America
|
America
Simon & Garfunkel 1972 |
D ○ | Coming soon |
Paul Simon’s delicious musical road trip. In the as-recorded D with lead tab; chords in C (because everyone seems to play them with capo II) | Guitar |  |
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16/09/2025 |
Back on the chain gang
|
Back on the chain gang
Pretenders 1982 |
D > Dm > E ○ | Coming soon |
Another cracking song. In D with Dm for the bridge and E for the final verse. Includes chords & lead tab, and rhythm tab for the intro | Guitar | |
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30/09/2025 |
Do it again
|
Do it again
Beach Boys 1968 |
E [E♭] | Coming soon |
The “we don’t really surf these days, just chill at the beach” song. In E (rather than the original E♭). Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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26/09/2025 |
Going home
|
Going home
Mark Knopfler 1983 |
D | Coming soon |
Main theme from the 1983 film Local hero, here based on the Shadows’ version. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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16/09/2025 |
Johnny B Goode
04/2026 not played yet |
Johnny B Goode
Chuck Berry 1958 |
B♭ | Coming soon |
The classic, as taught to Chuck Berry by Marty McFly (according to a film). In the original E♭. Includes rhythm tab as well as the usual lead tab | Guitar | |
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— |
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14/04/2026 |
No particular place to go
|
No particular place to go
Chuck Berry 1964 |
F | Coming soon |
Classic Chuck: simple, driving, fun. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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07/08/2025 |
Bernie Lind
|
Uncle Bernard's | Jenny Lind
trad. England | trad. everywhere |
G | D | New/revived |
A couple of lively polkas, claimed variously by England, Ireland, Shetland, Germany, Canada & USA – they’re that good! Includes chords | Mandolin | |
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28/03/2025 |
Coz I luv you
04/2026 new |
Coz I luv you
Slade 1971 |
Bm ○ | New/revived |
Not considered high art, perhaps, but a fine song for all that. The fiddle solo is here given to lead guitar. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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26/04/2026 |
I saw her standing there
04/2026 new |
I saw her standing there
Beatles 1963 |
E ○ | New/revived |
Early, much-covered Beatles number. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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30/04/2026 |
Make me smile
|
Make me smile (come up and see me)
Steve Harley 1974 |
C | New/revived |
Rocking song. The guitar solo is a right bastard though. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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30/09/2025 |
Michael Turner's waltz
04/2026 new |
Michael Turner's waltz
trad. / Mozart |
G | New/revived |
Beautiful tune attributed to a 19ᵗʰ century Sussex fiddler, until someone spotted that it’s one of Mozart’s. Includes chords | Mandolin | |
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— |
— |
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30/04/2026 |
Nine to five
04/2026 new |
Nine to five
Dolly Parton 1980 |
G ○ | New/revived |
The feel-good what-about-the-workers? song from the film of the same name. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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18/04/2026 |
Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
04/2026 new |
Raindrops keep fallin’ on my head
Burt Bacharach & Hal David 1969 |
F [A] | New/revived |
The delightfully optimistic song from Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid. Includes chords & lead tab, and rhythm tab for the intro only | Guitar | |
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17/04/2026 |
Staines morris
10/2025 new |
Staines morris
trad. England |
G | New/revived |
A lovely old, slightly funky, 16ᵗʰ C lute tune with some 17ᵗʰ C words. Includes chords. (We’ve actually been playing this for a while as part of Sierra Delta Charlie) | Mandolin | |
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08/10/2025 |
Sunny afternoon
04/2026 new |
Sunny afternoon
Kinks 1966 |
Dm ○ | New/revived |
A big hit for the Kinks in 1966. Includes chords & lead tab, and rhythm tab for the intro only | Guitar | |
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17/04/2026 |
Things we said today
|
Things we said today
Beatles 1964 |
Am & A | New/revived |
Musically rather sophisticated for a pop song: Am for the verse and A for the chorus, with the occasional B♭ just to keep us on our toes. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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17/07/2024 |
