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Pulp Common People Guitar Tab

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From: s.lawson@mech.surrey.ac.uk
corrections from: Christian Korbanka, Cologne, Germany
Subject: CRD: Common People by Pulp
Date: Wed, 08 Nov 95 17:40:20 +0000


Hi guys - heres the chords for Common People by Pulp :-

COMMON PEOPLE by PULP from the album 'Different Class'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The chords to this song are straightforward - chord change every two bars
and there's only three chords in it. The keyboards on the recording play
the melody line throughout (at least when you can hear it in the quiet
bits) and you can mimic this on the guitar by hammering a sus4 on each of the
chords. The biggest problem in playing this song is that it varies in
speed as it meanders through Jarvis' moods. Lyrics are from the New Pulp Home
Page (http://ns.ph.liv.ac.uk:80/~mbs/plp/pulp_home/) - thanks to Martin Smith.

intro: C Csus4 C

C
She came from Greece she had a thirst for knowledge

She studies sculpture at St. Martins College
G
ThatŽs where I caught her eye
C
She told me that her dad was loaded

I said "In that case IŽll have a rum and coca-cola"
G
She said "fine" and in a thirty seconds time she said

F
"I want to live like common people
C
I want to do whatever common people do

I want to sleep with common people
G
I want to sleep with common people like you"
C
Well what else could I do?, I said "IŽll see what I can do"

C
I took her to a supermarket
G
I donŽt know why but I had to start it somewhere - so it started there
C
I said "Pretend youŽve got no money"

She just laughed and said "Oh, youŽre so funny"
G
I said "Yeah, well I canŽt see someone else smiling in here

F
Are you sure you want to live like common people
C
You want to see whatever common people see

You want to sleep with common people
G
You want to sleep with common people like me
C
But she didnŽt understand, she just smiled and held my hand

C
Rent a flat above your shop, cut you hair and get a job
G
Smoke some fags and play some pool, prentend you never went to school
C
But still youŽll never get it right, Žcos when youŽre laid in bed at night
G
watching roaches climb the wall, if you called your dad he could stop it all

F
YouŽll never live like common people
C
YouŽll never do whatever common people do

YouŽll never fail like common people
G
YouŽll never watch your life slide out of view
C
And dance and drink and screw because thereŽs nothing else to do

C G
C G

F
Sing along with the common people,
C
Sing along and it might just get you thruŽ

Laugh along with the common people
G
Laugh along even though they are laughing at you

And the stupid things that you do
C
Because you think that poor is cool

C
Like a dog lying in a corner they will bite you and never warn you
G
look out, theyŽll tear you insides out
C
ŽCos everybody hates a tourist especially one who thinks that itŽs all
G
Such a laugh

and the chip stains and grease will come out in the bath

F
you will never understand how it feels to live your life
C
With no meaning or control and with nowhere left to go
G
You are amazed that they exist and they burn so bright
C
Whilst you can only wonder why

C
Rent a flat above your shop, cut you hair and get a job
G
Smoke some fags and play some pool, prentend you never went to school
C
But still youŽll never get it right, Žcos when youŽre laid in bed at night
G
watching roaches climb the wall, if you called your dad he could stop it all

F
YouŽll never live like common people
C
YouŽll never do whatever common people do

YouŽll never fail like common people
G
YouŽll never watch your life slide out of view
C
And dance and drink and screw because thereŽs nothing else to do


I want to live with common people like you

I want to live with common people like you

Brought to you by the GUITARMASTA - http://www.guitarmasta.net

Source: http://www.guitarmasta.net/p/pulp/296347.html

Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
 
 
No Picture

bobby
Rhythm Player
#1 by bobby volm at Jan 22, 1971 at 8:18 PM EST
I hate rich people or even well to do people who despise their wealth. Instead of being useful and helping others, they sit around moping because they want to be like the hip poor kids. You know, most of us lower class kids would much rather have money. And if we had it, we wouldn't deny it. *sigh*
 
No Picture

Chris
Rhythm Player
#2 by Chris Pray at Mar 8, 1974 at 2:03 PM EST
finally, a song that points out why i hated all those rich snobby kids back in high school. god i hated them bastards trying to be "cool". why are dickies so popular all of a sudden. that's all my mom was able to afford for me as a kid. now i can't even afford a pair!!!!
 
No Picture

Shredmaster
Average
#3 by Shredmaster Will at Dec 31, 1978 at 12:30 PM EST
I really like the Will Shatner cover, it's funny. And kinda rocky.
 
No Picture

Tyler
Wanna Be
#4 by Tyler Swagar at May 25, 1979 at 10:47 PM EST
frozen in fire, I disagree - the full length version is better. Voted best song of the nineties by radio one, and who could complain about that? I'm not a massive pulp fan but this defined the decade for me.
 
No Picture

wrath
Average
#5 by wrath child at Feb 7, 1980 at 8:48 AM EST
oh i'm sorry did i say the lyrics are true? i meant they were Untrue, but from certain people's POV i guess it is...
 
No Picture

Phillip
Average
#6 by Phillip Nguyen at Jan 6, 1984 at 6:45 AM EST
*Class*
 
No Picture

floyd
Lead Player
#7 by floyd lloyd at Apr 17, 1984 at 5:56 AM EST
It is A Dee Light! Scrumptualescent!! So good I can barely MOVE...... And the lyrics are so true and so charming and so true.. I like this song
 
No Picture

jordan Porreca
Lead Player
#8 by jordan Porreca porreca at Dec 18, 1984 at 5:49 AM EST
I just heard this song covered last night at a show. I was amazed. It's so emotionally charged. I've had it stuck in my head ever since.
 
