Wild Wild Life Guitar Tab

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Wild Wild Life »

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From: danielp%elcx.dnet@esu36.ateng.az.honeywell.COM 


Wild Wild Life by Talking Heads
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I grabbed John's (phys174@csc.canterbury.ac.nz) post from Nevada, listened to
the disc, made corrections, and here is the result.  This is how a bud of mine
and I play it (two guitars).  I included a rhythm and lead for each part, 
and the lyrics at the bottom (they may have errors).  There really isn't a
rhythm guitar on the album, so the rhythm part is sort of a combination of the
bass and drums. There is timing below the tab (1 + 2 + etc), I hope it helps.
If there are brackets around tab:  [-2-3-], it means to repeat what's in the
brackets.  I hope somebody else likes this tune; thanks again to John for his
original post.

pete@pr.erau.edu

Figure A (Intro and First Verse)
   Rhythm                                  Lead
   E                                       E
e|-----0-----0---0-|-----0-----0---0-|  e|-----------------|-----------------|
b|-----5-----5---5-|-----5-----5---5-|  b|-----------------|-----------4-----|
g|-----4-----4---4-|-----4-----4---4-|  g|-----------------|-------2/4---42-|
d|-----------------|-----------------|  d|-2---------------|-----------------|
a|-----------------|-----------------|  a|-----------------|-----------------|
e|-0-----0-----0---|-0-----0-----0---|  e|-----------------|-----------------|
   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +       1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

Figure B (Bridge)
   Rhythm                                  Lead
   C                 F       G             C                 F       G
e|-0---0-0-0---0-0-|-1---1-1-3---3-3-|  e|-----------------|-----------------|
b|-1---1-1-1---1-1-|-1---1-1-3---3-3-|  b|-5-----5---------|-----------------|
g|-0---0-0-0---0-0-|-2---2-2-4---4-4-|  g|-5---------5-----|-2-------4-------|
d|-2---2-2-2---2-2-|-3---3-3-5---5-5-|  d|-5-----------5---|-3-------5-------|
a|-3---3-3-3---3-3-|-3---3-3-5---5-5-|  a|-3---3-----------|-3-------5-------|
e|-----------------|-1---1-1-3---3-3-|  e|-----------------|-1-------3-------|
   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +       1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

Figure C (Chorus)
   Rhythm
   A                                   E                         D
e|-0---0-0-0---0-0-|-0---0-0-0---0-0-|-0---0-0-0---0-0-|-----------------|
b|-2---2-2-2---2-2-|-2---2-2-2---2-2-|-0---0-0-0---0-0-|-9-------7-------|
g|-2---2-2-2---2-2-|-2---2-2-2---2-2-|-1---1-1-1---1-1-|-9---x-x-7---x-x-|
d|-2---2-2-2---2-2-|-2---2-2-2---2-2-|-2---2-2-2---2-2-|-9---x-x-7---x-x-|
a|-0---0-0-0---0-0-|-0---0-0-0---0-0-|-2---2-2-2---2-2-|-7---x-x-5---x-x-|
e|-----------------|-----------------|-0---0-0-0---0-0-|-----------------|
   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

   Lead
   A                                   E                 D
e|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
b|-------2---------|-------2---------|-------9---------|-------7---------|
g|-----2-----2-----|-----2-----2-----|-----9-----9-----|-----7-----7-----|
d|---2---------2---|---2---------2---|---9---------9---|---7---------7---|
a|-0---------------|-0---------------|-7---------------|-5---------------|
e|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

Figure D (Intro to second verse and Second verse itself)
   Rhythm                                  Lead
   E                                       E
e|-0-0---0-0-0---0-|-0-0---0-0-0---0-|  e|-----------------|-----------------|
b|-0-0---0-0-0---0-|-0-0---0-0-0---0-|  b|---5-5-4-4-------|-----------------|
g|-1-1---1-1-1---1-|-1-1---1-1-1---1-|  g|-----------2-2-4-|-4---------------|
d|-2-2-x-2-2-2-x-2-|-2-2-x-2-2-2-x-2-|  d|-----------------|---2-2-4-4-------|
a|-2-2-x-2-2-2-x-2-|-2-2-x-2-2-2-x-2-|  a|-----------------|-----------0-0-2-|
e|-0-0-x-0-0-0-x-0-|-0-0-x-0-0-0-x-0-|  e|-----------------|-----------------|
   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +       1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

