Sweet Home Chicago - Tutorial + Tab

 

This is my version of the classic blues song Sweet Home Chicago by Robert Johnson. The song has been covered many times by various artists such as Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and even the Blues Brothers when it featured in their iconic movie. This version is based on Robert Johnson's original. The song is in the Key of E, is in 4/4 time, and is played on a guitar in standard tuning. In the video, I play through the Intro, then the verse and the turnaround twice, and then the outro. But you can just keep looping around playing the verse and turnaround for as many times as you want, for each of the verses.

Here is the downloadable tab for the song below:

Sweet Home Chicago Tab  -  Power Tab - PDF - TXT

Playing Advice

• Anchoring the Pinky - For the intro section and the outro section, Johnson repeatedly plays the note of E on the 12th fret of the highest string of the guitar. This then has a descending bass line played over it. To make this easier to play, I woud recommend anchoring the pinky finger of your fretting hand on the 12th fret and then using the other fingers to play the descending bass notes. This allows the E note to ring out throughout this section and gives your hand enough flexibility to reach the appropriate bass notes.
  

• Impromptu and Flexible - The main body of the song is basically a standard 12 bar blues in the key of E, and incorporates a blues shuffle pattern when playing it. However, in Johnson's original, he mixes it up a bit and adds slight variations and additional notes in. Although these aren't too difficult to learn they can be tricky to incorporate whilst keeping the timing correct. However, it does have an impromptu feel about it and there is a lot of flexibility. You could just play a standard 12 bar blues shuffle here, or you could add in impromptu notes of your own. As I said, there is a lot of flexibility as to how you play this. As long as the underlying chords are the same, it will sound fine.
  

Lyrics

Oh
Baby, don't you want to go
Oh
Baby, don't you want to go
Back to the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago

Oh
Baby, don't you want to go
Oh
Baby, don't you want to go
Back to the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago

Now one and one is two
Two and two is four
I'm heavy loaded baby
I'm booked, I gotta go
Cryin', baby
Honey, don't you want to go
Back to the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago

Now two and two is four
Four and two is six
You gon' keep on monkeyin' 'round here friend-boy,
You gon' get your
Business all in a trick
But I'm cryin', baby
Honey, don't you want to go
Back to the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago

Now six and two is eight
Eight and two is ten
Friend-boy, she trick you one time
She sure gon' do it again
But I'm cryin', baby
Honey, don't you want to go
Back to the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago

I'm goin' to California
From there to Des Moines, Iowa
Somebody will tell me that you
Need my help someday, cryin'
Hey, hey
Baby, don't you want to go
Back to the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago

 

Source: azlyrics.com

 

This is actually quite an easy piece to play. If you are able to manage the blues shuffle pattern that runs through it, with all its variations and additional notes, this song shouldn't provide too many problems. But, if you are struggling, just play a standard 12 bar blues shuffle in the Key of E and the song will sound fine.

Thanks for Reading,
Neil