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Date: Fri, 8 Sep 95 13:42:00 EDT
From: Winston Campbell
Subject: GHOST TOWN by The Specials
GHOST TOWN (Dammers)
I got this cool song off of the Specials Singles Collection. I highly
recommend it (I know if you are reading this you probably have this) but
it really is a neat little CD. So is this neat little song that took me
such a while to figure out. The bass was pretty standard, but the guitar
part changes and it was really difficult to figure it out. So if you are
reading this I hope you enjoy it and I hope you write me lots of email
messages for this. Anyway, let me first transcribe the bass for this
song.
That emerging doomy intro is:
F#dim Bbdim Ddim F#dim* Bbdim* Ddim*
G -------------------------------------------------------------------------
D -------------------------------------------------------------------------
A ---------------------------------5-5-5-5-9-9-9-9-13-13-13-13-17-17-17-17-
E -2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-----------------------------------------
The verse (please pay mind to the bars) is:
Cm?...
G -----------------------------------------|---------------------------
D ----1------0------3--6--5----------------|----1------0------3--6-----
A -3------3------3----------3--3--3------2-|-3------3------3--------3--
E ------------------------------------3----|---------------------------
Gm7
G --5-5-5-5-5-5-----|---------------------------------------|---------
D ------------------|----1------0------3--6--5--------------|---------
A ------------------|-3------3------3----------3--3--3------|---1-1-1-
E ------------------|------------------------------------3--|-3-------
E
G -------------------------|-----------------------------|
D -------------------------|-----------------------------|
A ---1-1-1---1-1-1---1--1--|-2--2-2-2----2--2-2-2----2-2-|
E -3-------3-------3-------|-----------0-----------0-----|
Okay the chords played with the bass lines are played like this:
Cm?... consists of three chords (that I have personally named Cm, CmX, and
CmY), that and the rest are played like:
E A D G B E
-----------
Cm x x x 5 4 3
CmX x x x 7 6 4
CmY x x x 7 6 6
Gm7 x x x 7 6 6
E x x x 9 9 7
Notice that CmY and Gm7 are played identically. Trust me about this. The
way how these chords are played are with a quick backstroke to the beat
(like how many reggae songs are played). You should play the chords in
this order with occurence with the bass notes and music:
Cm Cm CmX CmY
Cm Cm CmX Cm
Cm Cm CmX CmY
Cm Cm CmX CmY
Cm Cm CmX CmY
Cm Cm CmX Cm
Gm7 Gm7 Gm7 Gm7
E E E E
I hope you understood that. If you did not, you listen to the music
carefully to see what I mean. Every chord is a guitar stroke. Anyway,
those cool riffs that are played by the horns and whistles (?) during the
verse goes something like this:
Riff 1:
E -------------7h8p7--------
B -8--------8--------9--8---
G --------------------------
D --------------------------
A --------------------------
E --------------------------
Riff 2:
E ----------------------
B ----------------------
G ----------------------
D ----5-4-----3--1--0---
A -3--------------------
E ----------------------
Riff 3:
E -3---1-------------
B --------2--1--0----
G -------------------
D -------------------
A -------------------
E -------------------
Riff 1 is that Middle Eastern sounding flute. Riff 2 are the horns that
play and Riff 3 is that little whistle played during the Gm7 to E chord
change. The Riffs go in order: 1, 2, 1, 3. Listen to the song to check
with that.
After that verse section, the second verse section begins. It is that eerie
sounding part where you hear the children screaming and chanting. I really
do not know what the guitar plays but in theory the chord changes with the
bass riff underneath is as follows:
Cm Bdim Bb
G --------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
D ------5---------5---|------5---------5---|------3---------3---|
A -3--6---6--3--6---6-|-3--6---6--3--6---6-|-2--5---5--1--5---5-|
E --------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
Cm Gm
G ---------------------|
D ------5--------------|
A -3--6---6------------|
E -----------3----3----|
The song then goes back to the intro riff and then the bridge appears, this
is that -Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town- part,
which takes the song from it~s eerie doomy feel to happy tidings or so-so.
The bass riff is:
Db Gb Db Gb G
G -------------|----------------------|-------------|-----------------|---|
D -------------|------------4--4--2-1-|-------------|----4--1--1------|---|
A -4--4--4-4-4-|------1-2-4-----------|-4--4--4-4-4-|------------4----|---|
E -------------|-2--2-----------------|-------------|-2-------------2-|-3-|
The song takes us back to the verse, then the second verse and then it
pretty much stays on the verse bass notes until the end of the song. These
are basically the riffs for Ghost Town.
A way of playing the intro chords are these ways:
E A D G B E
----------------
F#dim x x x 2 1 2
Bbdim x x x 6 5 6
Ddim x x x 10 9 10
F#dim* x x x 14 13 14
Bbdim* x x x 18 17 18
Ddim* x x x 22 21 22
Personally I do no have a guitar that goes up to the 22nd fret so Ddim*
can be played like Ddim. It really does not matter.
The lyrics can be interpreted this way:
This town (town) is coming like a ghost town
All the clubs are being closed down
This place (town) is coming like a ghost town
Bands won~t play no more
Too much fighting on the dance floor
(Eerie children chant: Aaahh-la-la-la-la-la-la...)
Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town?
We danced and sang as the music played in any boomtown
This town (town) is coming like a ghost town
WHY MUST THE YOUTH FIGHT AGAINST THEMSELVES?
GOVERMENT LEAVING THE YOUTH ON THE SHELF
This place (town) is coming like a ghost town
NO JOB TO BE FOUND IN THIS COUNTRY
Can~t go on no more
The people getting angry
(Eerie children chant: Aaahh-la-la-la-la-la-la...)
This town is coming like a ghost town
This town is coming like a ghost town...
And that there is the transcription of -Ghost Town-, which used to be a
number one song on the British charts in 1980. Please, please, please let
me get what I want this time and send email. I will be visiting soon.
Bye-bye...
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