Tuning: standard
'My Baby Left Me' comprises three chords: D, C & G. Conventional wisdom would dictate
that this is a V-IV-I progression in the key of G. However, the riffs & solos are in D
which instead indicates that this is the true key signature of the song. Thus we have
A I-bVII-IV progression in D, that is, D-C-G.
For the solos (not detailed here), Alvin eschews his usual rapid-fire approach and
instead adopts a less-is-more technique, substituting feel, repetition & vibrato for
his (10th fret) D minor pentatonic phrases.
Intro
| D | D |
verse 1D
My baby left me
C
She wouldn't tell a lie
G
'Cause she said she would, she did
D
And she left me high and dry
D
My baby left me
C
Last night I heard her cry
G
She wouldn't tell me why
D
She just said bye-bye
riff 1
verse 2D
I used to sing the blues
C
I thought I sang for real
G
Now I know the feel
D
And it hurts too much
riff 1
D
My baby left me
C
She left me all alone
G
She's never coming home
D
And I want to die
riff 1
verse 3 (double time over riff 2)
D
My baby left me
C
She wouldn't tell a lie
G
'Cause she said she would, she did
D
And she left me high and dry
D
My, my, my, my baby left me
C
Last night I heard her cry
G
She wouldn't tell me why
D
She just said bye-bye
Bye-bye-bye, everybody
Guitar solo
| D | C | G | D |
| D | C | G | D |
(end double time)
verse 4D
My baby left me
C
She wouldn't tell a lie
G
'Cause she said she would, she did
D
And she left me high and dry
riff 1
D
My baby left me
C
Last night I heard her cry
G
She wouldn't tell me why
D
She just said bye-bye
riff 1
Verse 5 (double time over riff 2)
D
I used to sing the blues
C
I thought I sang for real
G
Now I know the feel
D
And it hurts too much
My my my my my my
D
My baby left me
C
She left me all alone
G
She's never coming home, baby
D
And I want to die
D
My baby left me
C
My baby left me
G
My baby left me
D
My my my my my my
Outro guitar solo
| D | C | G | D |
| D | C | G | D |
| D | C | G | D |
| D | C | G | D |
| D | C | G | D |
| D | C | G | D |
/ slide up
\ slide down
H hammer-on
p pull-off
mu mute
pb pre-bend
co cut off
pr partial release
bss bend slightly sharp
~~ vibrato
========================================================================= 03 Jan 2014