Wicked game
02/2026 now with lyrics; revised lead positions |
Wicked game
Chris Isaak 1989 |
B dor | New/revived |
A tune so gorgeous it was once used to advertise Jaguar cars, if that’s not too gross a non-sequitur. Includes lead guitar tab. Requires a whammy bar | Guitar | |
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20/02/2026 |
And I love her
|
And I love her
Beatles 1964 |
F♯m > Gm | Core |
Tough on rhythm players not used to playing in F♯m & Gm, but a lovely relaxed tune. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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11/08/2025 |
Apache
|
Apache
Shadows 1960 |
Am ○ | Core |
If you only know one Shadows tune it’s probably this one. It’s been covered by Incredible bongo band, Sugarhill gang and many others, and was adopted as the unofficial anthem of US sports team The Minnesota Lynx. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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10/08/2024 |
Arthur McBlanket
|
Arthur McBride | Snug in the blanket
trad. Ireland |
G | Core |
Two jigs in the same key, one lumpy and one straight. They flow nicely into one another. From the playing of Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick. Includes chords | Mandolin | |
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07/08/2024 |
Blue star
|
Blue star
Shadows 1961 |
A > C | Core |
A lovely dreamy tune, surprisingly with its origins as the theme tune of the 1950s US TV series Medic. Includes lead tab and chords | Guitar | |
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23/03/2025 |
Bye bye, love
|
Bye bye, love
Everly Brothers 1957 |
A [F] | Core |
A good ol’ 4-on-the-floor 2 minute pop classic. We’ve moved it up from F to A for singability reasons. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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19/08/2025 |
California dreamin'
12/2025 took 2nd voice out of guitar part |
California dreamin’
Mamas & Papas 1963 |
Am | Core |
A haunting, atmospheric gem. And if you ever wanted occasion to play a Bm⁷(♭5)/E then you’ll love this score (which is in Am, not the original C#m). Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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09/12/2025 |
Carthy's lemon
12/2025 corrected swing; added tab |
Carthy's march | The lemon tree
Dave Swarbrick 1976 / 1989 |
G | Core |
Swarbrick claimed to have written Carthy’s March in his sleep, then found he couldn’t play it so went back to bed until he could. The second tune came to him when picking a lemon off the tree for his G&T at Trevor Lucas’s wake in Sydney. Includes chords | Mandolin | |
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01/12/2025 |
Dakota
10/2025 tweaked |
Dakota
Shadows 1964 |
G | Core |
An unusual Shads tune: not guitar but harmonica… which we don’t play, so here it is back on the guitar. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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08/10/2025 |
Dance on
|
Dance on!
Shadows 1962 |
A ○ | Core |
Written by Elaine Murtagh with Valerie Murtagh & Ray Adams (all of The Avons). The whammy bar dip and the high widdly bit are fun. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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06/08/2024 |
Eight days a week
|
Eight days a week
Beatles 1964 |
D ○ | Core |
The most noted feature of this track on Beatles for Sale (1964) is the fade-in. Which we don’t play. But it’s a fine breezy straightforward tune. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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28/03/2025 |
Foot tapper
|
Foot tapper
Shadows 1963 |
C ○ | Core |
Marvin & Welch didn’t just play this one; they wrote it too. Lively and fun, with plenty of left-arm action for the lead player. We nicked the title for our duo. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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12/08/2025 |
French ambassador set
|
French ambassador | Nonesuch
John Playford ~1650 |
G | Bm | Core |
Playford is not just dull dance tunes for old folks. The first bright and lively tune here is built on an unusual chord progression to keep rhythm players alert. The second is plainer but makes a striking digestif. Includes chords | Mandolin | |
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01/04/2024 |
Geronimo
|
Geronimo
Shadows 1963 |
Am ○ | Core |
Written by Hank Marvin with, presumably, the earlier success of Apache in mind, it “gallops along well” in the words of one reviewer. Includes chords & led tab | Guitar | |
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06/08/2024 |
Godiva
08/2025 re-refreshed |
Horse's bransle | Bear dance
Arbeau | trad. Flanders |
D | Em | Core |
