Songnotes
the hand-crafted music library of @davidpots
Intro
| A . . . | . . . . | E . . . | A . E . | | D . . . | . . . . | . . . . | . . . . | (play three times... see below for the tab)Verse
A E D E Little ditty, about Jack and Diane A E D E A Two American kids growin' up in the heartland A E D E Jackie's gonna be a football star A E D E A Diane's debutante backseat of Jackie's carInterlude
A → D → A → E ... D ... E ... A → D → A → E ... D → E → A ... Suckin' on a chili dog outside the Tastee-Freez Diane's sittin' on Jackie's lap, he's got his hands between her knees Jackie say, "Hey Diane lets run off behind a shady tree Dribble off those Bobby Brooks, let me do what I please"Chorus
A E D E Say... oh yeah, life goes on A E D E Long after the thrill of livin' is gone A E D E Say... oh yeah, life goes on A E D E A Long after the thrill of livin' is gone (now walk on) (intro x2) Jackie sits back, reflects his thoughts for the moment Scratches his head and does his best James Dean Well, you know Diane, we ought to run off to the city Diane says "Baby, you ain't missing no-thing" Jackie says... oh yeah, life goes on Long after the thrill of livin' is gone Oh yeah, they say life goes on Long after the thrill of livin' is gone Gonna let it rock, let it roll Let the Bible belt come down and save my soul Hold on to sixteen as long as you can Changes come around real soon Make us women and men (interlude x1) Oh yeah, life goes on Long after the thrill of livin' is gone Oh yeah, they say life goes on Long after the thrill of livin' is gone A little ditty about Jack and Diane Two American kids doin' the best they can (intro, repeat as desired to end)
If you want to keep it as simple as possible, you can use the standard guitar chords as shown here (all in open positions). Everything in the tabs further below will show some slightly more advanced ways to work through this song -- but if nothing else, you can fall back on these. Keep it simple, and listen along for the changes.
e-|---0----2----0--- B-|---2----3----0--- G-|---2----2----1--- D-|---2----0----2--- A-|---0---------2--- E-|-------------0--- A D E
Everything I've transcribed below is based off this excellent instructional video made by Desi Serna. Watch it if you are able -- he shows and explains everything quite well. For reference, the tabs for each section he shows are typed out below.
The trick here is to initially bar the 9th fret with your index finger. From that foundation, the "E" is played by simply removing all other fingers (except index finger), and the "D" is played by simply sliding your barred index finger down to the 7th fret.
e-|--------------------------------------------------------------- B-|------9---------9--------9----9----7--------------------------- G-|-----10---------9-------10----9----7------------x-x------------ D-|-----11---------9-------11----9----7-----0--0---x-x---0--0----- A-|------0---------0--------0----0----0------------x-x------------ E-|--------------------------------------------------------------- A E A E D
Start off by barring the 5th fret with your index finger (for the "A" chord), and then transitioning to the classic "D" shape for the "E" and "D" chords. Use your pinky to add the flourishes to the "A" and "E" chords, as shown in the tab. Listen along for the rhythm and timing.
e-|---5---7---5---|---4----4--4---|---2--2---|---4----5---4----|- B-|---5---5---5---|---5----5--5---|---3--3---|---5----5---5----|- G-|---6---6---6---|---4----4--4---|---2--2---|---4----4---4----|- D-|---------------|---------------|----------|-----------------|- A-|---------------|---------------|----------|-----------------|- E-|---------------|---------------|----------|-----------------|- A A9 A E D E E4 E -|---5---7---5---|---4----4--4---|---2--4---|---5-------------|| -|---5---5---5---|---5----5--5---|---3--5---|---5-------------|| -|---6---6---6---|---4----4--4---|---2--4---|---6-------------|| -|---------------|---------------|----------|-----------------|| -|---------------|---------------|----------|-----------------|| -|---------------|---------------|----------|-----------------|| A A9 A E D E A
Again, the same barring principle -- this time start off by barring the 2nd fret with your index finger. Apply the other fingers to play the "D", and simply slide that shape up to play the "E".
e-|------------------------------|--------------------------|- B-|---2----3----2----/5----5-5---|---3---3---/5-----5---5---|- G-|---2----2----2----/4----4-4---|---2---2---/4-----6---4---|- D-|---2----4----2----/6----6-6---|---4---4---/6-----6---6---|- A-|---0----0----0-----0----------|---0---0----0-------------|- E-|------------------------------|--------------------------|- A D A E D E E6 E -|------------------------------|--------------------------|| -|---2----3----2----/5----5-5---|---3---3----2-------------|| -|---2----2----2----/4----4-4---|---2---2----2-------------|| -|---2----4----2----/6----6-6---|---4---4----2-------------|| -|---0----0----0-----0----------|---0---0----0-------------|| -|------------------------------|--------------------------|| A D A E D A
| A . . . | . . . . | E . . . | A . E . | | D . . . | . . . . | . . . . | . . . . |
| A . . . | E . . . | D . . . | E . . . |
| A . . . | E . . . | D . E . | A . . . |
(...repeat)
| A . . . | E . . . | D . . . | E . . . | | A . . . | E . . . | D . . . | E . . . | | A . . . | E . . . | D . . . | E . . . | | A . . . | E . . . | D . E . | A . . . |
| A → D → A | E . . . | D . . . | E . . . | | A → D → A | E . . . | D . E . | A . . . |
Song: Jack & Diane
Artist: John Mellencamp
Album: American Fool
Year: 1982
Label: WEA
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Thanks so much!
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.
View my notes & tabs for Dead Flowers →
View my notes & tabs for Issues →
View my notes & tabs for 2U →
View my notes & tabs for Uh Huh →
View my notes & tabs for Meet Me in the Hallway →
View my notes & tabs for Stairway to Heaven →
View my notes & tabs for Wish You Were Here →
View my notes & tabs for Shape of You →
View my notes & tabs for Simple Man →
View my notes & tabs for Highwayman →
View my notes & tabs for Audition (The Fools Who Dream) →
View my notes & tabs for Strangers →
View my notes & tabs for A Lovely Night →
View my notes & tabs for this song →
Here's a list of the 173 songs I've added to the site since December 2012. Each song was added by me personally.
Songs are grouped by the year they were released.
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.
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