TK's Sleater-Kinney pages

TK's Sleater-Kinney pages

Ballad of A Ladyman

All Hands on the Bad One, "Ballad of A Ladyman"

I can see why it's the first track lyrically I guess.  It's not my favorite, but it's got a cello. At any rate it wasn't high on my list until the G# in the chorus (Riff 2).  I give up, that one wins me over.

As usual the guitar 2's rhythms are vital to the S-K sound.  It's not just punk style 8th notes: there is space and synchopation. You can play it all in 8th notes if you accent them right. It's still just fine if you don't get it just right.  But, little details that separate the great from the good.

I sure hope I've done this well enough for you to figure out.

  • Quarter note = 116 or so.
  • Standard tuning. But tuning down 3 half steps makes some riffs easier and more authentic.
  • Tabbed where it felt good on the fretboard but there are alternatives.


Riff 1 has a intro version and two verse versions:

Ballad of A Ladyman Riff 1a and 1b

 

Riff 1, the cello version:

Ballad of A Ladyman Riff 1c

 

Riff 2 the G# in the first beat of bars 3, 5, and 7 put the chorus into orbit for me:

Ballad of A Ladyman Riff 2

 

Riff 3

Ballad of A Ladyman Riff 3

 

Riff 4

Ballad of A Ladyman Riff 4


The views expressed within this site pretty much represent those of the author.
Copyright (c) 2002 Terry Kearns. All rights reserved.