The Cult - White guitar tab
Here is White by the Cult. It's a pretty easy song. I was gonna do CEREMONY today, but this hit me
last night and I just had to share it!
WHITE
by The Cult
from the Beggars Banquet LP: CEREMONY (1991)
transcription by SCOTT COATES, CANADA!
Billy uses 2 guitars overdubbed on this track, but can pretty simply be transposed down to one.
In concert, Billy would use an electric (gibson) with several cool effects. I've sort of chopped
down the full transcription for one or 2 guitars. Pretty easy stuff. (except the solo.. good luck)
guitar 1 Tuning:
(from low to high) D A D G D E
For a one guitar version, just play the opening chords in "power chord"(rooted fifth) form
(just the 3 notes, don't worry about all 6 as you would if you had de tuned the guitar, The sound
won't be as full, but you'll need standard tuning later on if you've only got one guitar)
And those chords are:
D F E C E D
057700 08101000 079900 035500 079900 057700
(just that over and over again for this guitar)
Standard tuning/one guitar version:
D5 F5 E5 C5 E5 D5
x577xx x81010xx x799xx x355xx x799xx x577xx
During that opening, the second over riff (descending line) goes: (sort of a la SANCTUARY)
Time:0:20
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T--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A----14------12-----10-----9h10p9--------7--------5~~~---------------------------------------------------
B--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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White, oh shining, shining
-----------------------------------------------------------------17------15------13-------12h13p12-------
T--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---14----12-----10-----9h10p9------7~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------
B--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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brightly, pure crystal snow, White oh virgin,
----------------------------------17-----15-----13-----12--13--15----------------------------------------
--15-----13~~~~-----------------------------------------------------------15-----------------------------
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Now it gets even cooler!
Time 0:40
---0-----0----0-------0-------0-------0------------------------------------------------------------------
---0-----0----0-------0-------0-------0------------------------------------------------------------------
---2-----2----2-------2-------2-------2------------------------------------------------------------------
---0-----0----0-------3-------0-------0------------------------------------------------------------------
---0-----0----0-------0-------3-------0------------------------------------------------------------------
---0-----0----0-------0-------0-------3------------------------------------------------------------------
Play this 3 times, the 4th time the drums kick in.
If using one guitar, switch to the power chords from the intro as Ian is singing "White, White white.."
If using two, just double it.
First verse:
For 1 guitar, play the power chords as heard in the song,
With 2, one can play the power while 1 plays the full (open) chords.
D F E
The snow is crystal, the fire is cold,
C E D
I sit back, watch the sun turn to gold.
D F E
In the morning, love is healing,
C E D
warms the frost deep in my bones.
And then mama said white,
Chorus
(same chords but doubled. 1 electric 1 acoustic )
White white
it's shining shining bright
white, white, shining
shining brightly.
Back to that cool little riff from the 0:40 mark...
Verse 2:
The hunter sits on a pure white stallion,
a hawk in flight, a bow in his hand,
A deer approaches, at the edge of the forest,
the arrow flies, blood on the snow...
The over dubs here go...
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15-----------------
---5sl.7------------------------------------------------------------------12h14--------------------------
----------------------------------------------------12---------------------------------------------------
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The hunter... ...A deer approaches....of the forest
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---------------------14-------------14---14-------14p12----12-----12----12p10----10---10-----------------
---12----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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The arrow flies, blood on the snow
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-----10p9-------7---9-----------7p5---------------------5-------------5sl.7------------------------------
------------------------------------------------7--------------------------------------------------------
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I said mama said white... (Chorus again)
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Continue in the same manner as above, through the whole song, there are more over dubs, but not
signifigant enough to be typing out every little note...
The remaining lyrics are:
A love is pure I look out and see a hawk in flight.
The forest awaits me the kill awaits me,
I reel back watch the sun turn to gold.
Earth in the morning said white,
a sure crystal clear yeah virgin white.
(This part has the Descending line from the beginning over it, while the second guitar upstrokes the
chords.)
Wilderness, lost to us
wilderness we reach out,
wilderness we must embrace you once more.
(scratch pick down electric strings.)
Ad lib lyrics
(oh feel it, yeah, ow! ...etc...)
The solo is over top of Ian speaking the following:
When the barbarians approach, on the frontiers of a civilization it is a sign of a crisis in that
civilization, When the barbarians come, not with weapons of war but songs and icons of
peace, it is a sign that the crisis is one of a spiritual nature, that's a spiritual nature
We've forgotten our spiritual nature, cause we're wrapped up in too much shit all day, all night...
Can you give me white... shining..... etc...
The solo is too long to print here, mail me if you really want it THAT BAD!
The end is sort of an option, in concert, the CULT used it as a showcase for the talents of Bassist
KINLEY WOLFE and drummer MICHAEL LEE to show off... do what ever you want...
A hint: most of the guitar parts are just a funky version of the intro.
All for now..
All corrections, queries or any CULT stuff to Scott
at jcall@ican.net
