Shanty – How To Play on Guitar and Harmonica
I made my first harmonica holder out of an old wire coat hanger. It wasn’t beautiful but it worked and put me on the road to earning my McGyver certificate at an early age.
For me now, a comfortable and properly fitting harmonica holder is a must for hands free harmonica playing. This
Hohner Harmonica Neck Holder works great for me.
Another harmonica holder that you may want to try that has gotten great reviews is the
Lee Oskar Harmonica Holder. You can also check out other harmonica holders on my George’s Harp Shop page
Guitar Chords, Lyrics
Shanty music and lyrics are property and copyright of their owners and provided for educational purposes and personal use only.
The following is my transcription of my version of this awesome song.
Chords and Lyrics
Use a C harmonica
G G7 C C7 Cm
G E7 A7 D7
G C G D
Gonna sit down in the kitchen
And fix me something good to eat
And make my head a little high
And make this whole day complete
‘Cause we gonna lay around the shanty, mama
And put a good buzz on
Well pass it to me baby
Pass it to me slow
We’ll take time out to smile a little
Before we let it go
‘Cause we gonna lay around the shanty, mama
And put a good buzz on
Well there ain’t nothin’ to do
And there’s always room for more
Fill it, light it, shut up
And close the door
‘Cause we gonna lay around the shanty, mama
And put a good buzz on
We gonna sit around the kitchen
Fix us somethin’ good to eat
And make ourselves a little high
And make the whole day complete
‘Cause we gonna lay around the shanty, mama
And put a good buzz on
‘Cause we gonna lay around the shanty, mama
And put a good buzz on
Video Transcription
Hi George here. Welcome to this video where I show you how I play Jonathan Edwards’ Shanty. I’ll go through the guitar chords, strumming pattern, choose a harmonica and then jam through it. Let’s get to the jam. Let’s do it.
Shanty is in the key of G so we’re going to use a C harmonica. Drawing on holes 2 3 4 and 5 produces the G7 chord which is perfect here.
Start on G for a bar and then G7 then C and C7 then Cminor which is here, then G E7 A7 D7 G C G D7.
The chords change at the final turn around where it goes from G to B7 to E7 and then our normal ending but we’ve go to get to it.
So for strumming patterns, let’s go through it and I’ll show you. On the first bar play down strokes and on the second bar play upstrokes – add syncopation. Same thing with C and C minor.
When we go around fifths here, we’ll start on G and I’ll play the root on 1 and strum the chord on & 2. The E7 play the root on 3 and chord & 4.
For the harmonica, we’re going to use a C harmonica but I’m not going to tab out the harmonica here and I’m not going to play like Jonathan Edward’s either. I’m just going to jam it out my own way. Which is what I suggest you do to. Get the original and a C harmonica and have a good listen to what he’s doing and develop your own style for the song.
Let’s take it slower. He takes it fast and I think the setting should be more laid back in this Shanty.
There’s Johathan Edwards Shanty. It’s just me, late at night, having some fun. I hope you can use that to have some fun too. Right on. Cheers. Peace. See you next time.
Great job! Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.
Sorry, I meant George. I’m toasted (nuff said).
Always been one of my favorite songs, Sweet version Tony. I’m just learning guitar and will probably wear this video out Thanx…
Awesome job George!
great work. thank you. you’ve got a cool randy newman quality to your voice.
Great song. You’re the man! I am still trying to get the JJ cale song and if I get me a job I will
skype it for sure. Thanks Greger
Hi Greger. Hope things are going well.
Cheers, George
George…
Another great Classic Rock song for all of us harper need to know!
(Oftentimes… when it was finished playing, one would say,
“Hey… that such a cool song… you can smell that one!”)
Thanks so much!
More!
Al
Haha. Yep, you can smell that one.
Thanks for the support Al.
Have a great weekend.
Cheers, George
Hiya Tony. How ya doin?
Thanks for the support.
Cheers, George
Great job as usual George. I get dizzy just watching you play both instruments at the same time.