  • A
  • D
  • G
  • C
  • E
  • A
  • -6
  • A#
  • D#
  • G#
  • C#
  • F
  • A#
  • -5
  • B
  • E
  • A
  • D
  • F#
  • B
  • -4
  • C
  • F
  • A#
  • D#
  • G
  • C
  • -3
  • C#
  • F#
  • B
  • E
  • G#
  • C#
  • -2
  • D
  • G
  • C
  • F
  • A
  • D
  • -1
  • D#
  • G#
  • C#
  • F#
  • A#
  • D#
  • 0
  • E
  • A
  • D
  • G
  • B
  • E
  • 1
  • F
  • A#
  • D#
  • G#
  • C
  • F
  • 2
  • F#
  • B
  • E
  • A
  • C#
  • F#
  • 3
  • G
  • C
  • F
  • A#
  • D
  • G
  • 4
  • G#
  • C#
  • F#
  • B
  • D#
  • G#
  • 5
  • A
  • D
  • G
  • C
  • E
  • A
  • 6
  • A#
  • D#
  • G#
  • C#
  • F
  • A#
  • 7
  • B
  • E
  • A
  • D
  • F#
  • B
  • -2
  • 0
  • 0
  • -2
  • -2
  • -2
            ___________
           q o       o p
           q o   G   o p
           d o   T   o b
           q o   D   o p
           q o   B   o p
           d o       o b
            \!       !/
            |=========|
            |!!!!!!!!!|
            |!!!!!!!!!|
            |!!!!!!!!!|              ____    ______  ____    ____
            |!!!!!!!!!|             /\  _`\ /\__  _\/\  _`\ /\  _`\
            |!!!!!!!!!|             \ \ \L\_\/_/\ \/\ \ \/\ \ \ \L\ \
           _|!!!!!!!!!|__            \ \ \L_L  \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \  _ <'
         .+=|!!!!!!!!!|--.`.          \ \ \/, \ \ \ \ \ \ \_\ \ \ \L\ \
       .'   |!!!!!!!!!|   `.\          \ \____/  \ \_\ \ \____/\ \____/
      /     !=========!     \\          \/___/    \/_/  \/___/  \/___/
      |    /|!!!!!!!!!|\    ||
       \   \!!!!!!!!!!!/   //
        )   `========='   ((
      .'    !!!!!!!!!!!    `..
     /      !!!!!!!!!!!      \\
    |       !!!!!!!!!!!       ||
    |       !!!!!!!!!!!       ||
    |       !!!!!!!!!!!       ||
     \     =============     //
 hjw  `.    o987654321o    .;'
 & warm `-._____________.-'
    whisky