A couple of rollicking old French tunes, here given a few variations. (Bare + horse = Godiva, in case you were wondering.) Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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02/02/2025 |
Hard day's night
|
A hard day’s night
Beatles 1964 |
G ○ | Core |
Fun and reasonably easy tune. We mixed it up a bit here for a more varied instrumental. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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11/08/2025 |
Hi ho silver lining
|
Hi ho silver lining
Jeff Beck 1967 |
C [D] | Core |
Classic sing-along crowd-pleaser. In C (original was in D). Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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07/08/2025 |
I only want to be with you
02/2026 updated |
I only want to be with you
Dusty Springfield 1963 |
G ○ | Core |
We can’t replicate the luscious strings of this gorgeous song, but we get at least some of the way there. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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28/02/2026 |
I want to hold your hand
08/2025 improved version |
I want to hold your hand
Beatles 1963 |
G ○ | Core |
The Beatles’ megahit that would have gone straight into the UK chart at no. 1 but for their previous megahit She loves you. It was also the group’s first US no. 1. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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03/08/2023 |
If I fell
|
If I fell
Beatles 1964 |
D ○ | Core |
From the Hard day’s night film and often underrated. It’s a chance to practise your D9 and Gm. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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13/08/2025 |
Lily of Laguna
10/2025 tweaked |
Lily of Laguna
Leslie Stuart 1898 |
D | Core |
A British music hall song for blackface performers, until rewritten in the 1950s as a straight love song. It’s jolly, quirky and a bit tricky. This instrumental arrangement is for a clog dance performed by Aldbrickham Clog & Step Dancers. (See separate entry for arrangment as a song.) Includes chords & mando tab | Mandolin | |
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08/10/2025 |
London kid
|
London kid
JM Jarre 1988 |
D > F > E♭ | Core |
A lovely tune – soaring, stately and stirring. Written by Jarre for Destination Docklands, a 1988 concert on a 1,000 tonne barge in London docks in the wind and rain, and featuring Hank Marvin on lead guitar. Includes tab & chords | Guitar | |
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22/12/2024 |
Maggie May
|
Maggie May
Rod Stewart 1971 |
D ○ | Core |
Rod’s story is longer than the tune, so we cut out one verse + chorus in making it an instrumental. Everyone knows the lovely mando solo at the end, but there’s not enough time to switch instruments… so here it’s on guitar instead. Includes lead tab & chords | Guitar | |
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22/12/2024 |
Mamma mia
08/2025 improved version |
Mamma mia
Abba 1975 |
D ○ | Core |
What started as a bit of a filler for Abba’s third album was never intended as a single, never mind the hook for two films… so the band was far from omniscient! Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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22/12/2024 |
Night before
02/2026 extended score to match lyrics |
The night before
Beatles 1965 |
G ○ | Core |
From the Beatles’ second film Help! It’s surprisingly widely covered by others. Our version skips the bridge, which seems a bit rambling and meh. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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28/02/2026 |
Please please me
|
Please please me
Beatles 1963 |
E ○ | Core |
The Beatles’ breakout single. In this version the lead player has to move swiftly between II, IX & II again to try to capture the intro, but after than it settles down. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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08/08/2025 |
Princess Royal
|
Princess Royal
trad. England |
G | Core |
Like the best folk tunes, it’s claimed by several nations: England, Ireland (O’Carolan) & Scotland (Gow). “Princess Royal” is said to refer to a title given Anne, daughter of King George II of England, in 1727. Whatever, it’s used by many morris dance sides, and sounds as if it belongs. Includes chords | Mandolin | |
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23/03/2025 |
Rock around the clock
05/2026 improved |
Rock around the clock
Bill Haley & his Comets 1953 |
A ○ | Core |
The song that popularised rock & roll (Mark’s mum bought it as a 78 circa 1955, despite being mainly a classical fan.) Includes chords & lead tab.
[See Walk don’t rock for our instrumental version.] | Guitar | |
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04/05/2026 |
Shazam!
|
Shazam!
