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M.Shepard
Thursday
Tabbed by Nick Rhodes
DADGBE
Hey hey heyah, just a little correction, some spaces ended up to big or too small. Always
play the powerchord EXAMPLE
A|---2-2-2 = A|2-2-2
D|2-2-2 = D|2-2-2
Both guitars INTRO then Rhythm plays
G| --4-4-4-4-44-4-4-4-4-44 G|5555555555555555
D|---x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-xx D|5555555555555555
A|---2-2-2-2-22-2-2-2-2-22 A|3333333333333333 X2
D|---2-2-2-2-22-2-2-2-2-22 D|------------------------
The lead goes off here but its all on the b string
VERSE: Rhythm….Lead some weird chord stuff but the base is still the b string
G|--------------------55-5--222
D|--------------------55-5--222 X4
A|-2-2-2—4-4-4—5-5-5--33-3—-000
D|-2-2-2-4-4-4-5-5-5----------------
CHORUS: Rhythm
1st 3rd and 4th time 2nd time
G|---------------------------5555555555555555 G|-----------------------------55555555-22222222
D|---------------------------5555555555555555 D|-----------------------------55555555-22222222
A|-22222222-55555555---------3333333333333333 A|-22222222-55555555—33333333-00000000
D|-22222222-55555555------------------------- D|-22222222-55555555----------------------------
CHORUS: Lead
1st and 4th time 2nd time play the A|-333333333-00000000 thing
G|----------14-14-14-14—12-12-12-12-5555555555555555
D|--------- -xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx--5555555555555555
A|-22222222-12-12-12-12-10-10-10-10-3333333333333333
D|-22222222-----------------------------------------------------------
3rd time, kinda freestyle the ending, its more fun to make it sound cooler
G|-17-17-17-17/16-16-16-16/14-14-14-14/12-12-12-12/11/12-12-12-12/14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14/16/14
D|-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A|-15-15-15-15/14-14-14-14/12-12-12-12/10-10-10-10/9-/10-10-10-10/12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12/14/12
Repeat verse x4
PRE-CHORUS, I think the harmonics are all three’s so it shouldn’t be hard to figure
out
G|------xx-----------------------xx-----------5555-2222
D|------xx-----------------------xx-----------5555-2222
A|-2-2--xx------2-2~ ------2-2---xx-2-2-2-----3333-0000
D|-2-2--xx------2-2~ ------2-2---xx-2-2-2--------------
Repeat Chorus x1
BREAKDOWN part 1 play intro but when you switch to A|-3 play this
G|-5-5-5-5-55-5-55-55-55-55-5-----------
D|-5-5-5-5-55-5-55-55-55-55-5-----------
A|-3-3-3-3-33-3-33-33-33-33-3—2---2--
D|----------------------------2---2—
INTERLUDE: keyboard and bass
Come back in at 3:15 and play this:
Both Guitars Rhythm Lead plays this while Rhythm hits the 2’s
B|--------------------------|----------------|-8-0-7-0-8-0-7-0-8-0-7-0-8-0-7-0-
G|-5555555555555555 --------|----------------|-----------------------------------------
D|-5555555555555555 --------|----------------|----------------------------------------- X 3.5 times (you’ll know what I mean)
A|-3333333333333333 --------|-22-22-22-22----|-----------------------------------------
D|--------------------------|-22-22-22-22----|-----------------------------------------
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Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
|
No Picture
Maggot Man Wanna Be |
#1 by Maggot Man at Feb 14, 1975 at 9:26 PM EST |
| I take no credit for this interpretation, I found it on a website. On October 7, 1998, Matthew Shepard was murdered by two men. He was tied to a fence post, then was continuously beaten, tortured, and left to die in the near-freezing temperatures. Eighteen hours later, a man rode by on his bicycle. He first mistook Matthew for a scarecrow, but on further investigation discovered that it was in fact a human being. Matthew's face was covered in blood, except for where his tears had washed it away. He was murdered because he was gay. Geoff Rickly is outraged, frightened, and disgusted by the murder of Matthew Shepard. He is so moved by this death that he cannot even disguise his feelings. This death, to him, shows the dehumanization by society that is becoming more and more popular, frequent, and life-threatening. He believes that eventually, no one will be unique or have identity - the world will be filled with robots. In this song, he gives a cry for unification and for revolution. The song starts off on the night Matthew was murdered. "The stage is set to rip the wings from the butterfly" refers to Matthew, a unique and delicate butterfly, tied to the fencepost, about to be ripped apart, both mentally and physically. This sets a serious tone for the rest of the song and causes everything that is said to relate to Matthew. Next, Rickly gives his thoughts on the subject. He feels that it will never be safe to express ourselves or to "take the stage" unless "the whole world dies," or society learns how to accept and cope with differences. He says that these kinds of crime will continue, and graveyards will grow to enormous sizes, near that of a "landing strip." He explains that when the whole world dies, "we won't have to be afraid anymore. But this is not the case, not yet at least, and in the meantime, people are scared. There is a "gathering storm" of hatred, and when it nears, everyone must "grow silent." The "curtain" separates those hated by members of society, like Matthew Shepard, from those faceless robots that are accepted by everyone else, loathed by no one. When this curtain falls, it becomes a game of survival. You must try to be caught on "the other side," the inhumane side, and "keep up the act" in order to survive. However, Rickly feels that it is worthless to live as a dehumanized soul, and refuses to put on an act for anybody. Instead, he chooses the other side of the curtain, and feels that he will soon find himself "in the back of black cars," of hearses, adding to the success of these fierce souls and joining their "procession of emptiness." Rickly points out that in today's society, many people are scared to voice their personal opinions. If they work up the courage to do this, they are immediately regretful and terrified. They hold their breath in anticipation, even though they know that eventually their planes "are going to crash" and they will become another martyred soul. To help stop this, Rickly cries out for a revolution. He suggests to the listeners that they "don't have to be alone ever again." He calls for them to unite against the faceless and start a riot in the theatre. He imagines a brawl between those who are unique and have opinions and the "murderers," who are waiting to do to them exactly what they did to Matthew and carve the same "M" in their sides. Rickly yells out that even if it comes to standing alone against the dehumanized, you must fight. If not, the world will become