Damn Good Times tab by They Might Be Giants

Artist     : They Might Be Giants are John Flansburgh & John Linnell
Track     : Damn Good Times (Miller/Beller/TMBG)
Album     : The Spine
Joined by   : Dan Miller(Guitar), Danny WeinKauf(Bass), Marty Beller
         (Drums)
Transcribed By : David A. Dean (davidadean@bellsouth.net)
Guitar(s)   : Electric (sounds like a strat - Capo at 1st Fret)
Effects    : Distortion, Reverb or Delay
Tuning     : Standard
Notes     : Notes are NOT in relation to the capo. There are many
         bar chords, so it's much more clear to write the notes
         literally. When an open string is needed, instead of
         -1- I'm using -C-. If you don't have a capo, most of
         the notes are fretted, so it would be easy to learn,
         as it's written, then just transpose down a fret, so
         the open strings work. variataions of slides:
         8//10 - the 1st note only is struck
         8/-10 - both the 8 and 10 are struck
         (8)/10 - the 8 is struck then slid up very fast to
         create 10.
         These mechanics are explained in the examples at the
         bottom. The lead, as you know if you've heard the song
         starts with a tempo much slower than the song has been
         played to that point, and gradually gets faster ending
         pretty fast (which also ends the song).
Rhythm Notes  : Im using a rhythm bar below the tab to show where &
         how long to play notes. The ryhthm is based on 4/4.
         Explanations for the mechanics used throughout
         and the rhythm bar are at the bottom of the file.
Mechanics   : I'm using the standard set of mechanics with a few
         of my own thrown in. Please see the mechanics
         examples at the bottom of the page.

  h   - hammer on
  p   - pull off
  b   - bend string up
  r   - release bend
  /   - slide up
  \   - slide down
  v   - vibrato (sometimes written as v~~)
  wv  - wide vibrato (sometimes written as wv~~)
  t   - right hand tap
  T   - left hand tab
  x   - play note with heavy damping (if no note accompanies this
      symbol, the last note played on the string is implied)
  <   - play note short
  (n)  - grace note

 bbbbb - slow bend up   2bbbb4 - strike the 2 then slowly bend to
              the 4 over the time on rhythm bar.
 rrrrr - slow release down 4rrrr2 - strike the 4 (bent 2) then slowly
              release to 2 over the time on rhythm bar.
 ''''' - Sustained Note  4''''' - Strike and sustain the 4 over the
              time on the rhythm bar.
 ''''b - Sustained/bend up 2'''b4 - strike and hold the note at 2
              waiting to bend the note at the time
              indicated on the rhythm bar.
 ''''r - Sustained/release down
              4'''r2 - strike and hold the bent note at 4
              waiting to release the note at the time
              indicated on the rhythm bar.
 V = Upstroke
 ^ = Downstroke

# This file is all the transcriber's own work.
# If you find corrections are needed, please notify me.


              - Damn Good Times -
              They Might Be Giants
        Words and Music by Miller/Beller/TMBG MUSIC BMI


The song structure is :

1) Intro
2) Verse
3) Verse
4) Chorus
5) Chorus
6) Verse
7) Verse
8) Verse
9) Chorus
10) Chorus
11) Final Chorus Ending
12) Lead - END



(Intro Begin)            C
E--------------------------------8x|-----8-------8-x-----8-------8-x-|
B--------------------------------8x|-----8-------8-x-----8-------8-x-|
G----------------------------------|-----9-------9-------9-------9---|
D----------------------------------|-10-----10-------10-----10-------|
A----------------------------------|-10-----10-------10-----10-------|
E----------------------------------|-8-------8-------8-------8-------|

|--1---&---2---&---3---&---4---&-a---1---&---2---&-a-3---&---4---&-a-|
  Suggested picking throughout V  ^  ^  ^  ^ V ^  ^  ^  ^ V


   C                D
E------8-------8-x-----8-------8-x-|----10------10------10-x----10-x-|
B------8-------8-x-----8-------8-x-|----10------10------10-x----10-x-|
G------9-------9-------9-------9---|----11------11------11------11---|
D--10-----10-------10-----10-------|-12-----12-------12------12------|
A--10-----10-------10-----10-------|-12-----12-------12------12------|
E--8-------8-------8-------8-------|-10-----10-------10------10------|

|--1---&---2---&-a-3---&---4---&-a---1---&---2---&---3---&-a-4---&-a-|
"I'm not much of a"