Shadows 1960 |
E ○ | Core |
A classic from the early days of the electric guitar, from Duane Eddy & Lee Hazlewood. So 1950s! (Actually written in 1960, but sounds earlier.) Includes lead tab and chords | Guitar | |
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22/12/2024 |
Theme for young lovers
04/2026 tweaked tab |
Theme for young lovers
Shadows 1964 |
D ○ | Core |
Written as an instrumental by the Shadows’ Bruce Welch, it was turned into the German song Ich werde dich lieben for Marlene Dietrich, which was later covered by Nena (of 99 red balloons fame). We’ve kept it as an instrumental. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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26/04/2026 |
Wall of death
|
Wall of death
Richard Thompson 1982 |
G [A] | Core |
This is as close to a crowd-pleaser as anything in guitar legend Richard Thompson’s huge œuvre. We don’t play it quite like the album, but in performance nor does he. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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12/08/2025 |
While my guitar gently weeps
|
While my guitar gently weeps
Beatles 1968 |
A <> Am ○ | Core |
Interesting tune, switching between A & Am. One day we’ll add a solo, but not yet. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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26/09/2025 |
You've got to hide your love away
10/2025 added vox & tweaked |
You've got to hide your love away
Beatles 1965 |
G ○ | Core |
Gentle song in 12/8, with a quirky 6/8 bar to keep us all on our toes. Not having ocarina skills we’ve put the outro onto guitar. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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17/10/2025 |
Chattanooga choo choo
|
Chattanooga choo choo
Harry Warren / Glenn Miller band 1941 |
G | Part-time |
The original recording featured in the 1941 film Sun Valley Serenade, but this one follows a later Shadows instrumental version. The most obvious difference – apart from the lack of a big band – is that Miller’s swung beat is here played straight. Includes guitar tab & chords | Guitar | |
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19/08/2025 |
Dill pickles rag
|
Dill pickles rag
Charles L Johnson 1906 |
G > C > G | Part-time |
Novelty rag by American Charles L Johnson, prolific composer, especially of cakewalk and ragtime pieces. Has a lovely swing. This version is from the playing of Dave Swarbrick. Includes chords and mando tab | Mandolin | |
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19/08/2025 |
Flyder and the spy
|
Flyder and the spy
Shadows 1967 |
D <> B ○ | Part-time |
Tricksy and unusual Shadows original. Needs whammy bar. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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06/08/2024 |
Peace pipe
|
Peace pipe
Shadows |
D | Part-time |
Gentle tune by Norrie Paramour that featured in the film Summer Holiday. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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10/08/2024 |
Pterodactyl twostep
|
Pterodactyl twostep / Drowsy dragon
Huw & Tony Williams 1994 |
Em | Part-time |
Lovely bonkers tune for melodeon from Huw & Tony Williams’s album Unplugged and Unrelated. A bit tricky on the mando, but worth persisting. Includes chords & mando tab | Mandolin | |
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17/10/2025 |
Shindig
|
Shindig
Shadows 1963 |
A | Part-time |
Energetic Shads original. Double stops on the lead part hard to master at speed. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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10/08/2024 |
Wonderful land
|
Wonderful land
Shadows 1961 |
G | Part-time |
Pleasingly lyrical Jerry Lordan tune, even without the brass & strings the Shads used on the single. Includes lead tab and chords | Guitar | |
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28/03/2025 |
Albatross
|
Albatross
Fleetwood Mac |
– | Resting |
Lovely tune (though the rhythm part is dull). The slides & bends in the MP3 are a bit shonky: blame Sibelius. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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09/09/2017 |
Bond theme
|
Bond theme
Monty Norman |
– | Resting |
| Guitar | |
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17/08/2024 |
Bright lights
|
I want to see the bright lights tonight
Richard Thompson 1974 |
– | Resting |
| Guitar | |