Figure E (Pre solo)
   Rhythm
   F#                                G
e[---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
b[---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
g[---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
d[-4---4-4-4---4-4-4---4-4-4---4-4-|-5---5-5-5---5-5-5---5-5-5---5-5-|
a[-4---4-4-4---4-4-4---4-4-4---4-4-|-5---5-5-5---5-5-5---5-5-5---5-5-|
e[-2---2-2-2---2-2-2---2-2-2---2-2-|-3---3-3-3---3-3-3---3-3-3---3-3-|
   1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a   1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a

                                      1st time
   C                                  D               C
e|---------------------------------||---------------------------------|
b|---------------------------------||-3---3-3-3---3-3-----------------|
g|-0---0-0-0---0-0-0---0-0-0---0-0-||-2---2-2-2---2-2-0---0-0-0---0-0-|
d|-2---2-2-2---2-2-2---2-2-2---2-2-||-0---0-0-0---0-0-2---2-2-2---2-2-|
a|-3---3-3-3---3-3-3---3-3-3---3-3-||-----------------3---3-3-3---3-3-|
e|---------------------------------||---------------------------------|
   1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a    1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a

   2nd time
   F                G
e||---------------------------------]
b||---------------------------------]
g||---------------------------------]
d||-3---3-3-3---3-3-5---5-5-5---5-5-]
a||-3---3-3-3---3-3-5---5-5-5---5-5-]
e||-1---1-1-1---1-1-3---3-3-3---3-3-]
    1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a

Lead                                                      1st time
   F#                G                 C                  D       C
e[-2---------------|-3---------------|-0---------------||-5-------3-------|
b[-2---------------|-3---------------|-1---------------||---7-------5-----|
g[-3---------------|-4---------------|-0---------------||-----7-------5---|
d[-4---------------|-5---------------|-2---------------||-----------------|
a[-4---------------|-5---------------|-3---------------||-----------------|
e[-2---------------|-3---------------|-----------------||-----------------|
   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +    1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

    2nd time
    D       G
e||-----------------]
b||-----------------]
g||-10--10--12--12--]
d||-10--10--12--12--]
a||-----------------]
e||-----------------]
    1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

Solo (rhythm plays Figure D)
e[-------------------------|-----------------------------]
b[-------------------------|-----------------------------]
g[-------12-14-------12-14-|-------12-14-b16----14p12----]
d[-12-14-------12-14-------|-12-14--------------------14-]
a[-------------------------|-----------------------------]
e[-------------------------|-----------------------------]
   1  +  2  +  3  +  4  +    1  +  2  +   3  +  4     + 
                                                |--t--|

e|-------12-15-------12-15-|-------12-15-b17----15p12----|
b|-12-15-------12-15-------|-12-15--------------------15-|
g|-------------------------|-----------------------------|
d|-------------------------|-----------------------------|
a|-------------------------|-----------------------------|
e|-------------------------|-----------------------------|
   1  +  2  +  3  +  4  +    1  +  2  +   3  +  4     + 
                                                |--t--|

e|-------12-15-------12-12-|-15-12-------------------|
b|-12-15-------12-15-------|-------15-12-------------|
g|-------------------------|-------------14-12-------|
d|-------------------------|-------------------14-12-|
a|-------------------------|-------------------------|
e|-------------------------|-------------------------|
   1  +  2  +  3  +  4  +    1  +  2  +  3  +  4  + 

