Shady Grove - Carter-style picking

A Carter-style interpretation of Shady Grove, similar to the way Jerry Garcia picks it on the Shady Grove album.

Guitar lesson by jkeen Tags: lead, pickin, carter-style

More: Folk
1 year ago

You need Flash player 8+ and JavaScript enabled to view this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFCsJia7QPk

Here's the basic tune in tab. I like to mess around with it and vary the runs between the chords. You can keep it sounding good as long as you land on the prominent note of each chord change (it's not always the root note here).

. Dm           C              Dm              Dm
E|----1-----1-|------------0-|----1----------|----1-----1--|
B|----3-----3-|------------1-|----3----------|----3-----3--|
G|----2-----2-|------------0-|----2--------0-|-2--2--2--2--|
D|-0--0--0--0-|-0-2-0------2-|-0--0--0-2-3---|-------------|
A|------------|-------2-3--3-|---------------|-------------|
E|------------|--------------|---------------|-------------|
  Peaches...   summertime...  Apples...

  Dm           C              C               Dm
E|------------|------------0-|---------------|----1-----1--|
B|-1--1-------|------------1-|---------------|----3-----3--|
G|-------2--2-|-0-2-0------0-|-----0--2p0----|----2-----2--|
D|------------|-------2----2-|-0h2--------2--|-0-----------|
A|------------|---------3--3-|---------------|-------0-----|
E|------------|--------------|---------------|-------------|
  If I...     girl I love...  I don't..    ...all

These lyrics are more like the Garcia/Grisman versions. Doc Watson sings it with old school lyrics (not that these aren't), but you can Google those...

Shady Grove Lyrics

[Dm] Peaches in the [C] summertime
[Dm] Apples in the fall
If I can't get the [C] girl I love
I don't want none at [Dm] all

Chorus:
Shady grove, my little love
Shady grove, I know
Shady grove, my little love
I'm bound for shady grove

Wish I had a banjo string
Made of golden twine
Every tune I'd play on it
I wish that girl were mine

[Chorus]

Wish I had a needle and thread
Fine as I could sew
I'd sew that pretty girl to my side
And down the road I'd go

[Chorus]

Some come here to fiddle and dance
Some come here to tarry
Some come here to fiddle and dance
I come here to marry

[Chorus]

Every night when I go home
My wife, I try to please her
The more I try, the worse she gets
Damned if I don't leave her

[Chorus]

Fly around, my pretty little miss
Fly around, my Daisy
Fly around, my pretty little miss
Nearly drive me crazy

[Chorus]