No Picture

Kieran
Average
#9 by Kieran Molloy at Mar 25, 1986 at 5:06 PM EST
i remember hearing this as a kid in the glorious sunny days of britpop and loving it as a catcy tune. and then a few years later reading more into the lyrics and being utterly amazed. not one word is wasted. one of the smartest singles of all time
 
No Picture

Kornowski -
Wanna Be
#10 by Kornowski - Im не русский, Бог Черт возьми! at Apr 17, 1986 at 2:23 PM EST
Apparently based on true events when Jarvis was studying at St Martin's. The girl in question was the daughter of a Greek shipping magnate (or something), and wanted to live like a poor person to improve "her art."
 
No Picture

btotherizzad
Average
#11 by btotherizzad moriznad at Oct 27, 1986 at 5:14 PM EST
i LOVE this song, so bloody catchy and such clever lyrics...i don't like the will shatner cover, but mostly coz he really annoys me, heh
 
No Picture

Jon
Lead Player
#12 by Jon Shuffler at Nov 25, 1988 at 3:53 PM EST
"You'll never fail like common people, never watch your life slide out of view" I love that lyric. & I love the video! This was my fave song when I was, like 4. I used to think it said "scallop people". WTF!! It's obvious what it's about. It's actually a very sad song if you look deeply enough. Someone bring the 90's back! I was too little to appreciate them properly! I know Brit pop is being revived by Kaiser Chiefs and Maximo park but it's not the same!
 
No Picture

Julian
Average
#13 by Julian . at Feb 23, 1990 at 2:24 AM EST
oh, and about the Cap'n Kirk cover, is that Ben Folds, as I think it is, or famous new waver Joe Jackson?
 
No Picture

james
Rhythm Player
#14 by james dobson at May 9, 1991 at 9:49 AM EST
A wonderful song-lyric. Wish I'd written it. About rich people who "think that poor is cool": immediately makes me think of people who spend $$$ on pre-ripped (thus "punk") jeans. And the trend for oversize shorts and pants, aping the hand-me-down fashipon of the ghetto. And now, in one of the most inappropriate cover versions of all time, "Common People" by William Shatner! I kid you not! Brilliant! Beam me up, Scotty, it can never get better than this!
 
No Picture

Harvey
Rhythm Player
#15 by Harvey Puentes at Aug 27, 1992 at 2:29 AM EST
I think I prefer the video, cut, version of this song...the "dog lying in the corner" bit's a little odd, I think.
 
No Picture

Brett
Professional
#16 by Brett Czap at Jan 13, 1993 at 1:07 PM EST
this song rocks! i wish i was around to go to one of their concerts back in the day
 
No Picture

Gabba Gabba Hey
Average
#17 by Gabba Gabba Hey at Apr 7, 1993 at 9:35 AM EST
brilliant lyrics, this song shows how stupid people can be. nobody can ever live a problem free life, if their life is perfect ppl create problems, thats why lots of rich kids end up selling drugs. it almost makes no sense.
 
No Picture

Zach
Rhythm Player
#18 by Zach at May 9, 1993 at 11:47 PM EST
a masterpiece.
 
No Picture

Aaron
Wanna Be
#19 by Aaron Howe at Feb 17, 1997 at 3:13 PM EST
This song is soooo great XD The video is funny too, Jarvis Cocker is the world's oddest performer, lol. I think it's the way he sort of... I can't explain it, lol. I like the way he's in the supermarket trolley... it's just... funny XD I agree with you >forgotten< ... The Kaiser Chiefs are doing a pretty good job ^_~ I'd say... I'm not a big Maximo Park fan, though...*twitches*
 
No Picture

Lyssa CHAOS
Average
#20 by Lyssa CHAOS at Sep 3, 1997 at 8:04 AM EST
wow, this song really sums up the mid-ninties peak of brit pop, the clever, commercial, but Real athenmic songs.......ummm
 
No Picture

Christian
Wanna Be
#21 by Christian Chavez at Dec 17, 1999 at 6:52 AM EST
If you say so, Random_Boy... ;) This song is one of the defining songs of the 90s (I think there are more, but there's no way you could miss out this). Even though I wasn't alive for the first year or so of the decade...oh well...
 
No Picture

St. Jimmy
Wanna Be
#22 by St. Jimmy at Feb 25, 2001 at 9:02 AM EST
It's Joe Jackson. That voice is unmistakable.
 
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quinn almann '
Wanna Be
#23 by quinn almann ' jk carson at Dec 21, 2002 at 7:55 AM EST
lol best song of the nineties and how many people know pulp? it's so sad how EVERYONE knows those Simple Plan bands and bands like Pulp are like absolutly unknown
 
No Picture

Eric
Rhythm Player
#24 by Eric at Apr 15, 2003 at 11:12 PM EST
First step to living like common people: STOP CALLING THEM COMMON PEOPLE. GAH! I love this song. It's all the reasons why I love British music. A) The accent; B) The class struggles; C) The wry attitudes; D) the fact that they still kinda dig dance pop! (ok maybe not so much with the last one) This is in my opinion one of only a few Perfect Britpop era songs, along with Parklife, Wonderwall, and Do You Remember The First Time.
 
No Picture

amy
Average
#25 by amy at Apr 25, 2003 at 12:14 AM EST
the grass is greener on the other side, or is it? this song is brilliant. two different people come from opposite lifestyles, and long to have what the other has. the rich girl wants to live a seemingly simpler, plebian lifestyle, but (according to Jarvis Cocker) she could call Daddy and bail out anytime. the narrator doesn't have that luxury. he lives the life of a common person day in-day out.