"Letters Don't Count" The Nazz From the album "Nazz Nazz" (1969) Transcribed by Brian Canfield I actually started this back in October, and figured out most of the chords on the piano. But my guitar skills then were lacking..and this song, which has about 100 different chords in it, is not good for a novice. I'm still not much of a guitarist, but I've improved enough to where I've been able to tab out a guitar arrangement for it, which is below. First is just the chord names themselves..so if you're playing this on a keyboard, you can just look at this part. I've tried my best to line up each chord change with the words being sung at the time. F#m/D G/D D Ever since the last time I saw you, F#m/D G/D D you tried to qualify my life F#m/D G/D D You never knew the way I live F#m/D G/D D And I'm sorry I was never for changing Amaj7 The things I couldn't change anyhow Fmaj7 Fadd9 And I'm sorry that I'm not a different son <---(is it "son" or "sign"?) Cmaj7 C7 Fmaj7 And I don't believe in hiding the people and the things in my past C/D D C/D And I know you don't want to hear me say Am/D D7 Gmaj7 I wish that we were together again F#m7 Em7 Dmaj7 We just couldn't make it work on paper Cmaj7 Am7 D I'll never know why that you never knew me except for my name Break: Dbmaj7 Ebmaj7 Fmaj7 D7 Maybe you think that I have changed but Gm7 /C Fmaj7 Nothing has changed my mind Am7 D7 Those changes of your own that you held so dear Gm7 /C Fmaj7 To me, were a waste of time Abmaj7 Gm7 Making believe we know it all Bbmaj7 C Fmaj7 Without enough of an understanding going on Fm7 /Bb Ebmaj7 All of the words won't change your mind Ebm7 /Ab Dbmaj7 Cause they're lost when you put the letter back in the drawer Cm7 /F Bbmaj7 If you stood before me now you couldn't look me away Abmaj7 Amaj7 Anymore... Bm7 /E Am7 /D Letters don't count Bm7 /E Am7 /D Letters don't count etc, and fade into a cappella heaven. --------------------------------------- Now, here's my guitar arrangement: First off, I'm ignoring that intro he plays (after the wine glass thing). But if you want to play it, I think he's just doing this: E------------------------------------------------------------------- B------------------------------------------------------------------- G------------------------------------------------------------------- D--------0----------0----------0----------0----------0-------------- A-----------0----------0----------0-----------0---------0----------- E----10---------10---------10---------10----------9----------------- etc, moving down a one fret at a time on the low E. However, it ends on a low "D"..which suggests that the song is in drop D tuning. However, with my arrangement, only two lone chords (an Abmaj7 and Amaj7) towards the end use the low E string in the song. So whatever, mine is assumed to be in standard tuning, but if you want to try that intro, lower the E to a D, and see how it sounds. Anyway, here it is. I didn't do much in lining up the chords with the lyrics. I sorta did that above, so consult that. Here I'm just laying out every chord in the song, in order of when it's played..but however many I put on each tab row means nothing usually. Finally, as for the strumming pattern, you'll just have to sorta figure it out yourself. Some of these chords may have some little Todd embellishments that I haven't captured; So I'm sorry, but I definetly can't guarantee any accuracy for this. I've only been at the guitar since September of last year, so cut me some slack for any errors. At the very least, I think most of the chords themselves are right. As for where on the guitar Todd is actually playing them, I got as close as I could. In the second part of the song, there's so many backing vocals that it's tough to hear the actual guitar part. Anyway, enough rambling, here it is: E-----5------------3------------2------------------0----------------- B-----7------------3------------3------------------5----------------- G-----6------------4------------2------------------6----------------- D-----0------------0------------0------------------6----------------- A--------------------------------------------------0----------------- E------------------------------------------------------------------- F#m/D G/D D (x4) then: Amaj7 E-----5--------3----------3---------3--------------------------- B-----5--------5----------5---------5--------------------------- G-----5--------5----------4---------3--------------------------- D-----3--------3----------5---------5--------------------------- A-------------------------3---------3--------------------------- E--------------------------------------------------------------- Fmaj7 Fadd9 Cmaj7 C7 E----0-------0---------0--------5--------5----------------------- B----5-------7---------5--------5--------7----------------------- G----5-------7---------5--------5--------5----------------------- D----0-------0---------0--------0--------0----------------------- A---------------------------------------------------------------- E---------------------------------------------------------------- C/D D C/D Am/D D7 E----7----------5---------3--------2----------------------------- B----7----------5---------3--------2----------------------------- G----7----------6---------4--------2----------------------------- D----5----------4---------2--------0----------------------------- A---------------------------------------------------------------- E---------------------------------------------------------------- Gmaj7 F#m7 Em7 Dmaj7 E----0--------0--------2-------------------------------------------- B----0--------1--------3-------------------------------------------- G----0--------0--------2-------------------------------------------- D----2--------2--------0-------------------------------------------- A----3--------0----------------------------------------------------- E------------------------------------------------------------------- Cmaj7 Am7 D E----4-----------6-----------5-------------5----------------------------- B----6-----------8-----------5-------------7----------------------------- G----5-----------7-----------5-------------5----------------------------- D----6-----------8-----------3-------------7----------------------------- A----4-----------6-------------------------5---------------------------- E---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dbmaj7 Ebmaj7 Fmaj7 D7 E----6-----6-------5-----------8-----------8---------6-----6------5------ B----6-----6-------5-----------8-----------7---------6-----6------5------ G----7-----5-------5-----------9-----------7---------7-----5------5------ D----5-----5-------3-----------7-----------7---------5-----5------3------ A------------------------------------------------------------------------ E------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gm7 /C Fmaj7 Am7 D7 Gm7 /C Fmaj7 E-----8--------6-----------10---------8---------8---------------------- B-----8--------6-----------10---------8--------10----------------------- G-----8--------7-----------10---------9---------9---------------------- D-----6--------5-----------8---------10--------10----------------------- A-----------------------------------------------8------------------ E---------------------------------------------------------------- Abmaj7 Gm7 Bbmaj7 C Fmaj7 E----8------8----------6----------6-------6---------4------------------ B----9------9----------8----------7-------7---------6------------------ G----8------8----------7----------6-------6---------5------------------ D----10-----8----------8----------8-------6---------6------------------- A----8------8----------6----------6-------6---------4------------------ E---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fm7 /Bb Ebmaj7 Ebm7 /Ab Dbmaj7 E---3------3-------1------------------------------------------------ B---4------4-------3------------------------------------------------ G---3------3-------2------------------------------------------------ D---5------3-------3----------------------------------------------- A---3------3-------1------------------------------------------------ E---------------------------------------------------------------- Cm7 /F Bbmaj7 E------3-------------------4--------------------------------------- B------4-------------------5--------------------------------------- G------5-------------------6--------------------------------------- D------5-------------------6--------------------------------------- A------x-------------------x--------------------------------------- E------4-------------------5--------------------------------------- Abmaj7 Amaj7 (use your thumb on the low E for these two) E------2--------2--------0--------0------------------------------------- B------3--------3--------1--------1------------------------------------- G------2--------2--------0--------0------------------------------------- D------4--------2--------2--------0------------------------------------- A------2--------2--------0--------0------------------------------------- E---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bm7 /E Am7 /D etc.. So there's my guess at the chords. But listen yourself for the strumming pattern and what not, and flesh it out more from there. Questions/Comments: dontpoll@aol.com