dull, monotonous, and full of robots. Rickly then goes back to the night that Matthew was murdered. Once again, "the stage is set to rip the wings from the butterfly." Then, there is a silence. Breathing. The helplessness of Matthew, the dullness of the world that will become of us, our inability to express ourselves, perhaps even Rickly's perception of the sound of death. Next, there is no singing, but talking. Singing would make the death of Matthew too unique. But it is not unique, not in today's world, because crimes like these have become almost as routine as talking. Rickly talks, describing Matthew's death. The mention of a "curtain" brings the listener back to the image of the brawl. Matthew, as Rickly instructed, is standing alone, defenseless against these two murderers. With the mention of lotus flowers and silk, we are reminded of a Chinese culture, of Buddhism, of reincarnation. Rickly hopes and prays that Matthew is reincarnated. He hopes someone else will come along to swim upstream and fight the worsening society. In the last lines, Rickly worries about himself and takes a stand. Suddenly, he finds himself "under the spotlight." He is the next target. He is "on display with the butterfly and the scarecrow," two images of Matthew Shepard. He then yells at the murderers, viciously accusing them of their crime. He says to them, "With smiles like picket fences you tie us all up and leave us outside." They then reply, speaking of Matthew, "That voice is silent now, the boat has sunk." Rickly then screams his final line, a final plea for help, for unification, for the betterment of today's society. He yells to anyone that is left from the brawl in the theatre, anyone willing to fight the murderers, anyone wanting to retain their opinions and their individuality. He tries to give these people confidence with his last line, while he also tries to make the murderers frightened. He yells, "We're on our own, but we're not going to run." | |
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No Picture
nathan Average |
#2 by nathan skidmore at Jan 4, 1979 at 11:05 AM EST |
| the section near the end of the song where the music dies down then it crescendos into the guitar... its fantastic. | |
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No Picture
Kenny Lead Player |
#3 by Kenny Berg at Oct 25, 1989 at 10:53 AM EST |
| This song gives me shivers everytime I listen to it. Thursday is my favorite band of all-time in my generation and probably for the rest of my life. No band writes about more important, diverse issues in the world and/or in a person's life. The meaning of the song is so depressing and sad that it's beautiful to me. And as far as the comment before mine: I don't think it's about that. I've searched for any facts about your statement and as far as I can tell, you pulled that one as an assumption. | |
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No Picture
Ben Wanna Be |
#4 by Ben Koss at Nov 26, 1995 at 8:28 AM EST |
| knowing the meaning to this song, you cant help but get the chills when you listen to it. | |
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No Picture
Chris Average |
#5 by Chris Tucker at Mar 3, 1996 at 5:23 AM EST |
| Actually, the song isn't directly about Matthew... Geoff has never even talked to the Shepards'. Mostly, it is about his friend who is afraid to come out of the closet. | |
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No Picture
michael Wanna Be |
#6 by michael Dittrich at Nov 23, 1997 at 6:41 PM EST |
| Got this from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard " Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old, met Aaron James McKinney and Russell Arthur Henderson in a bar. After he confided to them that he was gay, they deceived him into leaving with them in their car. He was robbed, severely beaten, tied to a fence and left to die. McKinney and Henderson also found out his address, intending to burgle his home. Shepard was discovered 18 hours later, alive and unconscious. Matthew Shepard's suffered from a fracture from the back of his head to the front of his right ear. He also had catastrophic brain stem damage, which affected his body's ability to regulate heartbeat, body temperature, and other vital signs. There were also about a dozen small lacerations around his head, face and neck. His injuries were deemed too severe for doctors to operate. Shepard never regained consciousness and remained on full life support. He died at 12:53 a.m. on October 12 at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado. The blood on Shepard's face had been partly washed away by tears, indicating that he had been conscious for some time after the beating. He had been pistol-whipped 18 times with a .357-caliber revolver." That last part "The blood on Shepard's face had been partly washed away by tears, " makes me cry every time I think about it. What kind of people do we really live with in todays society? I mean honestly, why cant we all just get along and accept people for who they are, whether they be gay, straight, black, white, jewish, chinese, indian, egyptian, or any other different race and what not. I mean honestly if we cant all live in this world civily without stuff like this happening then we might as well just blow our world up and not have any lives at all if one person cant live their lives the way they want to live it. I'm sorry, but this just makes me sick thinking about it. As for the song, Thursday is amazing so obviously this song is amazing also. I'm happy that they wrote this song for Matthew Shepard. I love the idea that they stuck up for what they believe in, as well as many other people do. This songs main meaning is to stand up for what you believe in, because, like it or not, its up to you to help the world around you make the right decissions too. lol k im done now. | |
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No Picture
mike Average |
#7 by mike duncan at Apr 9, 2001 at 9:00 AM EST |
| Thats my favorite thing about Thursday. They write about things that actually matter. Not like "I had this girlfriend, and she broke up with me, so fuck her". No one else does what they do so beautifully and creatively. I did a project on this song in sociology. I almost started crying when I was standing up there presenting it and just listening to it. I love that Thursday stands up for things like that and that they write about issues that matter. ones that affect everyone. It's so great when after you fall in love with the music to be able to go back, and learn the intricate story behind it like this, and only then can you truly understand all the symbols they use in their lyrics. Genious. | |
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