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Space Oddity

David Bowie

from the album Space Oddity released in 1969

jump to: lyrics / notes & tabs / videos / chord progressions / song info

Lyrics

Intro

    Fmaj7 ... Em ... Fmaj7 ... Em ... (repeat)


Verse

    C                       Em 
    Ground Control to Major Tom
    C                       Em 
    Ground Control to Major Tom
    Am        Am/G              D/F# 
    Take your protein pills and put your helmet on 
    
    Ground Control to Major Tom
    Commencing countdown, engines on
    Check ignition and may God's love be with you


Chorus

        C                               E7 
        This is Ground Control to Major Tom
                               F 
        You've really made the grade 
                Fm             C                    F 
        And the papers want to know whose shirt you wear 
                  Fm                C              F 
        Now, it's time to leave the capsule if you dare 

        This is Major Tom to Ground Control
        I'm stepping through the door
        And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
        And the stars look very different today


Refrain

                 Fmaj7         Em 
            For, here---- am I sitting in a tin can
            Fmaj7                   Em 
            Far---------- above the world
            Bb              Am               G             F 
            Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do


Instrumental Section


                C → F G → A A x2

                Fmaj7 ... Em ... A ... C ... D ... E ... x1

        Though I'm past one hundred thousand miles
        I'm feeling very still
        And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
        Tell my wife I love her very much, she knows


Bridge

                    G                 E7 
                    Ground Control to Major Tom
                         Am                      Am/G 
                    Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong
                            D 
                    Can you hear me, Major Tom? 
                            C 
                    Can you hear me, Major Tom? 
                            G 
                    Can you hear me, Major Tom? Can you...
    
            Here---- am I sitting in my tin can
            Far----- above the Moon 
            Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do

                (instrumental section, end)

Notes & Tabs

Guitar Chords Used

Here is the basic way to play the guitar chords used in this song. Note that many of these chords can (or should, some would argue) be played in different ways, specifically when playing this song -- but I offer these primarily as a simple foundation and starting point. Add flourish and variation as you desire; otherwise roll with these and you'll do just fine.

e-|---0---0----0---------0---2----2-----0---0---0----1----1----0------3----
B-|---2---1----1----3----1---3----3-----0---3---0----1----1----1------0----
G-|---2---2----2----3----0---2----2-----1---1---0----2----1----2------0----
D-|---2---2----2----3----2---0----0-----2---2---2----3----3----3------0----
A-|---0---0----x----1----3--------0-----2---2---2----3----3----3------2----
E-|------------3------------------2-----0---0---0----1----1-----------3----
      A   Am  Am/G  Bb   C   D   D/F#   E   E7  Em   F    Fm  Fmaj7   G

Signature Instrumental Acoustic Riff

In order to play the recognizable guitar riff heard twice in the song (just after the refrain section both times), refer to this tab. This is how I play it -- though you could surely use the typical open positions for the C, F, G, and A chords if desired. Listen along for the rhythm -- the tab below merely shows an approximated strumming pattern.

e-|---8----------1------3------------5-----5-----------
B-|---8----------1------3------------5-----5-----------
G-|---9----------2------4------------6-----6-----------
D-|--10---x-x----3--x---5--x-x-x-----7--x--7--x-x-x----  x2
A-|--10---x-x----3--x---5--x-x-x-----7--x--7--x-x-x----
E-|---8---x-x----1--x---3--x-x-x-----5--x--5--x-x-x----
      C          F      G            A

Intro Tab, de la Mike Masse

In this YouTube clip featuring Mike Masse covering this song, you can see & hear him do an interesting take on the intro chords by mixing up the Fmaj7 chord (by leaving the B string open) and adding a simple walk-up riff before each Fmaj7. The chord he uses is shown below, as is the walk-up. Very nice way to spice it up a bit.

e-|----------0---   ...   ---0---   ...   ----------0---   ...   ---0---
B-|----------0---   ...   ---0---   ...   ----------0---   ...   ---0---
G-|----------2---   ...   ---0---   ...   ----------2---   ...   ---0---
D-|-------0--3---   ...   ---2---   ...   -------0--3---   ...   ---2---  etc.
A-|---0h2----3---   ...   ---2---   ...   ---0h2----3---   ...   ---2---
E-|----------1---   ...   ---0---   ...   ----------1---   ...   ---0---
           Fmaj7*            Em                   Fmaj7*            Em

Videos

Official Album Version

Here is the official version of this song as per the David Bowie album. Listen along here for reference if you don't have a recording of the song otherwise.



Recommended Acoustic Cover

Here is a fantastic acoustic cover of this song by the wonderful Mike Masse. You can learn a ton from watching this. He has a load of other great covers available on his YouTube channel as well.



Recommended Guitar Lesson

There are numerous instructional videos showing how to play this song online -- but I recommend this one via Marty Schwartz. He is nicely thorough in breaking down all the chords used throughout each section of the song. Recommended highly, and be sure to check out his other lessons if you like his teaching style.



Space Station Cover by Chris Hadfield

Here is astronaut Chris Hadfield covering this from the International Space Station! So awesome.



Chord Progressions

Intro

| Fmaj7 . . . | Em . . . | Fmaj7 . . . | Em . . . |

Verse

"Ground Control to Major Tom..."
|  C . . . | Em . . . | C . . . | Em . . . |
"Take your protein pills and put your helmet on..."
| Am . Am/G . | D/F# . . . |

Chorus

"This is Ground Control to Major Tom, you've really made the grade..."
| C  . . . | E7 . . . | F . . . |
| Fm . C . | F  . . . |
| Fm . C . | F  . . . |

Refrain

"For here am I sitting in a tin can..."
| Fmaj7 . . . | Em . . . | Fmaj7 . . . | Em . . . |
"Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do..."
| Bb . Am . | G . F . . . |

Instrumental Section

| C     . F G | A  . . . | x2
| Fmaj7 . . . | Em . . . | A . . . | C . . . | D . . . | E . . . | x1

Bridge

"Ground Control to Major Tom, your circuit's dead..."
| G . E7 . | Am . Am/G . | D . . . | C . . . | G . . . |

Song Info

Song: Space Oddity
Artist: David Bowie
Album: Space Oddity
Year: 1969
Label: RCA

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Video Lessons

Here are some of the video lessons I have made recently. I typically aim to create 3-4 lessons per month. Subscribe on YouTube to be sure you never miss a new lesson.



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View my notes & tabs for this song →

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About

My name is David Potsiadlo, and I created Songnotes to share my collection of guitar tabs, chords, and lyrics for my favorite songs.

Since I started playing guitar over 10 years ago, I've often been frustrated by the preponderance of mediocre and incomplete song tabs littered across the internet. To combat this, I started keeping my own collection of notes for each song I learn -- always taking the extra time to make sure accuracy and completeness are never compromised. Years later, my collection grew to the point where I knew I had to share it online with fellow aspiring musicians.

In December 2012, I began designing & developing a website that became Songnotes. Here, I share my personal collection of hand-crafted music notation with all those online. I hope you enjoy.

You can also view my personal website or follow me on Twitter / Dribbble / GitHub / LinkedIn.