Chords for Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville Cover lesson
Tempo:
90.9 bpm
Chords used:
D
E
G
A
D#
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
Okay, I'd like to show you how to do Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.
[D] I do a lot of playing by myself and when you're playing one guitar, you don't want it to just
sound like you're strumming [E] chords like you're sitting around a [N] campfire.
So you try and do a lot of fill-in work and maybe some harmonics.
So when you play Margaritaville, great song, [D#] you can play it and make it sound full just
by playing with two fingers, your index finger and your middle finger.
And what I'm going to do is I'm going to start off with the 12th fret on the [A] 12th fret of
the 2nd string [G] and the [Bm] 13th fret of the 3rd string.
[F#m] Just those two [D] notes right there, but I'm going to play it from the 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd
and 1st string.
[Am] I'm going to kind of mute the [E] 6th string so it's kind of like [D] this.
And I'm going to go [G#] down to keep the beat that Jimmy Buffett does with the da da da [E] dum da.
I'm just going to [D] go down two frets [E] like that to give it the sound.
[D] And then he goes up to the [A] 14th fret [G] of the 3rd string and the 14th fret of the 2nd string.
[E] And that gives you that other note that he's doing there.
So it's kind of, [Em]
[D] that's a D.
When you're coming down to it like you're going to play a bar
D, but I'm only using two fingers and I'm playing on the 2nd and the 3rd string.
So let me walk through that with you.
Da da da dum dum.
[E] Ma da da dum dum.
[D] La da da da da da [A] dum.
Okay what you're playing there, it's kind of an A7 I guess it is.
But you're doing the 2nd string 5th fret, [C#]
3rd string 6th fret, [A] and 4th string, what
is that, 7th fret.
Okay so let's do it again.
[D]
[E] [D]
You slide down to a D chord.
But I don't want to just play the D.
I'm going to slide [F#] back up like I'm going to a bar D,
but I'm only going to use two fingers again and [D] I'm going to play it on the 2nd and 3rd string.
Everything else is open.
So watch this.
[E]
[D] Down to a D, slide up on your bar.
It just kind of gives it a little bit of an effect.
Now I'll sit and wait and maybe give it a little bit of another effect by just a little slide.
[A] [D] Living on a sponge cake, watching the sun bake.
All of the tourists are covered [A] with oil.
Laying my 6th string on my front door swing.
Smell of the shrimp that are beginning [D] to boil.
[E]
[G] Wasting [A] away again [E] in my burrito pit.
[G] [A]
Lost [D] shape of soul.
[G]
Some people [A] claim that there's a mermaid.
Some [G] people claim that I'm the [E] wrong damn [D] thing.
[G]
[D]
[E]
[D]
[A] [G]
[D]
[G]
[D] [E] [D]
[G] [D] [D]
[G] [D]
[D] I do a lot of playing by myself and when you're playing one guitar, you don't want it to just
sound like you're strumming [E] chords like you're sitting around a [N] campfire.
So you try and do a lot of fill-in work and maybe some harmonics.
So when you play Margaritaville, great song, [D#] you can play it and make it sound full just
by playing with two fingers, your index finger and your middle finger.
And what I'm going to do is I'm going to start off with the 12th fret on the [A] 12th fret of
the 2nd string [G] and the [Bm] 13th fret of the 3rd string.
[F#m] Just those two [D] notes right there, but I'm going to play it from the 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd
and 1st string.
[Am] I'm going to kind of mute the [E] 6th string so it's kind of like [D] this.
And I'm going to go [G#] down to keep the beat that Jimmy Buffett does with the da da da [E] dum da.
I'm just going to [D] go down two frets [E] like that to give it the sound.
[D] And then he goes up to the [A] 14th fret [G] of the 3rd string and the 14th fret of the 2nd string.
[E] And that gives you that other note that he's doing there.
So it's kind of, [Em]
[D] that's a D.
When you're coming down to it like you're going to play a bar
D, but I'm only using two fingers and I'm playing on the 2nd and the 3rd string.
So let me walk through that with you.
Da da da dum dum.
[E] Ma da da dum dum.
[D] La da da da da da [A] dum.
Okay what you're playing there, it's kind of an A7 I guess it is.
But you're doing the 2nd string 5th fret, [C#]
3rd string 6th fret, [A] and 4th string, what
is that, 7th fret.
Okay so let's do it again.
[D]
[E] [D]
You slide down to a D chord.
But I don't want to just play the D.
I'm going to slide [F#] back up like I'm going to a bar D,
but I'm only going to use two fingers again and [D] I'm going to play it on the 2nd and 3rd string.
Everything else is open.
So watch this.
[E]
[D] Down to a D, slide up on your bar.
It just kind of gives it a little bit of an effect.
Now I'll sit and wait and maybe give it a little bit of another effect by just a little slide.
[A] [D] Living on a sponge cake, watching the sun bake.
All of the tourists are covered [A] with oil.
Laying my 6th string on my front door swing.
Smell of the shrimp that are beginning [D] to boil.
[E]
[G] Wasting [A] away again [E] in my burrito pit.
[G] [A]
Lost [D] shape of soul.
[G]
Some people [A] claim that there's a mermaid.
Some [G] people claim that I'm the [E] wrong damn [D] thing.
[G]
[D]
[E]
[D]
[A] [G]
[D]
[G]
[D] [E] [D]
[G] [D] [D]
[G] [D]
Key:
D
E
G
A
D#
D
E
G
_ Okay, I'd like to show you how to do Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.
[D] I do a lot of playing by myself and when you're playing one guitar, you don't want it to just
sound like you're strumming [E] chords like you're sitting around a [N] campfire.
