This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship or research. ********************************************************************** SONG TITLE: Loser ARTIST/GROUP: Beck ALBUM: Mellow Gold TRANSCRIBED BY: qualitytabs@collegemail.com ********************************************************************** IMPORTANT: Before I start transcribing this song I must say this. If anyone has got the Beck song 'Feather In Your Cap' off the SubUrbia Soundtrack album in MP3 format PLEASE PLEASE let me know. I can't get the CD and I've only heard a bit of this song but it's GREAT. If you have the cd please make a mp3 file and let me know, I will be ETERNALLY grateful. I have loads of mp3's myself that I can let you have in exchange. This is the song that made the GENIUS Beck first famous. There are no real chords in this song, just a few riffs. I'll tab out the riffs and then tell you when to play which one. There are two guitars playing in this song (sometimes three). You must tune your guitar to Drop-D tuning for this song. That means drop your low E string down two notes to D. From low to high (DADGBE) SLIDE-RIFF: [play with a bottleneck slide if you've got it] E|----------------------------| B|----------------------------| G|----------------------------| / = slide up D|----------0--3/5-0----5\----| \ = slide down A|--0---3/5-0--3/5-0----5\----| D|--0---3/5-------------5\----| Some people think you should play the SLIDE-RIFF like this: E|----------------------------| B|----------------------------| G|----------------------------| D|----------0------0----5\----| A|--0---3/5-0--3/5-0----5\----| D|--0---3/5----5/5------5\----| If you listen closely to the song you'll hear that the first one is correct, but just play what you think sounds better. INTRO: ------ Play SLIDE-RIFF 8 times VERSE-RIFF: [this is actually played by a sitar in the song] E|-------0------2--2----0--------------0------2--2----3-----| B|-3--3-----3--------3-----3-----3--3-----3--------3-----3--| G|----------------------------------------------------------| D|----------------------------------------------------------| A|----------------------------------------------------------| D|----------------------------------------------------------| VERSE 1: -------- [play VERSE-RIFF] In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey Butane in my veins and a mouth to cut the junkie with the plastic eyeballs, spray paint the vegetables Dog food stalls with the beefcake pantyhose Kill the headlights and put it in neutral Stock car flamin' with the loser and the cruise control Baby's in Reno in the vitamin D, gotta couple of couches, sleep on the love seat [One guitar plays VERSE-RIFF, another plays SLIDE-RIFF] Someone came sayin' I'm a saint to complain about a shotgun wedding and a stain on my shirt Don't believe everything that you breathe, they get a parking violation and a maggot on your sleeve [stop VERSE-RIFF, keep playing SLIDE-RIFF] So you shave your face with some mace in the dark, savin' all your foodstamps and burnin' down the trailerpark [play SLIDE-RIFF-B] Yo, cut it SLIDE-RIFF-B: E|----------------------| B|----------------------| G|----------------------| D|----------0--3/5-0----| A|--0---3/5-0--3/5-0----| D|--0---3/5-------------| CHORUS: [One guitar plays SLIDE-RIFF, another plays VERSE-RIFF] ------- Soy, un perdedor I'm a loser baby, So why don't you kill me (Double-barrel buckshot) Soy, un perdedor I'm a loser baby, So why don't you kill me VERSE 2: [play nothing for the first four lines of lyrics] -------- The forces of evil in a bozo nightmare Playin' all the music with a phony gas chamber 'cause one's got a weasel and another's got a flag One's on the pole shove the other in a bag [play SLIDE-RIFF] with the re-run shows and the cocaine nose jobs the daytime crap of the folk singer's fuck He hung himself with a guitar string A slab of turkey neck and it's hangin' from a pidgeon wing [stop SLIDE-RIFF, play RIFF-2 (see below)] They can't write if you can't relate Trade the cash for the pee for the body for the hate and my time is a piece of wax, fallin' on a termite, who's chokin' on the splinters RIFF-2: [played with tremolo effect] E|--------------------------------------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------------------------------| G|-------5-----------5-----7-5-------5----------5---------------| D|---5/7---------5/7-------------5/7--------5/7-------5b6-5-3---| A|--------------------------------------------------------------| D|--------------------------------------------------------------| CHORUS: [One guitar plays SLIDE-RIFF, another plays VERSE-RIFF] ------- Soy, un perdedor I'm a loser baby, So why don't you kill me (Get crazy with the cheese whiz) Soy, un perdedor I'm a loser baby, [stop all riffs] So why don't you kill me (Drive by body pierce) BRIDGE: ------- [first drums for a couple of measures] Yo bring it on down (soooooooooooooy) [play SLIDE-RIFF] When you've played the SLIDE-RIFF twice another guitar comes in and plays this: [the first guitar continues playing the SLIDE-RIFF] BRIDGE-RIFF: E|-------------------------------------------------- B|-----3--------3--------3--------3--------3-------- G|--------5--------5--------5--------5--------5----- D|--7--------7--------7--------7--------7--------7-- A|-------------------------------------------------- D|-------------------------------------------------- [here a third guitar starts playing the VERSE-RIFF, so there are three riffs at the same time, VERSE-RIFF, SLIDE-RIFF and BRIDGE-RIFF] E----------------------------------------------- B--3--------3--------3--------3--------3-------- G-----5--------5--------5--------5--------5----- D--------7--------7--------7--------7--------7-- A----------------------------------------------- D----------------------------------------------- I'm a driver, I'm a winner Things are gonna change, I can feel it E-----------------------------------------| B--3--------3--------3--------3--------3--| G-----5--------5--------5--------5--------| [everything stops] D--------7--------7--------7--------7-----| A-----------------------------------------| D-----------------------------------------| [In the song, the BRIDGE-RIFF sounds like he's playing it on open strings. Maybe he has a different tuning, I don't know. If you know, mail me] CHORUS: [One guitar plays SLIDE-RIFF, another plays VERSE-RIFF] ------- Soy, un perdedor I'm a loser baby, So why don't you kill me (I can't believe you) Soy, un perdedor I'm a loser baby, So why don't you kill me Soy, un perdedor I'm a loser baby, So why don't you kill me (Sprechen sie deutche baby) Soy, un perdedor I'm a loser baby, So why don't you kill me (Ya know what I'm sayin') [keep playing VERSE-RIFF and SLIDE-RIFF and fade out...] In the end you can hear something like this powerchord: E|-------| B|-------| G|-------| (I'm not sure if the song really fades out or what D|--0----| but I taped it off MTV and there it faded out) A|--0----| D|--0----|