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17/07/2024 |
FBI
|
FBI
Shadows |
– | Resting |
| Guitar | |
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15/09/2017 |
Fiery python
|
Fiery clockface | Liberty bell
trad. England | Sousa |
– | Resting |
| Guitar | |
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23/09/2017 |
Frightened city
10/2025 improved tab |
Frightened city
Shadows 1961 |
– | Resting |
| Guitar | |
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05/10/2025 |
Kon Tiki
10/2025 refreshed |
Kon Tiki
Shadows 1961 |
B [A] | Resting |
Up to B from the Shadows’ original A so as to put the turn-around into range of standard tuned guitar. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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17/10/2025 |
Lily of Laguna (song)
02/2026 rearranged for song |
Lily of Laguna
Paul Francis Webster 1940s |
D | Resting |
A British music hall song for blackface performers, until rewritten in the 1950s as a straight love song. It’s jolly, quirky and a bit tricky. (See separate instrumental arrangement for the AbC clog dance version.) Includes chords & mando tab | Mandolin | |
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28/02/2026 |
Man of mystery
|
Man of mystery
Shadows |
– | Resting |
| Guitar | |
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21/09/2017 |
Rise and fall of Flingel Bunt
|
Rise and fall of Flingel Bunt
Shadows |
– | Resting |
| Guitar | |
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10/08/2024 |
Satisfaction
|
Satisfaction
Rolling Stones |
– | Resting |
| Guitar | |
|
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— |
|
14/01/2025 |
She'll be comin' round Susanna
02/2026 updated songsheet |
She’ll be comin’ round the mountain | Oh! Susanna
trad. USA |
G|G | Resting |
Been playing these together for about 20 years, but now we’ve got lyrics too. (No, not the dodgy original ones.) Includes chords & harmony | Mandolin | |
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— |
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28/02/2026 |
Silence is golden
|
Silence is golden
Tremeloes |
– | Resting |
| Guitar | |
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— |
|
30/11/2022 |
Spaghetti suite
|
Sixty seconds to what? | For a few dollars more | The good, the bad and the ugly
|
– | Resting |
| Guitar | |
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04/10/2017 |
Strike theme
|
I walk beside you
Johnston, Letts |
– | Resting |
The haunting and succulent theme tune from BBC TV’s [Cormoran] Strike series, as sung by Beth Rowley. Includes chords & lead tab | Guitar | |
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— |
|
02/02/2025 |
Telstar
|
Telstar
Tornados |
– | Resting |
| Guitar | |
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17/08/2024 |
Walk don't rock 24x7
|
Walk don’t run | Rock around the clock
rock & roll |
– | Resting |
Two tunes that go together like chalk and cheese, but somehow work anyway. Includes chords & lead tab. [See Rock around the clock for tune 2 as a song.] | Guitar | |
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22/12/2024 |
Warlord
|
Warlord
Shadows |
– | Resting |
| Guitar | |
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30/09/2017 |
Father Ted theme
|
Father Ted theme
adapted from Songs of love |
– | Retired |
[○ A bit insipid, despite some funky chords ○] | Guitar | |
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21/09/2017 |
Moonlight shadow
|
Moonlight shadow
Oldfield |
– | Retired |
[○ Just a bit too twee ○] | Guitar | |
|
|
— |
|
30/01/2024 |
Mozart forte
|
Mozart forte
|
– | Retired |
[○ Mozart’s 40ᵗʰ has been done to death ○] | Guitar | |
|
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|
26/07/2018 |
Sierra delta charlie
|
Staines morris | Dam busters | The galop ("can-can")
|
– | Retired |
[○ More effort than the result justified. Kept Staines morris as a song ○] | Guitar | |
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24/10/2017 |
Thing-me-jig
|
Thing-me-jig
|
– | Retired |
[○ Folkies do rock better than rockers do folk ○] | Guitar | |
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21/07/2018 |
Walk don't boogie 24x7
|
Walk don't run | Yes sir, I can boogie | Rock around the clock
|
– | Retired |
[○ Middle tune didn’t really fit – see now Walk don’t rock 24x7 ○] | Guitar | |
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02/10/2017 |
Foot Tapper tunes
Mark Iliff, Talespinner 2017–26
