The Jungle Line - Joni Mitchell --------------------------------- From the album "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" Transcribed by Howard Wright hakwright (at) gmail (dot) com Tuning: ------- low to high: A A C# E A E Joni notation: A 12 4 3 5 7 Note that the bottom string is tuned an octave lower than the 5th string. This is pretty low for a standard set of strings. I find you have to tune the bottom string so it sounds a tiny bit flat when its played open - that way, when fretted it will sound in tune. Using a heavy gauge bottom string will help the tuning here. The guitar is pretty low in the mix for this song, but after some careful listening, I'm pretty sure I've got the right chord shapes. There's just one section where the guitar is drowned out by drums and synthesiser, which makes it very hard to figure out what is played. This is the part where Joni sings (from the first verse): "all that jazz", "modern nights", "the jungle line". It's incredibly difficult to pick out much of the guitar part at this point - I can hear the top two open strings, but it's hard to figure out the rest. My best guess is: E--------0----------------0---------------------------------- A--------0----------------0---------------------------------- E--------0----------------0---------------------------------- C#---7------5---5--5---7------5--5---5----------------------- A----7------5---5--5---7------5--5---5----------------------- A----5------5---5--5---5------5--5---5----------------------- This part is played with heavy damping of the strings, so the fretted notes aren't heard clearly, but you get a kind of "chugging" sound with the open top strings thrown in from time to time. Note that the bass notes played on the synthesiser don't always follow the guitar chords, so if you play the guitar part on its own you don't get exactly the same twists in the harmony. But, if you play along to the CD you should hear how the guitar part fits in with the rest. Intro: ------ Fade in, alternating between these two shapes: 555555 577555 The top string isn't played much during the intro, but it sounds OK if you do play it. The strumming pattern uses mostly 8th notes (count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & ...), using alternating up and downstrokes. The 8th notes have a triplet swing feel to them (if in doubt, follow the drum beat!). There are a few percussive "strums" of the strings, marked as x in the tablature. For these, you mute the strings with your fretting hand as you strum them, to get a dry percussive sound. The percussive sounds are played mostly on the 4th beat in each bar. The intro strumming pattern is written out below (the 8th note beats are marked at the top as 1 & 2 & ...): 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & E------------------------------------------------------------ A----5---5--5---5--5---5--x---5--5---5---------5------x--5--- E----5---5--5---5--5---5--x---5--5---5---------5------x--5--- C#---5---5--5---5--5---5--x---5--5---7---------5------x--5--- A----5---5--5---5--5---5--x---5--5---7---------5------x--5--- A----5---5--5---5--5---5--x---5--5---5---------5------x--5--- A similar feel is used throughout the song, with accented strums and percussive strums added in an ad lib way. Verse 1: -------- 999999 9 11 11 9 9 9 Rousseau walks on trumpet paths 555555 577000 555xxx 577000 555xxx Safaris to the heart of all that jazz 577000 555xxx 577000 555xxx 006540 008760 Through I bars and girders, through wires and pipes 555555 577000 555xxx 577000 555xxx The mathematic circuits of the modern nights 577000 555xxx 577000 555xxx 002222 003333 Through huts, through Harlem, through jails and gospel pews 006540 008760 Through the class on Park and the trash on Vine 777777 799777 Through Europe and the deep deep heart of Dixie blue 555555 577000 555xxx 577000 555xxx Through savage progress cuts the jungle line 577000 555xxx 577000 555xxx 577000 555xxx 577000 555xxx 577000 555xxx 577000 555xxx Verse 2: -------- (Same chords for all verses) In a low-cut blouse she brings the beer Rousseau paints a jungle flower behind her ear Those cannibals of shuck and jive They'll eat a working girl like her alive With his hard-edged eye and his steady hand He paints the cellar full of ferns and orchid vines And he hangs a moon above a five-piece band He hangs it up above the jungle line Verse 3: -------- The jungle line, the jungle line Screaming in a ritual of sound and time Floating, drifting on the air-conditioned wind And drooling for a taste of something smuggled in Pretty women funnelled through valves and smoke Coy and bitchy, wild and fine And charging elephants and chanting slaving boats Charging, chanting down the jungle line Verse 4: -------- There's a poppy wreath on a soldier's tomb There's a poppy snake in a dressing room Poppy poison, poppy tourniquet It slithers away on brass like mouthpiece spit And metal skin and ivory birds Go steaming up to Rousseau's vines They go steaming up to Brooklyn Bridge Steaming, steaming, steaming up the jungle line