Elton John - Cage The Songbird guitar tab
Song : Cage The Songbird
Artist : Elton John
Album : Blue Moves
Tabber : prsinthismutha (all rights reserved)
This is one of the most underrated guitar songs of all time.
Elton John’s Blue Moves is stated by Bernie Taupin as being
one of his somberest, most heartfealt lyrical ventures to
date.This song would be impossible to tab out completely (as
I don’t have time and it would take forever to add all the
little fills and variations). For the most part a simple
travis picking technique suffices quiet well in evoking the
form and sound of the song. It is played in a very James
Taylor-esque manner (see Taylor’s Something in The Way She
Moves as an example of the style) which I guess could be
catagorized as using various spontaneous hammer on’s, pull
off’s, and chord additions. I have added a chord chart at the
bottom for various chord options used. Use standard chords
throughout the song unless otherwise indicated.
The most intriguing and difficult to discover part of the song is
the twelve string E Major run that ends the chorus, transitioning
back into the verse. This is labelled in the tab as E*. This is
the fill that is used at the end of the chorus and during the
pre-verse. I am one hundred percent that it is correct.
It is a simple finger pickering model using variations of 7th chords
and a E Major scale (formed vocally following Ray Mi Fa So La Ti Do)
E ------------------------------------------------------0------------------
B -----0--------------2------------------3----------------------0----------
G -----------------------------1------------------------1------------------
D ------------2--------------------------2---------------------------------
A --------------------2--------------------------2-------------------------
E -----0-------------------------------------------------------------------
This run goes directly back into an A Major chord, which transforms back into the verse.
VERSE :
A G1 D A E
Sober in the morning light, things look so much different…to how they looked last
night
A G D
A pale face pressed to an unmade bed Like flags of many nations
A
flying high above her head.
PRE – CHORUS :
A E E/F#m G2 D
The cellophane still on the flowers......the telegram still in her hand
A G D A
As whispers circulate all day….their back-stage baby princess passed away
CHORUS :
C#m G#m Bm F#m
And you can cage the songbird, but you can't make her sing
C#m G#m Bm F#m
And you can trap the free bird, but you'll have to clip her wings
E D2 E*
Cause she'll soar like a hawk when she flies, But she'll dive like an eagle when she dies
VERSE (same chords and pattern as verse one) :
Promises of no more lies, fell flat upon an empty stage before the audience arrived.
A return in time to the cheaper seats she never knew what lay beneath
Just a dated handbill they found between the sheets
PRE- CHORUS (same as earlier pre chorus) :
Let down before the final curtain, a shallow heart that left her cold
She left in rouge upon the mirror, a circled kiss to the faithful fans who'd miss her
BACK TO CHORUS :
Alternate Chord Voicings :
G1 G2 D2
E --x-- --x-- --0--
B --3-- --0-- --3--
G --2-- --0-- --0--
D --0-- --0-- --0--
A --x-- --0-- --x--
E --3-- --3-- --x--
If you have any changes or suggestions feel free to email me.
- Kellen Barrett (prsinthismutha)
