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Johnson, Jack Holes To Heaven Guitar Tab

Jack Johnson - Holes to Heaven
Tabbed by ZososoZ
OK, here is the main riff
e------------------------------
B------------------------------
G------------------------------
D------------------------------
A-----------------0------------
E----3--3--3--2-------3--2--0--
that three times through, then
(play riff for these lines)
The air was more than human
And the heat was more than hungry
(riff through here, then Em on "fumes", played on 7th fret)
And the cars were square and spitting diesel fumes
(riff again for these lines)
The boars were running wild
Because they're big and mean and sacred
(riff through here, then Em on "shoes", played on 7th fret)
And the children playing cricket with no shoes
This is the bridge, kinda odd sounding, but you'll get it
(play an A chord)
That morning we woke up man
(then slide to Bb on "drive", it sounds weird, i know, but its right)
To a seven-hour drive
(hit a C for this one)
Well there we were stuck in port blair
(then slide to a D when he begins "men go wrong")
Where boats break and children stare
The Chorus!
(The chorus goes like this, use bar chords --> G, D, Em, B, C, G, B bass note, then Am.
a B bass note is plucking the A string 2nd fret and the G string 3rd fret, you can slap
the strings a little to get that sound he makes so well as a rhythm guitarist)
(since he layers another guitar over this that just plays notes, i'll tab that out too)
e-------------------------------------------------
b------------------------------------------------- (play this during the chorus twice)
g------------------------------------------------- (note, i've only shown the notes, but
d--9---7----5---4--2--4--5--7--------7------------ he plays each note multiple times, i
a------------------------------5-7h9-------------- can't count it well though. get a feel
E------------------------------------------------- for it and you'll understand)
And there were so many fewer questions
When stars were still just the holes to heaven, mmm
Man and there were so many fewer questions
When stars were still just the holes to heaven, mmm
(go back to the riff for the interlude, then its back to the same as the first verse)
disembarking from the port
with no mistakes of any sort
moving south the engine running smooth
The officials were quite friendly
Once we bribed them with our sweet talk
And we drowned them with our cigarettes and booze
(play the bridge here again!)
The next morning we woke up man
With the sunrise to the right well
Moving back north to Port Blair
Where boats break and children stare
the chorus!
And there were so many fewer questions
When stars were still just the holes to heaven, mmm
Man and there were so many fewer questions
When stars were still just the holes to heaven
e----7p5---8-7p5---- do this part a few times and then
b--8-----7-------8-- slide to 10th fret on the high E
g-------------------
d-------------------
a-------------------
E-------------------

Source: http://www.guitarmasta.net/j/johnson,_jack/352502.html

Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
 
 
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Albert
Wanna Be
#1 by Albert Piccolomini at Sep 27, 2007 at 6:51 PM EST
the guitar in this kickes ass. and to IHeartTedLeo thats weird (to me) that u said Jacks popular wher evr u are cause...he sure isnt that well known in Tbay (canada!)
 
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Keegan
Average
#2 by Keegan at Sep 28, 2007 at 5:55 AM EST
Jack is awesome ... ever since a good friend introduced me to him about 5 years ago I've been a massive fan. Since then he has become more popular and I hope this doesnt change him ... although I did see him live and he's so cool, lol. Anyways, this song to me is about how life used to be so simpler when people didnt question many things in life ... maybe a little indication of religeon as believing in god and just being good is so much easier than questioning the reasons for life and justifying the evil in the world; "And the cars were square and spitting diesel fumes" (Global Warming), "and the children playing cricket with no shoes" (poverty) ... I don't think the song is completly about that though ... it's obviously about his surfing trip ... but i think his time surfing 'caused him to think about life and write this song. Just my personal view on this :)
 
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Frodd
Average
#3 by Frodd aka josh laing at Sep 28, 2007 at 6:44 AM EST
He has said that his one is about going on surf trips when he was younger with his friends
 
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Hellspawn
Average
#4 by Hellspawn at Sep 28, 2007 at 4:28 PM EST
This song was written about India, and it means a lot to me because I lived there for 3 years (although I'm British). This song is SO true. The bulls run wild all over the place, there are always children playing cricket - normally in ragged clothes and no shoes. Bribing officials is so true as well!!! Its a very corrupt country... I can't put it into words, but it's amazing how he can describe India so aptly. I think the 'holes to heaven' bit might also be about how for the children (and Indian people in general) who are living in poverty, the start are like holes to heaven for them - an escape from the shanty towns they live in...?!
 