  F                 C        G  (Intro End)
E----------------------------------|-----8-------8-----3---3---3//8--|
B-----10------10------10------10-x-|-----8-------8-----3---3---3//8--|
G-----10------10------10------10-x-|-----9-------9-----4---4---4//9--|
D-----10------10------10------10-x-|-10-----10---------5---5---5//10-|
A--8-------8-------8-------8-------|-10-----10---------5---5---5//10-|
E--C-------C-------C-------C-------|-8-------8---------3---3---3//8--|

|--1---&---2---&---3---&---4---&-a---1---&---2---&--3--&---4---&-----|
"You could call"



(Verse Begin)
   C                D
E------8-------8-------8-------8-x-|----10------10------10------10---|
B------8-------8-------8-------8-x-|----10------10------10------10---|
G------9-------9-------9-------9---|----11------11------11------11---|
D--10-----10-------10-----10-------|-12-----12-------12------12------|
A--10-----10-------10-----10-------|-12-----12-------12------12------|
E--8-------8-------8-------8-------|-10-----10-------10------10------|

|--1---&---2---&---3---&---4---&-a---1---&---2---&---3---&---4---&---|
"I've got a friend"                       "Yeah"
"I know a girl"                         "She"
"Do the Karaoke"                  "Not a joke"
"When my friend"                      "Like the"
"I know a girl"                         "She"

  F                 C         G (Verse End)
E------8-------8-------8-------8---|-----8-------8-------3---3---3---|
B-----10------10------10------10---|-----8-------8-------3---3---3---|
G-----10------10------10------10---|-----9-------9-------4---4---4---|
D-----10------10------10------10---|-10-----10-----------5---5---5---|
A--8-------8-------8-------8-------|-10-----10-----------5---5---5---|
E--C-------C-------C-------C-------|-8-------8-----------3---3---3---|

|--1---&---2---&---3---&---4---&-----1---&---2---&---3---&---4---&---|
"I got a friend"                   "twenty-one"
"Coughs and she laughs"              "Applaud..leaves"
"Comes to opera"                   "Step Aside"
"One with the guy"                 "Hel-i--cop-ter"
 "Coughs and she laughs"              "Applaud..leaves"


(Chorus Begin)
   C                D
E------8-------8-------8-------8---|----10------10------10------10---|
B------8-------8-------8-------8---|----10------10------10------10---|
G------9-------9-------9-------9---|----11------11------11------11---|
D--10-----10-------10-----10-------|-12-----12-------12------12------|
A--10-----10-------10-----10-------|-12-----12-------12------12------|
E--8-------8-------8-------8-------|-10-----10-------10------10------|

|--1---&---2---&---3---&---4---&-----1---&---2---&---3---&---4---&---|
 "Store"                "Store"
     "Damn"     "Good"    "Times"


  F                 C         G(Chorus End)
E------8-------8-------8-------8---|-----8-------8-------3---3---3---|
B-----10------10------10------10---|-----8-------8-------3---3---3---|
G-----10------10------10------10---|-----9-------9-------4---4---4---|
D-----10------10------10------10---|-10-----10-----------5---5---5---|
A--8-------8-------8-------8-------|-10-----10-----------5---5---5---|
E--C-------C-------C-------C-------|-8-------8-----------3---3---3---|

|--1---&---2---&---3---&---4---&-----1---&---2---&---3---&---4---&---|
 "All   of the peo--ple a-pplaud"
     "Damn"     "Good"    "Times"


(Final Chorus Ending)
  C
E----------------------------------|---------------------------------|
B--5'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''|''''''''''''''-------------------|
G--5'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''|''''''''''''''-------------------|
D--5'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''|''''''''''''''-------------------|
A--3'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''|''''''''''''''-------------------|
E--3'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''|''''''''''''''-------------------|

|--1---&---2---&---3---&---4---&-----1---&---2---&---3---&---4---&---|


(Lead Begin)        (rest 1/2 beat longer than end of measure)
E----------------------------------|---------------------------------|
B--------x-8<--------------8<------|---------8<----------------------|
G--------x-8<--------------8<------|---------8<----------------------|
D----------------------------------|---------------------------------|
A----------------------------------|---------------------------------|
E--3//-8-------3---C//-8-------3---|-C//-8-------3---C//-8<----------|

