Powderfinger Guitar Tab

Live Rust Tabs:

Powder Finger
By: Neil Young
This is how I play it.
You might have to listen to the song to get the rythm.
|---0-----0------0------0-----0--------0------0-----0-------4----0----|
|---0-----2------0------0-----2--------0------0-----2-------4----2----|
|---1-----2------1----2-1-----2--------1----2-1-----2-------4----2----|
|---2-----2------2---2--2-----2--------2---2--2-----2-------6----2----|
|---2-----0------2--2---2-----0--------2--2---2-----0-------6----0----|
|-0-0-----0----0-0------0-----0--------0------0-----0-------4----0----|
|-4----0----4----0----4----0----2-------0-----0------0------0----|
|-4----2----4----2----4----2----4-------0-----2------0------0----|
|-4----2----4----2----4----2----4-------1-----2------1----2-1----|
|-6----2----6----2----6----2----4-------2-----2------2---2--2----|
|-6----0----6----0----6----0----2-------2-----0------2--2---2----|
|-4----0----4----0----4----0----2-------0-----0----0-0------0----|
Just repeat this through each verse.

Source: http://www.guitarmasta.net/y/young,_neil/355425.html

Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques


No Picture Len Badass	#1 by Len cullum at Sep 28, 2007 at 1:45 AM EST
	I always thought this song was about a young man who was protecting his woman from the bad guys in town, (like coward of the country) and he ended up shooting someone important. So they sent the toops out to capture him. He sees them coming and is shot on the dock while waiting for them with his Dad's gun. It's probably about war.

No Picture keith Wanna Be	#2 by keith mckinlay at Sep 28, 2007 at 11:11 AM EST
	There is an excellent version of this song by a band called the Beat Farmers (I think their lead singer died on stage). I have no idea what it is about. But I always imagined it to be about one of those survivalist/red-neck type shoot-outs in the woods. There must be a documented story behind the song surely?

No Picture Jesse Professional	#3 by Jesse Garcia at Sep 29, 2007 at 8:00 PM EST
	I think Leefroy's theory is awesome. Sly

No Picture Jared Wanna Be	#4 by Jared van Eck at Oct 2, 2007 at 12:36 AM EST
	With all due respect, Powderfinger is a horrible Australian band. They're the sort of rubbish that people who listen to Triple M listen to when they want to think they've broad enough tp listen to alternative music.

No Picture bob Average	#5 by bob bob at Oct 2, 2007 at 2:30 PM EST
	" With all due respect, Powderfinger is a horrible Australian band. They're the sort of rubbish that people who listen to Triple M listen to when they want to think they've broad enough tp listen to alternative music. " with all due respect, stop trying to be cool and listen to their older stuff. of course they are horrible if you only listen to their triple M hits.

No Picture UknownSoldier Lead Player	#6 by UknownSoldier Nightmare at Oct 3, 2007 at 12:12 PM EST
	It isn't about the revolution, rifled muskets weren't invented until the 1800's. Probably about the civil war or some time thereafter, the kid is just fighting raiders on the river in whatever remote part of the country he is in.

No Picture Badass	#7 by guess wha' i suck at Oct 3, 2007 at 7:25 PM EST
	I honestly don't think who was on the boat is that important. I always felt the song was basically a youth angst anthem...here's a kid whose entire life is in front of him, with his own dreams and ideas, yet he's killed having to defend something he might not even want to protect --- or more accurately, something that others should be protecting instead of him. The closing lines about "Just think of me as one you never figured / would fade away so young" are really powerful stuff. Then again, one of my old bosses was convinced that the song was about gun control. So it's hard to say. Incidentally, I think the people on the boat are actually Treasury officers, coming to forcibly shut down an illegal still. They've got both might and "right" on their side (the white boat, the numbers and the gun), yet this song is from the perspective of the other side.

No Picture Dylan Average	#8 by Dylan Donovan at Oct 4, 2007 at 7:12 AM EST
	Excellent song, Neil will never lose his touch. As far as the meaning, i agree with leefroy. I really like how musicians Canadians like Neil Young and the Tragically Hip sing about Canadian history.

No Picture Armin Average	#9 by Armin at Oct 6, 2007 at 12:50 PM EST
	I agree with wetcoaster on this one. And I believe Neil offered this song to Lynyrd Skynyrd, although I'm not sure if he wrote it expressly for them.

No Picture Murders in the Average	#10 by Murders in the Rue Morgue at Oct 8, 2007 at 3:49 AM EST
	HEY HEY HEY WHOA WHOA WHOA Ive listened to this song for 15 years and the gun is not making big waves(whatever the fuck that means) "Its making me afraid" jackass.nice try.

No Picture Jonathan Rhythm Player	#11 by Jonathan Matuszyk at Oct 9, 2007 at 8:18 AM EST
	I have always thought that this song was about the Metis Rebellion which took place in westen Canada in the last quarter of the 19th Century. Neil Young is Canadian, of course, and has always had strong ties to the native peoples. The wars between the soldiers of the United States and the Native American tribes are well known by most Americans. However, the situation in Canada was even more complicated. When the French colonized eastern Canada in the 1600s, they sent many soldiers and trappers, and very few women. For this reason, many of the early settlers took native wives. A separate culture emerged known as the Metis. These people knew the ways of both the French and the native people. When the English conquered the French in the French and Indian War, they placed oppressive controls over the French, even deporting thousands of Acadian French to Louisiana to make room for English settlerrs. Young French settlers escaped the cities and found themselves in the wilderness known as Madawaska, where they were accepted and assimillated by their Metis half-brothers. Many of the Metis lived a nomadic life, traveling hundreds of miles to the area north and west of Lake Superior, where they could live in peace away from the influence of the English. However, conflict eventually followed, as the railroads opened the west and immigrants flooded into the rich grasslands occupied by the Metis. The Canadian government sent troops to seize control of the region. Canadian soldiers and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Metis "troops" were killed in the battles. Eventually the "rebellion" was ended, and at least on Metis leader, Louis Riel was executed for his part in the rebellion. It was a sad time in Canadian history. In what is known as the Battle of Batoche, the Canadian soldiers converted a steamboat into a gunboat and sailed up the South Saskatchawan River, where a gun battle ensued between the settlere and the troops. I believe this song is a fictional account of the death of one of the Metis settlers during the Battle of Batoche

