Uncle Tupelo

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Moonshiner
by Uncle Tupelo
Transcribed by John Erlinger (tardis@tetranet.net)

Traditional, arranged by Farrar/Tweedy (Warner-Tamerlane Pub./Feedhorn Songs
)
From the Rockville Records album "March 16-20 1992" (ROCK6090-2)


This is my favorite song by one of my favorite bands.  There are two
guitars in the song and two ways to play it:


Play a harmonica in the key of "C" and strum along with the chords
throwing in plenty of suspended chords:

   Am/G   F/G    C/G                           G/B     G/C  G/D

|--3------3------3----------------------3------3-------3----3--------|
|--1------1------1----------------------1------0-----0-1--1/3--------|
|--2------2------0----p--0---p--0---p---0------0-------0----0--------|
|--2------3------2---0-2----0-2----0-2--2------0-------0----0--------|
|--0------X------3----------------------3------2-------2----2--------|
|--0------X------X----------------------X------3-------3----3--------|


  Am/G  F/G     C/G
I am a      moonshiner
                   G/B  G/C  G/D
For seventeen long years
      Am/G     F/G     C/G
And I spent all     my money
               G/B  G/C  G/D
On whiskey and beer


   F    G/B                       C/G       F

|--1----3-------------------------3---------1--1--0------------------|
|--1----0---0--1--3--5--3--1--0---1----p----1--------3--1--3--1--0---|
|--2----0-------------------------0---0-2---2------------------------|
|--3----0-------------------------2---------3------------------------|
|--3----2-------------------------3---------3------------------------|
|--1----3-------------------------X---------1------------------------|


      F          G/B
And I go to some hollow
    C/G       F
And set up my still


If whiskey don't kill me
Lord, I don't know what will

And I go to some barroom
To drink with my friends
Where the women they can't follow
To see what I spend
God bless them, pretty women
I wish they was mine
With breath as sweet as
The dew on the vine

Let me eat when I'm hungry
Let me drink when I'm dry
Two dollars when I'm hard up
Religion when I die
The whole world is a bottle
And life is but a dram
When the bottle gets empty
Lord, it sure ain't worth a damn



Here's the version I like to play:

(capo 5th fret)

    Em/D  C/D   G/D             D

A---X-----X-----X---------X-----2---------2---------2-------------|
E---3-----3-----3----p----3-----3----p----3----p----3-------------|
C---0-----0-----0---0-2---0-----2---0-2---2---0-2---2-------------|
G---2-----2-----0---------0-----0---------0---------0-------------|
D---2-----3-----2---------2-----0---------0---------0-------------|
A---0-----0-----3---------3-----X---------X---------X-------------|


  Em/D  C/D     G/D
I am a      moonshiner
                   D
For seventeen long years
      Em/D     C/D     G/D
And I spent all     my money
               D
On whiskey and beer


      C          D
And I go to some hollow
    G         C
And set up my still

If whiskey don't kill me
Lord, I don't know what will



There's a incredible live version of "Moonshiner" by the Tupes on
"Live From The Mountain Stage Vol. 7" on Blue Plate Records.

More Uncle Tupelo stuff including transcriptions:
http://www.webcom.com/~gumbo/uncle-tupelo.html