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Apria
Wanna Be
#5 by Apria at Sep 28, 2007 at 7:06 PM EST
In response to BarbiErica1 comment about the lyrics, there are several versions of this song, and in one of them he does say "Well there we were in South Batong, Where Women are men and men go wrong", so ya... The correct lyrics from the Album are: The air was more than human And the heat was more than hungry And the cars were square and spitting diesel fumes The bulls were running wild because they're big and mean and sacred and the children playing cricket with no shoes The morning we woke up man To a seven-hour drive Well there we were stuck in Port Blair Where boats break and children stare And there were so many fewer questions When stars were still just the holes to heaven, mmm Man and there were so many fewer questions When stars were still just the holes to heaven, mmm Disembarking from the port with no mistakes of any so Moving southly engine running smooth Officials were quite friendly once we drown them w/ our sweet talk and we bribed them w/ our cigerettes and booze The next morning we woke up man w/ the sunrise to right moving back north to port blair where boats break and children stare And there were so many fewer questions When stars were still just the holes to heaven, mmm and there were so many fewer questions When stars were still just the holes to heaven, mmm
 
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Christina
Average
#6 by Christina Anderson at Sep 29, 2007 at 12:21 AM EST
To me this song is about an experience which has made him realise that he is getting old because he is not full of the energy and buzz which comes with youth. He describes the place in Asia as positive however, he realises that if he was younger the trip would be better. This is quite a powerful song to me because i know the feeling so well of doing stuff when i was younger that is not as much fun any more and doing stuff today which is more fun than it was. Everything is changing and its weird!
 
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Gladis
Wanna Be
#7 by Gladis McHumphry at Sep 29, 2007 at 4:03 AM EST
i love the little guitar part after "And the cars were square and spitting diesel fumes" ....
 
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Dale
Average
#8 by Dale Steele at Sep 29, 2007 at 2:32 PM EST
The lyrics posted under the wrong title of "Stars" are actually the correct lyrics, even though "Holes to Heaven" is the correct title.
 
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yomomma!!
Wanna Be
#9 by yomomma!! at Sep 30, 2007 at 3:53 AM EST
i totally agree with this "This is one of my Favorite Songs. I love his music but it bothers me that hes becoming popular now. Its good for him but its like man... i listined to him first! (befor my friends knew of him at least) And there are seveal diffrent versions of this song, when i saw him live the lyrics were diffrent." but anywho i love this song. to me it just means i love how things were when we were kids, when things were "simple", when stars were still just the holes to heaven and there were no worries... well thats what i think...
 
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Eric
Wanna Be
#10 by Eric Griggs at Sep 30, 2007 at 2:47 PM EST
Also, it's "The next morning we woke up mad to the 7hour drive There we were stuck in Port Blaire Where boats break and children stare."
 
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Luke
Average
#11 by Luke Kilpatrick at Oct 1, 2007 at 4:03 PM EST
beautiful.. i think this song is him growing up and doing the things hes always dreamed of and at the same time realizing that the world is complex and difficult. he is on a surf trip that anyone would dream of but we forget about the details that it involves. when youre actually living it out you see the poverty and the ugly things in the world as well as the beautiful. it seems like he is overwhelmed and amazed by the difference in cultures. i think that he feels lucky and loves life but at the same time feels that he cant stop the troubles that will come along with it.
 