No Picture kyle Rhythm Player	#12 by kyle perry at Oct 10, 2007 at 7:23 AM EST
	i think he gets shot by the people in the boat. makes much more sense. however, the real question is... who the hell are the people on the boat?

No Picture Matt Lead Player	#13 by Matt Spencer at Oct 10, 2007 at 3:08 PM EST
	ok, here's what i think, i think this is about a a young kid, during the civil war. in the lines "And I just turned twenty-two I was wonderin' what to do And the closer they got, The more those feelings grew" i think this kid had a lot of things on his mind, but he didn't know what side he was on or really had no opinion on the whole affair because he had so much to deal with in his own life. i think this song is about this kid getting gunned down while he was trying to make up his mind.

No Picture Sawyer Rhythm Player	#14 by Sawyer Hildebrandt at Oct 11, 2007 at 12:35 AM EST
	a fantaaastic aussie rock'n'roll band named themselves after this song. check them out if you can.

No Picture patrick Average	#15 by patrick chamberland at Oct 11, 2007 at 3:04 AM EST
	probably my favourite Neil Young song. In response to leefroy, I think its a good theory but I might raise a couple of points. The song mentions the boat making big waves. How did it do this without a motor? Also, how many Metis were named Emmy-Lou. I personally have a mental image of this song being about some southern moonshiners living in the backwoods and the feds coming in to break the whole operation up. Just my thoughts. By the way, didn't Neil write this song for Lynyrd Skynyrd?

No Picture jake Average	#16 by jake battkoo at Oct 11, 2007 at 7:22 PM EST
	i think its about the american revolution, as it's been said before the red represents the british and I believe "the powder" refers to gun powder. a child is the only one left to defend his family and as he is aiming his fathers rifle he is shot

No Picture bob Average	#17 by bob fred at Oct 13, 2007 at 2:58 AM EST
	This song is clearly about the civil war. It is based down south, mabey virgina or somewhere where union boats could patrol or something. During the civil war delivering mail by boat was the most effective way of delivering mail and they talk about that in the song. When Big Johns drinkin because the railroad took Emmy-Lou, who but during the civil war was named Emmy-Lou. During the civil war guns were fulled with powder and the finger that shot it got covered in black powder. This is why its clearly a song about the civil war. Neil Young is my guitar hero and if i could meet him for 10 minuts that would be my dream.

No Picture Aaron Wanna Be	#18 by Aaron Frederick at Oct 14, 2007 at 10:47 AM EST
	"Red means run son, numbers add up to nothin." I believe is a reference to the boat. A boat with a big red beacon means run. A boat with only numbers on the side isn't something to fear.

No Picture brad Rhythm Player	#19 by brad music at Oct 16, 2007 at 9:02 AM EST
	the people on the boat are "the reds", english people (red uniforms during the independence war)

No Picture Jordan Average	#20 by Jordan S. at Oct 17, 2007 at 6:47 AM EST
	For some reason, this is a fav song, I don't necessarily catch the jist of the song but that's mainly why I like it, I love this song, long live Neil. What sucks though is when you try to talk about him and kids your age (I'm 13, mind you) have never heard of him.

No Picture Jay Dizzle Wanna Be	#21 by Jay Dizzle holden at Oct 17, 2007 at 10:04 PM EST
	who cares what this actually means! powderfinger is one of my favourite songs of all time - the guitar solo is fucking brilliant!

No Picture chris the pirat Lead Player	#22 by chris the pirate. arr at Oct 17, 2007 at 11:31 PM EST
	hhhhmmmm, would it be wrong to say that RUST NEVER SLEEPS is the BEST neil albumn???

No Picture The MADMAN Average	#23 by The MADMAN All the way at Oct 18, 2007 at 5:28 AM EST
	Maybe the guy gets shot by the people on the boat, or does the rifle blow up in his face? Is there a connection with the song "Down By The River"? If you want to get REALLY confused, there is a collection of Powderfinger posts from the Rust list at: http://hyperrust.org/Rust/PowderFinger.html

No Picture KELSO Wanna Be	#24 by KELSO Is a COOL kid at Oct 18, 2007 at 6:33 AM EST
	uhh note to self dont ever let a friend of yours scan songmeanings.net when u havent signed out yet and they try posting something retarded. ignor the ignorance. thank you peace Zingoth

No Picture chris Wanna Be	#25 by chris valverde at Oct 18, 2007 at 3:03 PM EST
	i think wetcoaster is definitely right. this song in no way sounds like it takes place in the 19th century. the boat is white, with numbers on the side and a red beacon, and it makes waves... it definitely sounds like some type of law enforcement boat that's coming for the family in the song. and i think that he did write it specifically for lynyrd skynyrd, and it was described as southern, but i could be wrong.