|--1---&-a-2---&---3---&---4---&-----1---&---2---&---3---&---4---&---|


E----------------------------------|---------------------------------|
B------8''''''''''-----8'''''''''\\|-----C''''''''''-----3'''''''''//|
G------8''''''''''-----8'''''''''\\|-----C''''''''''-----3'''''''''//|
D----------------------------------|---------------------------------|
A--10--------------10--------------|-----------------3-C<------------|
E--8---------------8---------------|-C-------------------------------|

|--1---&---2---&---3---&---4---&-----1---&---2---&---3-e-&---4---&-a-|


E----------------------------------|
B--8-------------------8-----------|
G--8-------------------8---10bb12''|
D-----10---10----8-10--------------|
A----------------------------------|
E----------------------------------|

|--1---&---2---&-a-3---&---4---&---|


E--------------------------2-3--------------|
B------------------------------3-4x-C-------|
G-10b12-10b12-12r10-8-----------------------|
D---------------------10\-------------------|
A-------------------------------------------|
E-------------------------------------------|

|---1-----&-----2---e--&---3-e-&-a--4---&---|


E--8-10b11-8-------------------------|
B--8-10b11-8-------------------------|
G-------------10--8-10bb12wv~~~~~~~~~|
D------------------------------------|
A------------------------------------|
E------------------------------------|

|--1---&---2---&--a--3---&---4---&---|


E-------8------------------------------|
B-------8------------------------8---8-|
G-10b12-----(8)/5--5-8-----------8---8-|
D----------------8-----5v~~~~~~~-------|
A--------------------------------------|
E--------------------------------------|

|--1-e--&-a----2-e-&-a-3---&---4-e-&-a-|


E-------11-------------8-10----11----------|
B------------------11--------------8'''''''|
G-10b12-----10b12--------------------------|
D------------------------------------------|
A------------------------------------------|
E------------------------------------------|

|--1--e-&----2--e--&---3--e--&--a--4---&---|


E--------13b15-13-11----13-11-----------11-|
B-----------------------------13v~~~~13-11-|
G------------------------------------12----|
D------------------------------------------|
A------------------------------------------|
E------------------------------------------|

|--1---&-a-2---&--a--3--e--&--a--4---&--a--|


E-------------------7-8---------7-8-|
B-13--11-8-11v~8-11-----7-8-6v~~----|
G-----------------------------------|
D-----------------------------------|
A-----------------------------------|
E-----------------------------------|

|--1---&-a-2---&--a-3-e-&-a-4---&-a-|


E-----7-8---------8-------------------|
B-7-8-----7---8-----8-----------------|
G---------------------10-8-10b12v~-8--|
D-------------------------------------|
A-------------------------------------|
E-------------------------------------|

|-1-e-&-a-2---&---3-e-&--a-4--e----&--|



E----8-8-8---------------------------|
B----8-8-8---------------------------|
G-10-------8-------8-10-8-----8------|
D-------------10-----------10-8--10--|
A------------------------------------|
E------------------------------------|

|--1-e-&-a-2---&---3-e--&--a--4--&---|



E--8-----------------------------------|
B--8-----------------------------------|
G--8---8-------------------------------|
D--------10-8--10---8------------------|
A---------------------10-9-8-----------|
E---------------------------11b12--8---|

|--1---&-a--2---&---3--e-&-a--4----&---|



E--------------------------------------|
B------8-----10-8b9--------------------|
G------8-----10-8b9--------------8-----|
D-/10-----10---------10--8--10---8--10-|
A-/10----------------------------------|
E--------------------------------------|

|--1---&--a--2---&---3---&---4---&--a--|


E---------------------------------------|
B--10--8--------------------------------|
G--10--8--------------------------------|
D----------10--8---10--10-(9)/10-10-x---|
A---------------------------------------|
E---------------------------------------|

|--1---&---2---&---3---&-----4---e--&---|

  c           D
E--8----8----8----8---8<-10---10---10---10--10<-|
B--8----8----8----8---8<-10---10---10---10--10<-|
G--9----9----9----9---9<-11---11---11---11--11<-|
D--10---10---10---10-10<-12---12---12---12--12<-|
A--10---10---10---10-10<-12---12---12---12--12<-|
E--8----8----8----8---8<-10---10---10---10--10<-|