Intro  - FIGURE A 4 TIMES
Verse  - FIGURE A 4 TIMES
         "I'm wearin' my fur pajamas
          I ride a hot potatoe"
Bridge - FIGURE B 2 TIMES
         "It's ticklin' her fancy
          speak up I can't hear you"
Chorus - FIGURE C 4 TIMES
         "Here on this mountain top woah-oh (I got some wild wild life)
          I got some news to tell you woah-oh (about some wild wild life)
          Here come the doctor in charge woah-oh (she's got some wild wild life)
          Ain't that the way you like it woah-oh (livin' wild wild life)"
Intro  - FIGURE D 2 TIMES
Verse  - FIGURE D 4 TIMES
         "I wrestle with your conscious
          you wrestle with your partner"
Bridge - FIGURE B 2 TIMES
         "sittin' on a windowsill
          but he spends his time behind closed doors"
Chorus - FIGURE C 4 TIMES
         "Check out mister business man woah-oh (he bought some wild wild life)
          on the way to the stockage stage woah-oh (he got some wild wild life)
          wakin' up when he opens the door woah-oh (and doin' wild wild life)
          I know that's the way you like woah-oh (livin' wild wild life)"
Break  - FIGURE E
         "He's a man it's a piece of cake
          Thought control you get 'em both anytime you like"
Solo   - RHYTHM PLAYS FIGURE D 4 TIMES, LEAD PLAYS SOLO
Bridge - FIGURE B 2 TIMES
         "Like sittin' on pins and needles
          Things fall apart it's scientific"
Chorus - FIGURE C 8 TIMES
         "sleepin' on the interstate woah-oh (gettin' wild wild life)
          checkin' in checkin' out woah-oh (I got 'em wild wild life)
          spending all of my money and time woah-oh (on too much wild wild life)
          we wanna go and we know where we go woah-oh (ah doin' wild wild life)
          I know it, that's how we start it woah-oh (find some wild wild life)
          take a picture here in (Madayla)? woah-oh (I got 'em wild wild life)
          you want some talk, you want some ? woah-oh (wild wild life)
          And I know that's the way you like it woah-oh 
          (livin' wild wild wild wild whaoo)"

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Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques


No Picture Zach Wanna Be	#1 by Zach Honeycutt at Aug 16, 1971 at 12:32 PM EST
	What a great video as well. This song made me want to run right out and see the film(but it was three years before I ever saw the film from the time this song came out). In my youth, I recall sleeping on the interstate: not fun. "Check out Mr. Business Man...". I guess the stress of working the Stock Exchange drove him nuts.

No Picture Shay Average	#2 by Shay at Feb 7, 1972 at 8:38 PM EST
	DB seems to like the financial services metaphors: in addition to this song's "Check out Mr. Businessman", there's "Stockbroker make a bad investment when love has come to town" from (what else?) "Love Has Come to Town."

No Picture chris Average	#3 by chris nagel at Jan 11, 1978 at 6:28 AM EST
	Definitely about drugs, most likely cocaine as that was the drug of the 80s... from the casual users looking for a good time, to the businessman who uses cocaine to keep up with the frantic pace of the stock exchange, and the addicted: "Spending all of my money and time/Done too much wild, wild life"

No Picture Average	#4 by Fig at Aug 9, 1979 at 7:01 AM EST
	I'm amazed nobody has commented on this. This song is about insanity. It's about a very mad but very happy man living in an insane asylum. "Here comes the doctor in charge," "Sittin' on a windowsill/But he spends time behind closed doors," and especially "Checkin' in, a checkin' out!" It could also be a comment about society as a kind of madhouse. Personally, I love it. Happy and insane- is there really any better way to be?

No Picture I BAKE YOU MUFF Average	#5 by I BAKE YOU MUFFIN at May 25, 1993 at 9:34 AM EST
	This song is all-around fun song that I believe was originally done to mock pop music at the time. However, it became a big hit instead.

No Picture cody Rhythm Player	#6 by cody watts at Oct 26, 1993 at 1:47 AM EST
	I came here to see if anyone agreed with my thoughts on this song, and I suppose they don't. After hearing it I really assumed it was about taking drugs in some form. Wild life seems like it could almost be replaceable by "drugs" in a general sense: both medicated drugs or recreational, either works. Hence buying wild life on the way to the stock exchange, or having the head doctor give it to you.

No Picture ed Average	#7 by ed lubecki at May 5, 1994 at 6:59 AM EST
	i agree with caleddin i felt it was about drug use Like sittin' on pins and needles Things fall apart, it's scientific meaning the hi then down side after. but still very up moveing song