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alex
Wanna Be
#12 by alex v s at Oct 2, 2007 at 7:19 AM EST
Even though the lyrics are the same, I like the solo version on the "Thicker Than Water" soundtrack better. But you know, apples and oranges. 1
 
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Pink
Rhythm Player
#13 by Pink Mintaka at Oct 3, 2007 at 1:01 AM EST
I just assumed that the line"where boats break" was true as it is a real place where JJ has been to but also a metephor for the place being dangerous and wild.
 
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tim
Average
#14 by tim martin at Oct 3, 2007 at 12:00 PM EST
This is one of my Favorite Songs. I love his music but it bothers me that hes becoming popular now. Its good for him but its like man... i listined to him first! (befor my friends knew of him at least) And there are seveal diffrent versions of this song, when i saw him live the lyrics were diffrent.
 
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Mike
Wanna Be
#15 by Mike Foster at Oct 3, 2007 at 6:45 PM EST
Also, it's "The next morning we woke up mad to the 7hour drive There we were stuck in Port Blaire Where boats break and children stare."
 
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Alex
Average
#16 by Alex P at Oct 4, 2007 at 4:33 PM EST
I had seen a documentary about the boat breaking yards in India an assumed that the "where boats break" line was referring to that. An article about the Alang-Sosiya Ship-Breaking Yard Gujarat, India is here: http://www.unesco.org/csi/pub/papers3/alang.htm. Nasty child labor.
 
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ashley
Wanna Be
#17 by ashley pudding at Oct 4, 2007 at 8:54 PM EST
This song is about a trip JJ made to the Nicobar and Andaman Island chain of India, to surf and shoot Thicker than Water. They started in Batong, Thailand, then motored to the Islands, arriving in Port Blair, India. Thay had to bribe the officials with beer and other gifts to get visas to Nicobar. They travelled south, by boat, from Port Blair, spent a lot of time looking and waiting for surf, then returned to Port Blair with only a little bit of surfing under their belts. To me this song is about Jack's frustration with the trip, the rough start to it, the hassles of Port Blair, lack of surf, etc. I picture Jack sitting on the boat writing this song, thinking how life was so easy when you were a kid and still thought starts were just the holes to heaven. Being an adult can be a headache, and this trip was no exception. John
 
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Sam
Average
#18 by Sam Nairn at Oct 5, 2007 at 3:48 AM EST
I lov dis song!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but was wen i 1st heard it i didnt really like it but afterwards i got it stuck in my head and now i luv it reminds me of da phrase ''ignorance is bliss'' in how it says'' there were so many fewer questions when stars were still just the holes to heaven'' becuz wen people didnt no wot stars really were dey tot dey were magic but now we know wot dey r and we want 2 no more.
 
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Drew
Wanna Be
#19 by Drew Hanson at Oct 5, 2007 at 3:35 PM EST
This is an awesome song....actually all Jack's songs are awesome!...by the way its "the bulls were running wild"
 
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Zach
Wanna Be
#20 by Zach Burnigjt at Oct 5, 2007 at 9:03 PM EST
i think jack is trying to convey the simplicity of being young...stars are holes to heaven...not gas balls or something in a far away galaxy...everything is as it seems, nothing less nothing more...everything is simple
 
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Rory
Wanna Be
#21 by Rory Burlet at Oct 6, 2007 at 4:25 PM EST
This song takes me to another place.
 
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dave
Lead Player
#22 by dave t at Oct 6, 2007 at 7:39 PM EST
"And there were so many fewer questions when the stars were still just the holes to Heaven" Wow can It be put any better than that. Such an amazing song! I love Jack!!!
 
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john
Wanna Be
#23 by john dolmayan at Oct 6, 2007 at 9:01 PM EST
beautiful.. i think this song is him growing up and doing the things hes always dreamed of and at the same time realizing that the world is complex and difficult. he is on a surf trip that anyone would dream of but we forget about the details that it involves. when youre actually living it out you see the poverty and the ugly things in the world as well as the beautiful. it seems like he is overwhelmed and amazed by the difference in cultures. i think that he feels lucky and loves life but at the same time feels that he cant stop the troubles that will come along with it.