|--1----&----2----&---a--3----&----4----&---a---|


  F           C       G
E--C----C----C----C---C<--3----3----3----3----|
B--C----C----C----C---C<--5----5----5----3----|
G--2----2----2----2---2<--5----5----5----4----|
D--3----3----3----3---3<--5----5----5----5----|
A--3----3----3----3---3<--3----3----3----5----|
E--C----C----C----C---C<-----------------3----|

|--1----&----2----&---a---3----&----4----&----|


  c           D
E--8----8----8----8---8<-10---10---10---10--10<-|
B--8----8----8----8---8<-10---10---10---10--10<-|
G--9----9----9----9---9<-11---11---11---11--11<-|
D--10---10---10---10-10<-12---12---12---12--12<-|
A--10---10---10---10-10<-12---12---12---12--12<-|
E--8----8----8----8---8<-10---10---10---10--10<-|

|--1----&----2----&---a--3----&----4----&---a---|


  F           C
E--C----C----C----C---C<--3'''''''''''\\\\----|
B--C----C----C----C---C<--5'''''''''''\\\\----| E
G--2----2----2----2---2<--5'''''''''''\\\\----|
D--3----3----3----3---3<--5'''''''''''\\\\----| N
A--3----3----3----3---3<--3'''''''''''\\\\----|
E--C----C----C----C---C<--3'''''''''''\\\\----| D

|--1----&----2----&---a---3----&----4----&----|



CHORDS USED (a=10 b=11 c=12 d=13 e=14 f=15 f=17):

  C    D    F    G   F(2nd)  C(2nd)  C(3rd)
 EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE
 8aa988  accbaa  C8aaax  355433  C8aaa8  55777x  x57775

 C(4th)
 EADGBE
 557775


Mechanics examples:

 Bends
   --2bbb4------ It takes half a beat to bend consistently up to 4
   -----9b11---- 9 is bent up quickly to 11 on the beat
   --2''b4------ 2 is struck & held, then bent up sharply to 4 on &
   -------------
   --1---&---2---3---&---4---&---
 Releases
   --9rrr7------ It takes half a beat to gradually release down to 7
   --9''r7------ Bent 9 struck & held, released down sharply to 7
          on the &
   --9'''9rrr8'''8rrr7'''7rrr6--- The Bent 9 is slowly released
                   while the string is struck at the
                   points indicated on the rhythm bar.
   --1---&---2---&---3---&---4---
 Slides
   --3/--5------ 3 is struck, then slides up, & is struck again at 5
   --3///5------ 3 is struck once only, then slides up to create 5
   -/9---------- The 9 is slid into very fast from 1 or 2 frets lower
   -\7---------- The 7 is slid into very fast from 1 or 2 frets higher
   --(8)/10----- 8 is struck, then slides up very fast to create 10.
   --0/-8------- The open string is struck, then the fretting finger
          is placed on the fingerboard (without picking),
          then slides up to the 8 then the 8 is struck again
   --T5/10------ The fretting finger taps onto the 5th fret and slides
          up creating the note at the 10th fret.
   -------------
   --1---&---2---&---3---&---4---
 Hammer ons
   --3h5-------- 3 is struck, then hammers onto 5 1/16 note away
   --3hhh5------ 3 is struck then hammers onto 5 1/8 note away
   --1-e-&---2---&---3---&---4


Rhythm Bar --1--&--2--&--3--&--4-- :

 The rhythm bar that appears below the tab lines shows where and
 how long to play notes, like standard musical notation, to show
 more accurately what's being played. 9b11 could be a fast bend
 for only a sixteenth note, or it could take an entire beat.
 The Rhythm bar should help to give an indication of timing.

 The physical length of a measure will vary to accomodate mechanics,
 2 digit fret numbers, etc. but the note should appear directly
 under the point on the rhythm bar where it should be played. for
 example 10b12r10p8 looks like it takes a long time, but may only
 take 3/16s to play. 10b12r10p8
            1--e--&

 1--e--&--a--2-- - Sixteenth notes (4/4 time)
 1--&--1--2--&--2 - A compound time like 12/8. Each beat a triplet.
 1----e----a-2-- - Triplet over the beat (4/4 time)
 |____3____|

 An example in 4/4 time:

 |--1---&---2---&---3---&---4---&--a---1---e---a--2---&---
                    |___3___|
                /  |  |  \ \  \
              There's a Knock at the door