#-----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE------------------------------#
# This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation #
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#----------------------------------------------------------------------------#
Words and music by Isaac Brock/Modest Mouse
Standard Tuning (E, A, D, G, B, e)
Intro/Verses/Main Theme
During the Intro, this riff is accompaniedby harmonics, played at the
seventh fret, and bent up and down with the whammy bar.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
----11-12----11-12------------------------------------------------------
--9-------12-------12-11------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd theme
F# C# D C# D C# B
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--11-11-11--------------------------------------------------------------
--x--x--x--11----11-11-11-11-12-11-12-11-9-9----------------------------
--9--9--9--x-----x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-x----------------------------
-----------9-----9--9--9--9--10-9--10-9--7-7----------------------------
3rd theme
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--11----11---11----11h12/14---------------------------------------------
-----12---12----12----------11----11----11----11h12/14------------------
-------------------------------12----12----12---------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--9----9----9----9h10/12---9--------------------------------------------
----10---10---10-------------10-9-10-7-9-10-12--------------------------
4th theme
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--11-12-14--14-12-11--9-11-12/14-14-12p11-7-----------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chord Variation during outro
F# C#
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--11-11-xxxx-11-11-xxxx-11-11-xxxx--------------------------------------
--x--x--xxxx-x--x--xxxx-x--x--xxxx-1111-xxxx-11-11-xxxx-11-11-----------
--9--9--xxxx-9--9--xxxx-9--9--xxxx-x-x--xxxx-x--x--xxxx-x--x------------
--------------------------------xx-9-9--xxxx-9--9--xxxx-9--9------------
heres the order:
Main theme
2nd theme
Main theme
3rd theme
4th theme (solo?)
Main theme
2nd theme(Listen to song to know when to switch to the chord variation)
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Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
|
No Picture
josh Average |
#1 by josh meador at Jan 4, 1970 at 6:36 AM EST |
| the part "Standing... In the tall grass, thinking nothing" just sounds so hippied out and cool | |
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No Picture
Razor Wanna Be |
#2 by Razor Edge at Mar 26, 1982 at 4:09 PM EST |
| This is the best Modest Mouse song ever. EV-ER. | |
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No Picture
Adrian Lead Player |
#3 by Adrian Ortega at Nov 1, 1986 at 8:14 PM EST |
| Cowboy Dan is not a pitiable character at all! He represents the American spirit....the rebellion against being confined, being civilized. | |
|
No Picture
Jimmy Rhythm Player |
#4 by Jimmy at Aug 20, 1993 at 12:06 AM EST |
| Cowboy+Dan Cowboy= The basic power hungry, can't change me, whiteman Dan= perhaps it could be Dan galucci (Isaac had a disagreement with Dan Galucci that resulted in them not speaking) So pretty much waht everyone else has said, but I think its also more personal. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the fight might have went on some time after cowboy dan was written | |
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No Picture
The Angel of De Lead Player |
#5 by The Angel of Death at Jul 19, 1994 at 1:45 AM EST |
| damn , i think whitetide said it better than i can think it | |
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No Picture
niles Wanna Be |
#6 by niles lewis at Apr 3, 1995 at 1:59 PM EST |
| Whitetide is right, Cowboy Dan is a pitiable character but he evokes no sympathy. He's a lifetime ***kup with no hope of changing. While things are beyond his control sometimes he still "Can't get that engine turned over." He wants to change but is too weak to do it so he just pushes the others around him down. The middle section just emphasizes his worthlessness more he never does anything with his life he's just "moving the ground." He never says anything important and thoughtful he's just "movin" his mouth. And he just "looks down" on everyone else. A good statement of the white man's place in history. | |
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No Picture
Trent Average |
#7 by Trent Zelasney at Jun 11, 1998 at 9:29 AM EST |
| i wld have to agree with the settler taking over indian land just because of the "I got mine but I want more" line Kick the shit out of ppl who call modest mouse emo | |
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No Picture
Jesus Professional |
#8 by Jesus at Jan 25, 2001 at 3:14 PM EST |
| "We are pitiful and small and nothing we can do will change the fact than an "unsympathetic" God remains sovereign over our pitiful self-destructive souls." or maybe we are miserable because of the fact that we are rebelling agains a sympathetic God who wants to help us Great song. | |
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No Picture
rockman Average |
#9 by rockman the sequel at Sep 10, 2001 at 5:41 PM EST |
| This is an insult.....no one has posted on this song? Cowboy Dan is the BEST song by Modest Mouse. It's a song entirely about freedom, and not feeling inhibited by the rules of society. Cowboy Dan represents the West.....he is "drinks and gets mean/gonna start a war" shows that he has a beef with the rules of: 1.) The limitation that city life imposes (I want more!) 2.) God (If I've got to die, you've got to die) "I didn't move to the city/the city moved to me." is a really powerful statement.....saying basically that many westerners were happy with ranch life until industrialization. He drinks, speeds, firs his weapon, drives drunk, and rebels against God.....all showing his drive fore independence. "You know we need oxygen to breathe" and the following verses show that country people are able to breathe fresh air....move freely, talk slowly and clearly, and look at the entire landscape. It's an very very good song....listen to it sometime! | |
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No Picture
albert Rhythm Player |
#10 by albert casualtie at Feb 1, 2003 at 3:34 AM EST |
| I think Cowboy Dan is an Indian, but I've had that feeling for a while since reading some modern Native American literature. The anger, the restlessness, the having what was giving but feeling cheated and wanting more. The hopeless and defeated feel to the lyrics in the middle "everytime you're..." and "can't get that engine turned over". | |
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No Picture
ben Lead Player |
#11 by ben Tee at Apr 3, 2007 at 12:05 AM EST |
| I thought of Cowby Dan as sort of white supremist guy that wants to fight indians like during the "glory days of the wild west". But he can't so he gets drunk instead. He wishes he could go back in time but is stuck in the vices of our age. This leads to the situation whitetide talked about. This song got me hooked on Modest Mouse. | |
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