Weezer/Sarah Blackwood – Say It Ain’t So (Chords)
The vote for Ukulele Video of the Year starts tomorrow. You’ll have to wait until then to see the nominees. One thing I will reveal: Walk off the Earth didn’t make the cut. A surprise to me given how huge a year they had last year. In order to console this huge blow to their career, here’s WOTE’s Sarah Blackwood and her Big Muff covering Weezer’s Say It Ain’t So.
I’ve tabbed up this version. But if you want to play it in the same key as Weezer play the same chords with a capo on the third fret.
Suggested Strumming
Intro
The intro combines chords and a bit of picking like this:
Verse
In the verse you’re strumming on the off-beats. Also, rest your hand on the string afterwards so they should short.
– d – d
For the F and the C at the end of the verse do the same as at the end of the intro: d u x on F then one up strum for C.
Together they sound like this:
Chorus
Do this once each for Am and E:
d u x x
Once each for Am and E.
Then for F: d u x
Then C: u – u d u
Notice you’re coming in on the C on the up-strum; slightly earlier than the down strum you come in on the other chords. At the end of the intro/chorus just hold the first up-strum on the C.
Together they sound like this:
Twiddly Bits
There’s little bit of picking at the end of the verses:
And the big solo goes like this:
Maybe you need to expand the poll, Al. Not just Video of the Year, but Band of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, New Talent of the Year, etc.
Break the Video of the Year down into categories.
Live performance, music video, etc.
There are just so many of these things now. I’m still finding 2012 videos that rearrange my top picks.
I’ll bet there are still some great 2012 videos that haven’t been seen by more than a few people.
YT just can’t present every ukulele video every day, just too many. You have to dig, sometimes deep.
And not all videos with ukes are tagged as such.
Not all uke-tagged videos have the instrument in them.
Interesting to note that certain songs come into favor for uke covers in a huge way all of a sudden. And old favorites drop into disfavor. Saw the first cover of “Mr. Sandman”
in ages just yesterday. At one time it was everywhere on YT.
New ukers, especially younger ones, are turning the instrument into a pop music machine. As older players die out so will older uke tunes. Bye bye Tin Pan Alley. Hello song-of-the-moment.
When we’re no longer around “I’m Yours” will be considered a traditional ukulele song. Traditional Hawaiian music will drown in a sea of treacly tropical pop.
One area immune from these ravages is George Formby stuff. Always videos of hot-shot English kids (sometimes dressed for the part) slinging their banjo ukes and doing all sorts of super strums. Youth who just don’t care about the latest top of the pops and who can’t get enough of good old George. Go figure.
As long as there’s an England there will be a George Formby Society. St. George indeed.
Of course, we look at this from our Western perspective. What about the videos coming out of Asia? How do we keep track of them? Huge numbers. Perhaps the best video of any given year is one of them. We wouldn’t know.
I’m looking south to Mexico these days. Fertile uke ground. And then Central America and South America (apart from perennial Brazil).
Anyway… WOTE didn’t make it. Harder to make the finals than win in the finals. Whatever happened to puppet videos?
Why does Dent May play only guitar (at least on video) these days? Why did Patti Plinko give up the uke? Why did the Tiger Lilies abandon the ukulele?
When was the last time you saw a new Mad Tea video?
Almost forgot. Did you know, Al, that Pockets
has taken his kazookeylele and joined TUKUO?
And what is it with Germany and Brit uke orchestras? Why do they spend so much time there?