Tabs
Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie.
Transcribed by Steve Coatney ([email protected]) - Feb 17, 1996.
Thanks to Johnny Birchett and Richard Ashley for their postings, which
inspired me to dig further.. Richard's lyrics are nearly perfect, and
Johnny's tab and chords are right on the mark. I've borrowed heavily
from Johnny, but made a few modifications (note the 
A augmentedA / 
A7A7 in place
of 
A minorAm).
I've verified the lyrics against the version included on the jacket of the
recent AU 20 remaster of the Ziggy Stardust CD. The recorded version adds
a few words, which I've marked with parentheses.
For a great unplugged version of Ziggy, check out Bowie's original
acoustic 12-string demo included as a bonus track on this CD. The lyrics
are identical to those written on the jacket.
I've included two tabs for the Intro, the first is similar to the Mick
Ronson electric version, and the second is Bowie's acoustic demo version.
Intro (Ronson)
--------------
Ronson does some hammering on during the intro, so play around with this
if you want to imitate him more closely. He also plays it a little
differently on the Santa Monica live album (he picks more individual
notes).
|--3-----2--3--2--3--2--------------------------------------------------
|--3-----3--3--3--3--3--3--------3-----3--------3-----3--------3-----3--
|--0-----2-----------2--2--------0--0--0--------0--0--0--------0-----0--
|--0-----0-----------0--0-----2-----2--2-----0-----2--2-----0-----0-----
|--x--------------------------3--------------2--------------0-----0-----
|--3--------------------------------------------------------------------
* H * * H * *
* = hold an extra half-beat
H = hammer on from open strings
Intro (Bowie)
-------------
Bowie's original intro is pretty simple, but very nice on 12-string.
|--3-----2--3--2--3--2--3-----0--------------0--------------0-----------
|--3-----3-----3-----3--3-----3--------3-----3--------3-----1-----0-----
|--4-----2-----2-----2--2-----0--------0-----0--------0-----2-----0-----
|--5-----0-----------0--0-----2--------2-----0--------0-----2-----0-----
|--x--------------------------3--------------2--------------0-----------
|--3--------------------------------------------------------------------
H H *
* = hold an extra half-beat
H = hammer on from second to third fret
Transition
----------
The transition between 
C majorC and 
D MajorD during "the Spiders from Mars" and
subsequent verses goes something like this:
C majorC D MajorD
|------------------------------------
|------------------------------------
|------------------------------------
|-----2-----2-----0-----2------------
|-----3-----3-----2-----3-----4------
|------------------------------------
the Spi ders...
Chorus
------
Repeat 3 times:
A augmentedA 
G+G 
FF G+G
|--5-5-5-5-5-----3-3-3-3-3-------1-1-1-1-1-1-1-3---
|--5-5-5-5-5-----3-3-3-3-3-------1-1-1-1-1-1-1-3---
|--6-6-6-6-6-----4-4-4-4-4-------2-2-2-2-2-2-2-4---
|--7-7-7-7-7-----5-5-5-5-5-------3-3-3-3-3-3-3-5---
|--7-7-7-7-7-----5-5-5-5-5-------3-3-3-3-3-3-3-5---
|--5-5-5-5-5-----3-3-3-3-3-------1-0-1-0-1-0-1-3---
then:
D MajorD 
E MajorE
|--5---x-5---x-5----------7---7-7-7-7-7-----
|--7---x-7---x-7----------9---9-9-9-9-9-----
|--7---x-7---x-7----------9---9-9-9-9-9-----
|--7---x-7---x-7----------9---9-9-9-9-9-----
|--5---x-5---x-5----------7---7-7-7-7-7-----
|--5---x-5---x-5----------7---7-7-7-7-7-----
* * ** * **
* = hold an extra half-beat
** = hold until the end of the next measure
This is one suggested pattern, but it varies, so improvise.
(My personal preference is to play the D MajorD and E MajorE in open position.)
On the acoustic and live versions, Bowie and Ronson continue
strumming on the D MajorD and E MajorE chords. Bowie also sometimes noodles
around with his pinky on the 
BB string on the D MajorD and E MajorE chords.
On electric, emphasize the lower (thicker) strings, especially
to get the right sound during the FF chord. The acoustic version
tends to emphasize the upper (thinner) strings.
Lyrics and chords
-----------------
(Intro x 4, or Intro x 2 in acoustic version)
G+G 
B minorBm C majorC
Ziggy played guitar...
(trans) D MajorD
G+G 
E minorEm
A augmentedA A7A7 C majorC
G+G B minorBm C majorC
(trans) D MajorD
G+G E minorEm
A augmentedA A7A7 C majorC
A augmentedA G+G FF G+G
So where were...
A augmentedA G+G FF G+G
A augmentedA G+G FF G+G
D MajorD E MajorE
(Intro x 2)
G+G B minorBm C majorC
Ziggy played for time...
(trans) D MajorD
G+G E minorEm
A augmentedA A7A7 C majorC
A augmentedA G+G FF G+G
Making love...
A augmentedA G+G FF G+G
A augmentedA G+G FF G+G
D MajorD E MajorE
(Intro x 3) then:
|--3-----2--3--2--3--2--------0--------------------------------3-----
|--3-----3--3--3--3--3--3-----3--------------------------------3-----
|--0-----2-----------2--2-----0--------------------------------0-----
|--0-----0-----------0--0-----2--------------------------------0-----
|--x--------------------------3--------------------------------x-----
|--3-----------------------------------------------------------3-----
Ziggy played...
(In acoustic version, after the second chorus Bowie immediately repeats
the second chorus, then he plays the intro several times and fades out,
without singing "Ziggy played guitar").
Other versions of Ziggy Stardust
Alternative guitar chords and tabs for Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie
