Bob Dylan - Blowin in the wind
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Blowin' in the Wind – Bob Dylan
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Tabbed by: maguri
Tuning: Standard
Bob Dylan
Blowin' in the Wind (1963)
(Bob Dylan)
From: "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan"
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As of January 2014, Dylan has performed this song roughly 1,200 times
(http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs) in very different arrangements. This
probably is the reason why people disagree so violently about keys, chords,
capo positions etc. Dylan changes all of these ever so often – it all
depends on which version one is talking about.
There are a lot of official live recordings available. Here is a list
(possibly incomplete):
- The Concert for Bangla Desh (1971, G major)
- Before the Flood (1975 – C major)
- Live at Budokan (1978 – D major)
- Live 1975 (2002 – G major, duet with Joan Baez)
- No Direction Home (2005, recorded in 1963 - C major)
And of course there must be hundreds of bootleg recordings, audio and
video, too - an audience recording from October 2013 in Oslo shows Dylan
and his band playing a beautiful version in A major.
Then there are two studio recordings that I know of:
- The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963, D-major)
- The Witmark Demos 1962-1964 (2010, recorded 1962, Db-major)
For this tab, I had a closer look at the studio version released on "The
Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" in 1963 and tried to put down what I heard. This
version is in D major, but Dylan is using a capo 7th fret here and is
playing G major.
There is a BASIC strumming PATTERN he uses throughout all three verses and
the respective choruses, but there are many small variations, of course,
which I did not document here. If different notes are played, however, I
added a tab among the VARIATIONS below (most of these are in the third
verse). Dylan even hits a wrong chord in the middle of the second verse (a
“G” on the word “free” in the line “Before they’re allowed to be free”). He
immediately corrects himself to “D”, though - the mistake is barely
audible.
Finally I included the lyrics with chord symbols, so it is easy to play and
sing along once you can play the tab. All in all: check out the tab and get
into this song with its subtle guitar accompaniment. And then make up your
own version as you play – Dylan does the same. Enjoy!
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BASIC PATTERN
capo 7th fret
INTRO
G
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
e|----------------|----------------|
B|----0-----0-0---|----------------|
G|----0-----0-0---|--------%-------|
D|----0-----0-0---|----------------|
A|----------------|----------------|
E|3-------3-------|----------------|
VERSE
G C G/B D/A D G
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
e|----------------|----------------|----2-----2-2---|----------------|
B|----0-----0-0---|----1-------0---|----3-----3-3---|----0-----0-0---|
G|----0-----0-0---|----0-------0---|----2-----2-2---|----0-----0-0---|
D|----0-----0-0---|----2-------0---|----0---0-0-0---|----0---0-0-0---|
A|----------------|3-------2-------|0---------------|----------------|
E|3-------3-------|----------------|----------------|3---------------|
G C G/B G/B G
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|----0-----0-0---|----1-------0---|----0-0-0-0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
G|----0-----0-0---|----0-------0---|----0-0-0-0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
D|----0-----0-0---|----2-------0---|----0-0-0-0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
A|----------------|3-------2-------|----------------|----------------|
E|3-------3-------|----------------|3---------------|3-------3-------|
G C G/B D/A D G
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|----0-----0-0---|----1-------0---|----3-----3-3---|----0-----0-0---|
G|----0-----0-0---|----0-------0---|----2-----2-2---|----0-----0-0---|
D|----0-----0-0---|----2-------0---|----0---0-0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
A|----------------|3-------2-------|0---------------|----------------|
E|3-------3-------|----------------|----------------|3-------3-------|
G C G/B D/A D D
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
e|----------------|----------------|----2-----2-2---|----2-----2-2---|
B|----0-----0-0---|----1-------0---|----3-----3-3---|----3-----3-3---|
G|----0-----0-0---|----0-------0---|----2-----2-2---|----2-----2-2---|
D|----0-----0-0---|----2-------0---|----0---0-0-0---|0---0-----0-0---|
A|----------------|3-------2-------|0---------------|----------------|
E|3-------3-------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
G C G/B D/A D G
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
e|----------------|----------------|----2-----2-2---|----3-----3-3---|
B|----0-----0-0---|----1-------0---|----3-----3-3---|----0-----0-0---|
G|----0-----0-0---|----0-------0---|----2-----2-2---|----0-----0-0---|
D|----0-----0-0---|----2-------0---|----0---0-0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
A|----------------|3-------2-------|0---------------|----------------|
E|3-------3-------|----------------|----------------|3-------3-------|
G C G/B G/B G
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
e|----------------|----------------|----3-------3---|----------3-3---|
B|----0-----0-0---|----1-------0---|----0-0-0-0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
G|----0-----0-0---|----0-------0---|----0-0-0-0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
D|----0-----0-0---|----2-------0---|----0-0-0-0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
A|----------------|3-------2-------|----------------|----------------|
E|3-------3-------|----------------|3---------------|3-------3-------|
CHORUS (part 1: vocals)
C C/B D/A D/F# G C C/G
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
e|----0-----0-0---|----2-----2-2-2-|----3-----3-3---|----0-----0-0---|
B|----1-----1-1---|----3-----3-3-3-|----0-----0-0---|----1-----1-1---|
G|----0-----0-0---|----2-----2-2-2-|----0-----0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
D|----2-----------|----------0-0-0-|----0-----0-0---|----2-----2-2---|
A|3-------2-------|0---------------|----------------|3---------------|
E|----------------|--------2-------|3---------------|--------3-------|
C C/B D/A D/F# G
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
e|----0-----0-0---|----2-----2-2-2-|----3-----3-3---|
B|----1-----1-1---|----3-----3-3-3-|----0-----0-0---|
G|----0-----0-0---|----2-----2-2-2-|----0-----0-0---|
D|----2-----------|----------0-0-0-|----0-----0-0---|
A|3-------2-------|0---------------|----------------|
E|----------------|--------2-------|3---------------|
(part 2: harmonica)
C C/B D D/F# G C C/G
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
e|----0-----0-0---|----2-----2-2-2-|----3-----3-3---|----0-----0-0---|
B|----1-----1-1---|----3-----3-3-3-|----0-----0-0---|----1-----1-1---|
G|----0-----0-0---|----2-----2-2-2-|----0-----0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
D|----2-----------|0---------0-0-0-|----0-----0-0---|----2-----2-2---|
A|3-------2-------|----------------|----------------|3---------------|
E|----------------|--------2-------|3---------------|--------3-------|
C C/B D D/F# G G
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
e|----0-----0-0---|----2-2---2-2-2-|----3-----3-3---|----3-----3-3---|
B|----1-----1-1---|----3-3---3-3-3-|----0-----0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
G|----0-----0-0---|----2-2---2-2-2-|----0-----0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
D|----2-----------|0-----0---0-0-0-|----0-----0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
A|3-------2-------|0---------------|----------------|----------------|
E|----------------|--------2-------|3---------------|3---------------|
CODA (= CHORUS 3, part 2: harmonica, last three bars)
C C/B D D/F# G
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1
e|----0-----0-0---|----2-2---2-2-2-|3
B|----1-----1-1---|----3-3---3-3-3-|0
G|----0-----0-0---|----2-2---2-2-2-|0
D|----2-----------|0-----0---0-0-0-|0
A|3-------2-------|0---------------|-
E|----------------|--------2-------|3
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VARIATIONS
VERSE 1 (line 2 “Before you call him a man?”)
G C G/B G/B G
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|----0-----0-0---|----1-------0---|----0-0-0-0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
G|----0-----0-0---|----0-------0---|----0-0-0-0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
D|----0-----0-0---|----2-------0---|----0-0-0-0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
A|----------------|3-------2-------|0h2-------------|----------------|
E|3-------3-------|----------------|----------------|0h3-----3-------|
VERSE 2 (line 1 “How many years can a mountain exist” and
line 3 “How many years can some people exist”)
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
G C G/B D/A D D/F# G
e|----------------|----------------|----2-----2-2---|----3-----3-3---|
B|----0-----0-0---|----1-------0---|----3-----3-3---|----0-----0-0---|
G|----0-----0-0---|----0-------0---|----2-----2-2---|----0-----0-0---|
D|----0-----0-0---|----2-------0---|----0---0-0-----|----0-----0-0---|
A|----------------|3-------2-------|0---------------|----------------|
E|3-------3-------|----------------|------------2---|3-------3-------|
CHORUS 2 (part 2: harmonica, last 4 bars)
C C/B D D/F# G G
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
e|----0-----0-0---|----2-2---2-2-2-|----3---3-3-----|----3-----3-3---|
B|----1-----1-1---|----3-3---3-3-3-|----0---0-0-----|----0-----0-0---|
G|----0-----0-0---|----2-2---2-2-2-|----0---0-0-----|0---0-----0-0---|
D|----2-----------|0-----0---0-0-0-|----0---0-0-2---|----0-----0-0---|
A|3-------2-------|0---------------|----------------|----------------|
E|----------------|--------2-------|3---------------|--------3-------|
VERSE 3 (line 1 “How many times must a man look up“)
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
G C D D G
e|----------------|----------------|----2-----2-2---|----3-----3-3---|
B|----0-----0-0---|----1-------1---|----3-----3-3---|----0-----0-0---|
G|----0-----0-0---|----0-------0---|----2-----2-2---|----0-----0-0---|
D|----0-----0-0---|----2-------2---|0---0---0-0-----|----0-----0-0---|
A|----------------|3-------3-------|----------------|----------------|
E|3-------3-------|----------------|----------------|3-------3-------|
VERSE 3 (line 3 “How many ears must one man have”)
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
G C C/G D D/F# G
e|----------------|----------------|----2-----2-2---|----3-----3-3---|
B|----0-----0-0---|----1-------1---|----3-----3-3---|----0-----0-0---|
G|----0-----0-0---|----0-------0---|----2-----2-2---|----0-----0-0---|
D|----0-----0-0---|----2-------2---|0---0---0-0-----|----0-----0-0---|
A|----------------|3---------------|----------------|----------------|
E|3-------3-------|--------3-------|------------2---|3-------3-------|
VERSE 3 (line 4 “Before he can hear people cry”)
G G/D C G/B D/A D/F# D D/F#
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
e|----------------|----------------|----2-----2-2---|----2-----2-2---|
B|----0-----0-0---|----1-------0---|----3-----3-3---|----3-----3-3---|
G|----0-----0-0---|----0-------0---|----2-----2-2---|----2-----2-2---|
D|----0---0-0-0---|----2---0---0---|----0-----0-0---|----0-----0-0---|
A|----------------|3-------2-------|0---------------|0---------------|
E|3---------------|----------------|--------2-------|--------2-------|
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capo 7th fret
SPECIAL VOICINGS
E-A-D-G-B-e
G/B x-2-0-0-0-3
D/A x-0-0-2-3-2
C/B x-2(2)0-1-0
D/F# 2-x-0-2-3-2
C/G 3-x-2-0-1-0
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INTRO
| G | % |
GHow many Croads G/Bmust a D/Aman walk Gdown
GBefore you Ccall G/Bhim a Gman?
Yes, ’n’ Ghow many Cseas G/Bmust a D/Awhite dove Gsail
GBefore she Csleeps G/Bin the D/Asand?
Yes, ’n’ Ghow many Ctimes G/Bmust the D/Acannonballs Gfly
GBefore they’re CforG/Bever Gbanned?
The CanC/Bswer, my D/AfrienD/F#d, is Gblowin’ in the Cwind C/G
C C/B D/A D/F# | G |
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
HARMONICA
| C C/B | D/A D/F# | G | C C/G |
| C C/B | D/A D/F# | G | G |
Yes, ’n’ Ghow many Cyears G/Bcan a D/Amountain eGxist
GBefore it is Cwashed G/Bto the Gsea?
Yes, ’n’ Ghow many Cyears G/Bcan some D/Apeople eGxist
GBefore they’re aCllowed G/Bto be D/Afree?
Yes, ’n’ Ghow many Ctimes G/Bcan a D/Aman turn his Ghead
PreGtending he Cjust G/Bdoesn’t Gsee?
The CanC/Bswer, my D/AfrienD/F#d, is Gblowin’ in the Cwind C/G
C C/B D/A D/F# | G |
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
HARMONICA
| C C/B | D/A D/F# | G | C C/G |
| C C/B | D/A D/F# | G | G |
GHow many Ctimes must a Dman look Gup
GBefore he can CseG/Be the Gsky?
Yes, ’n’ Ghow many CeaC/Grs must Done manD/F# Ghave
G C G/B | D/A D/F# | D/A D/F# |
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, ’n’ Ghow many Cdeaths G/Bwill it D/Atake till he Gknows
That Gtoo many Cpeople have G/Bdied? G
The CanC/Bswer, my D/AfrienD/F#d, is Gblowin’ in the Cwind C/G
C C/B D/A D/F# | G |
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
HARMONICA CODA
| C C/B | D/A D/F# | G | C C/G |
| C C/B | D/A D/F# | G