Nickel Creek - This Side (accurate) guitar tab
"This Side"
Written by Sean Watkins
Transcribed by Greg Froehle
Chords Used: *
E C#m7 Asus2 Bsus4 Cdim G# F#m7 Bbm7(5b) Cmaj7 D6(9) D#?
E|--0----0----0-----0--------4----0------0--------0-----0-----0----|
B|--0----0----0-----0----4---4----0------2--------0-----0-----0----|
G|--1----6----2-----4----2---5----2------1--------5-----7-----8----|
D|--2----6----2-----4----4---6----4------2--------5-----7-----8----|
A|--2----4----0-----2----3---6----4------1--------3-----5-----6----|
E|--0------------------------4----2--------------------------------|
*On the F#m7, you'll need to use your thumb
Intro: *Hammer-on
e|0-------0-------2-----2-4-0---0-|----------0---0---0---0---------|
B|----0-------0-------0-------4---|--0-----------------24--4-2-0---|
G|--------------------------------|------2-----------------------2-|
D|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
A|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
E|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
e|--------0-------2-----2-4-0---0-|----------0---0---0---0---------|
B|----0-------0-------0-------4---|--0-----------------24--4-2-0---|
G|1-------------------------------|------2-----------------------2-|
D|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
A|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
E|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
Intro Chords (Same as 1st half of verse)
E, C#m7, Asus2, Bsus4
E, C#m7, Asus2, Bsus4
1st Verse:
E C#m7 Asus2 Bsus4
One day you'll see her and you'll know what I mean
E C#m7 Asus2 Bsus4 Cdim
Take her or leave her she will still be the same
C#m7 G# Asus2 Bsus4
She'll not try to buy you with her time
E C#m7 Asus2 Bsus4
Nothing's the same as you will see when she's gone
Chorus:
Asus2 Bsus4
It's foreign on this side
C#m7 F#m7 Asus2
And I'll not leave my home again
Bsus4 C#m7
There's no place to hide
Asus2 Bsus4
And I'm nothing but scared
E, C#m7, Asus2, Bsus4
E, C#m7, Asus2, Bsus4
Verse:
E C#m7 Asus2 Bsus4
You dream of colors that have never been made
E C#m7 Asus2 Bsus4 Cdim
You imagine songs that have never been played (They will try)
C#m7 G# Asus2 Bsus4
They will try to buy you and your mind
E C#m7 Asus2 Bsus4
Only the curious have something to find
Chorus:
Asus2 Bsus4
It's foreign on this side
C#m7 F#m7 Asus2
And the truth is a bitter friend
Bsus4 C#m7
Reasons few have I
Bbm7(b5) Asus2 Bsus4 Cdim
To go back again
Interlude (Mandolin solo)
C#m7 Bbm7(b5)
C#m7 Bbm7(b5)
C#m7 Bbm7(b5)
Asus2 (to Violin solo)
Mandolin Solo:
C#m7 Bbm7(b5) C#m7
(pickup)
E|----0-----0---2---|4---2---0-2-4-9-|9-0-7-4-7-9-12-0-|9-7-9-9-9-7-7-9-|
A|--2---2/4---4---4-|--4---4---------|-----------------|----1111119-9-11|
D|------------------|----------------|-----------------|----------------|
G|------------------|----------------|-----------------|----------------|
Bbm7(b5) C#m7 Bbm7(b5)
pull-off*
E|9-1212--0-2h4---|320---0-2-7-7-4-|4-9-9-7-4-7-9-12-|0--0--0-0----|
A|111414----------|----4-----------|-----------------|---2--1/2----|
D|----------------|----------------|-----------------|---2--1/2----|
G|----------------|----------------|-----------------|---2--1/2----|
Violin Solo:
(Chords identical to chorus except for the chromatic walk-up part at the end.
Asus2 Bsus4
C#m7 F#m7 Asus2
Bsus4 (Rhythmic change from chorus)
C#m7 Bbm7(b5)
Asus2 Bsus4 Cmaj7 C#m7 D6(9) D#?
3rd Verse:
E (Ring out) *Guitar Fill
Your first dawn blinded you, left you cursing the day
Cdim
Your entrance is crucial, and it's not without pain (There's no path)
C#m7 Bbm7(b5) Asus2 Bsus4
There's no path to follow once you're here
E C#m7 Asus2 Bsus4
You'll climb up the slide and then you'll slide down the stairs
Chorus:
Asus2 Bsus4
It's foreign on this side
C#m7 F#m7 Asus2
But it feels like I'm home again
Bsus4 C#m7
There's not place to hide
Bbm7(b5) Asus2
But I don't think I'm sacred
Bsus4 Cdim
(There's no place to hide but I don't think I'm scared)
(There's no place to hide)
C#m7 Bbm7(b5)
There's no place to hide
Asus2 Bsus4
And I don't think I'm sacred.
E, C#m7, Asus2, Bsus4
E, C#m7, Asus2, Bsus4
Outro:
(almost the same as the intro, with a subtle difference in the second line)
*Hammer-on
e|0-------0-------2-----2-4-0---0-|-------0-----0----0---0---------|
B|0---0-------0-------0-------4---|--0-----------------24--4-2-0---|
G|1-------------------------------|----2-------------------------2-|
D|2-------------------------------|--------------------------------|
A|2-------------------------------|--------------------------------|
E|0-------------------------------|--------------------------------|
E
e|----0-----------2-----2-4-0---0-|-------0-----0----0---0---------|----|
B|--0---------0-------0-------4---|--0-----------------24--4-2-0---|----|
G|1-------------------------------|----2-------------------------2-|1~--|
D|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|----|
A|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|----|
E|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|----|
*Guitar fill during verse 3 (you have to listen to hear exactly where it goes)
E|------0---0-0-0-------|----|
B|----------------2-0---|----|
G|----------------------|1~--|
D|----------------------|----|
A|----------------------|----|
E|----------------------|----|
This tab took hundreds of times listening to the song and watching tapes of live performances.
I played mandolin with three friends of mine for our school's talent show. If anybody wants
the violin solo tabbed out for mandolin, just e-mail me, I haven't made it in tab form yet.
The other tabs are generally right, but they oversimplify the song a bit. It's more complex
than it sounds. The other mandolin tab (by Focusdude) of this song is fairly accurate, so go
there for the rest of that (especially the mandolin outro), I didn't want to rip that stuff off.
And some people were saying that the open E and B strings weren't right in other tabs, but
believe me, they are. I got a chance to talk to Sean Watkins after their concert in Minneapolis,
and we shortly discussed this song. He isn't using barre chords, and that's why the guitar part
sounds so neutral and light, because there's that constant familiarity of the top two open
strings.
