Ballad of Billy Jo McKay Shawn Mullins
Shawn Mullins - The Ballad of Billy Jo Mckay
(Souls' Core album)
Tabbed by C.Timpson on 23 February 2005
Cape Town, South Africa
christimpson@hotmail.com
I just found out recently that Lullaby is not Shawn Mullins' only good song
and I heard this one and couldn't find a tab for it on the net so I sat down and this is
I came up with. He's actually got a couple of brilliant songs. 'Shimmer', 'West
and 'In the moonlight' are all very cool acoustic songs.
You really have to listen to the song first to be able to use this tab and I think there
2 guitars or more anyway and a few other instruments but I think the songs a great
piece, and this is the way i play it:
Capo on 4
Play with plectrum (pick)
Verses: picking/strumming (pick base note of each chord
as you start strumming it)
G ...320033
Cadd9 ...032033
Em7 ...022033
Dsus4 ...xx0233
C ...030210
Chorus: strumming and hammering, The song doesn't really have a chorus but he plays a
riff with these chords in between the versus so I'll just call it the chorus.
Em7 ...022033
D ...xx0232 (hammer high e from 2 onto 3 and back)
Cadd9 ...032033 (hammer D string while strumming)
Pattern: Just listen to the song for the correct picking, its hard to make out cuz hes
the whole time but with these chords and a capo on 4 any kind of picking sounds cool
He also mutes the chords a lot between every change but I'm no good at that yet.
Play verses in this order:
[G] [-] [Cadd9] [-] [Em7] [-] [Dsus4] [-] [Cadd9]
and the riff:
[Em7] [-] [D] [-] [Cadd9]
Lyrics:
My names Billy Jo Mckay
I just turned 16 yesterday
Im gonna get the nerve one day to get outa here
My ma passed on 3 years ago
They said it was cancer and it took her slow
Ever since then i been saying no to my daddy and my tears
riff
If you come down our road you gotta watch the bump
Right there across from the garbage dump
You can find me out back jumping on the trampoline
In the spring time well be skipping schoool
Sneak off to the can trail swimming pool
Man you just cant get much cooler, me and my friend Arlene
riff X2
My grandaddy hands are worn
From 50 years of growing corn
Back behind the house where i was born
Before he had to sell
My cousin Eddy
He got shot
In a wallmart parking lot
This little towns changed a lot
He said it hurt like hell
riff X3
Mmmmhmmmm
My names Billy Jo Mckay
Its a hot Mississippi summer Saturday
Daddys on the front porch with Uncle Dave
Drinking Dixies beer
16 years of being bored
The windows open
Forget the door
Hope theres some gas in the old mans ford
Cuz im outa here
Ah Im outa here
Ah Im out of here
Ooooh Im out of here
Hey Oooooh im out of here
Hey Oooooh im out of here
Hey, said im outa here
Picks, hammers and slides the chords here quietly, I can't work it out..
if you can, please let me know how.
then he basically whispers this:
Maybe I'll go down to New Blatski...?? (can't make out words....don't
Maybe to New Orleans know to many US states, lol)
Maybe to Los Angeles...
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Yep, its a brilliant song.
Hope this helps you, but please mail me if you've got any suggestions or questions.
Fan mails also welcome.
And hate mail as well if you like.
You know, feedback of any sort is cool.
A'aight, schweet.
Listen to Counting Crows, theyre a bloody awesome band. And just so you know,
if you didn't...Seether (Saron Gas) are South African!
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