So you try and do a lot of fill-in work and maybe some harmonics.
So when you play Margaritaville, great song, [D#] you can play it and make it sound full just
by playing with two fingers, your index finger and your middle finger.
And what I'm going to do is I'm going to start off with the 12th fret on the [A] 12th fret of
the 2nd string [G] and the [Bm] 13th fret of the 3rd string.
[F#m] Just those two [D] notes right there, but I'm going to play it from the 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd
and 1st string.
[Am] I'm going to kind of mute the [E] 6th string so it's kind of like [D] this. _ _ _
And I'm going to go [G#] down to keep the beat that Jimmy Buffett does with the da da da [E] dum da.
I'm just going to [D] go down two frets [E] like that to give it the sound. _ _ _ _ _
[D] _ And then he goes up to the _ [A] 14th fret [G] of the 3rd string and the 14th fret of the 2nd string.
[E] And that gives you that other note that he's doing there.
So it's kind of, _ _ _ _ [Em] _ _ _
_ [D] _ that's a D.
When you're coming down to it like you're going to play a bar
D, but I'm only using two fingers and I'm playing on the 2nd and the 3rd string.
_ So let me walk through that with you.
Da da da dum dum.
[E] _ Ma da da dum dum.
[D] _ La da da da da da [A] dum.
Okay what you're playing there, it's kind of an A7 I guess it is. _
But you're doing the 2nd string 5th fret, [C#]
3rd string 6th fret, [A] and 4th string, what
is that, 7th fret.
_ _ Okay so let's do it again.
[D] _ _ _
_ [E] _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
_ You slide down to a D chord.
But I don't want to just play the D.
I'm going to slide [F#] back up like I'm going to a bar D,
but I'm only going to use two fingers again and [D] I'm going to play it on the 2nd and 3rd string.
Everything else is open.
So watch this.
[E] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[D] _ Down to a D, slide up on your bar. _
It just kind of gives it a little bit of an effect. _ _ _
_ _ Now I'll sit and wait and maybe give it a little bit of another effect by just a little slide. _ _ _ _ _
_ [A] _ _ [D] _ _ Living on a sponge cake, _ _ watching the sun bake. _
All of the tourists are covered [A] with oil. _
_ _ _ _ Laying my 6th string _ _ on my front door swing. _ _
Smell of the shrimp that are beginning [D] to boil.
_ [E] _ _
_ [G] _ Wasting [A] away again [E] in my burrito pit.
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ [A]
Lost [D] shape of soul.
_ _ _ _ [G] _
Some people [A] claim that there's a mermaid.
Some [G] people claim that I'm the _ [E] _ _ wrong damn _ [D] thing.
_ _ _ [G] _ _
_ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _
_ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [D] _ _ [E] _ _ _ [D] _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ [D] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[D] I do a lot of playing by myself and when you're playing one guitar, you don't want it to just
sound like you're strumming [E] chords like you're sitting around a [N] campfire.
So you try and do a lot of fill-in work and maybe some harmonics.
So when you play Margaritaville, great song, [D#] you can play it and make it sound full just
by playing with two fingers, your index finger and your middle finger.
And what I'm going to do is I'm going to start off with the 12th fret on the [A] 12th fret of
the 2nd string [G] and the [Bm] 13th fret of the 3rd string.
[F#m] Just those two [D] notes right there, but I'm going to play it from the 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd
and 1st string.
[Am] I'm going to kind of mute the [E] 6th string so it's kind of like [D] this. _ _ _
And I'm going to go [G#] down to keep the beat that Jimmy Buffett does with the da da da [E] dum da.
I'm just going to [D] go down two frets [E] like that to give it the sound. _ _ _ _ _
[D] _ And then he goes up to the _ [A] 14th fret [G] of the 3rd string and the 14th fret of the 2nd string.
[E] And that gives you that other note that he's doing there.
So it's kind of, _ _ _ _ [Em] _ _ _
_ [D] _ that's a D.
When you're coming down to it like you're going to play a bar
D, but I'm only using two fingers and I'm playing on the 2nd and the 3rd string.
_ So let me walk through that with you.
Da da da dum dum.
[E] _ Ma da da dum dum.
[D] _ La da da da da da [A] dum.
Okay what you're playing there, it's kind of an A7 I guess it is. _
But you're doing the 2nd string 5th fret, [C#]
3rd string 6th fret, [A] and 4th string, what
is that, 7th fret.
_ _ Okay so let's do it again.
[D] _ _ _
_ [E] _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
_ You slide down to a D chord.
But I don't want to just play the D.
I'm going to slide [F#] back up like I'm going to a bar D,
but I'm only going to use two fingers again and [D] I'm going to play it on the 2nd and 3rd string.
Everything else is open.
So watch this.
[E] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[D] _ Down to a D, slide up on your bar. _
It just kind of gives it a little bit of an effect. _ _ _
_ _ Now I'll sit and wait and maybe give it a little bit of another effect by just a little slide. _ _ _ _ _
_ [A] _ _ [D] _ _ Living on a sponge cake, _ _ watching the sun bake. _
All of the tourists are covered [A] with oil. _
_ _ _ _ Laying my 6th string _ _ on my front door swing. _ _
Smell of the shrimp that are beginning [D] to boil.
_ [E] _ _
_ [G] _ Wasting [A] away again [E] in my burrito pit.
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ [A]
Lost [D] shape of soul.
_ _ _ _ [G] _
Some people [A] claim that there's a mermaid.
Some [G] people claim that I'm the _ [E] _ _ wrong damn _ [D] thing.
_ _ _ [G] _ _
_ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _
_ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [D] _ _ [E] _ _ _ [D] _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ [D] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _