Gilligan’s Island Theme

Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle (tab)

There are many American shows I know only by their parodies on other American shows. The Captain and Tennille, Laverne and Shirley and Gilligan’s Island: I’ve sat, stone-faced, through parodies of them all. So when I was asked to tab out the intro to Gilligan’s Island I was a little reticent. Until I heard it and realised it contained a snippet of one of my favourite tunes to play on the ukulele.

The tune is quite unconventional in that it raises a semitone on each repeat. But my favourite part is the interaction between the lyrics and the music that occurs (even if it is done in a rather obvious way). The challenge is to make these parts stand out from the melody and give each it’s own distinctive flavour.

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You can get the chords on Alligator Boogaloo but, like my version, you’ll have to capo at the first fret if you want to play along with the original. Also, you’ll have to raise the chords on Boogaloo by a semitone in the second verse.

Requested by James

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