Artist: Barenaked Ladies
Song: Life In A Nutshell
Album: Maybe You Should Drive (1994), Rock Spectacle [live] (1996)

Author: TheHYPO (thehypo@rockitoldschool.com)
Tab Date: 12/13/02
Modified: 01/26/03 (Made some corrections - especially in the chorus)
Modified: 03/14/03 (Corrections in the last bar of bridge)
Tab From: http://www.rockitoldschool.com - Rock It Old School

***
Disclaimer:

Feel free to download this file for personal use,
but do not distribute it as your own.
It is copyright work of the author. Thank You
***


Nutshell is a 1 guitar song (Ed), acoustic. 

Notes: The live and the album are virtually identical in playing except for the timing, which is very different

Also, It is hard to tell when Ed uses A7 or A. I default an A until I can hear the 7th, so I may or may not have missed an A7.

Unlike the current tab making its way around the net, Nutshell is played with Capo on THREE, not FIVE.

---------------------------

(capo on 3)
D:     xx0232
G/F#:  200033
G:     320033
G7:    320001
A:     x02220
Bm:    024432
F#:    244322
A6:    x04430
G#m7   4x4400
A7:    x02020
Em:    022000
D/C#:  x40232
G/B:   x2003x
A7sus: x02033



Intro(/Outro):  D  G/F#   G
 Play the progression 4 times with the timing you can get from the CD

 Album: Play pre-verse riff before first verse
 Rock Spectacle Live: Leave silence before first verse

Pre-verse riff:
|--------------|
|--------------|
|--------------|
|-----------0--|
|-------0h2----|
|--------------|

Verse 1: 
on the CD there's some note picking, but on the live is basically chords so I'll post the chord names for the live version over the Bar so you can play chords if you want


  D                 A                 Bm                G
|-2------0--2-----|-0--------0------|-2-----2---------|-3----3--------0-|
|-3---------------|-2----2h3--------|-3-----3---3-----|-3----3----------|
|-2---------------|-2------------0--|-4-----4---4-----|-0----0----------|
|-0---------------|-2---------------|-4-----4---4-----|-0----0------0---|
|-----------------|-0---------------|-2-----2---------|-2----2--0h2-----|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-3----3----------|
      When she was  three,               her Barbies always did it on the first date

(please note, the words only show you appx. where the chord/bar changes are - The actual notes may or may not fall over the right word.)


Next line of the verse: repeat the same 4 bars (except ignore the riff at the very end and play a little more G chord instead)

then just chords for:

D                  A
She's like a baby, I'm like a cat
Bm                   G7
When we are happy we both get fat

Then play the first 4-bar riff again except replace the G7 with F# chord

Pre-Chorus:

For both the pre-chorus and chorus, it's a mixture of mostly chord with a little bit of mixed in single/dual-note picks but it's not really the important to the sound of the song and he doesn't really do it much live, so I'm just putting down the chords, and you can pick a little if you want to or not.

G            A              D                   G/F#          G
  So I don't tend to worry 'bout the things that other people say
        A               D                G/F#      G
And I'm learning that I wouldn't want it any other way
        A            D              G/F# 
Call me crazy but it really doesn't matter
         G          A     Bm  A6
All that matters to me is she


Chorus:

D    G/F#   G      A7
Her  life     in a nutshell        
Bm    G/F#   G            A7 
No    way       would she want it to         
D      G/F#   G                A7
Change me        it's not that easy 'cause
Bm    G/F#    G       A7        Bm  A6  G#m7  G
My    time is often decided for me-
    Bm  A6  G#m7  G
For me

(live, he would play the pre-verse riff here)

Verse 2:
Pretty much the same verse as before, with a little differences on the end of the last bar some of the times... nothing worth writing


Repeat the pre-chorus, but cut the A6 at the end

Same chorus this time too


Pre-bridge riff:
|--------------|
|--------3--2--|
|--------0--0--|
|--------2-----|
|--------------|
|--------------|


Bridge:

Play a progression of 
 Em             A7   Bm                      G             G  G/F#
    Well I fell down    with no one there to catch me from falling

on the A7 bar, play this riff:

|-0--------0------|
|-2----2h3--------|
|-0------------0--|
|-2---------------|
|-0---------------|
|-----------------|

 Em                A7
    Then she came 'round
    D        D/C#       G/B             A7sus      G              A
And only her tenderness stopped me from bawling my eyes out, I'm okay

(Hit each chord in that last line once and mute, except the G)

Play the chorus, and at the 'often decided for me' where it would go to Bm, instead play G and begin the Pre-chorus. Then at the end of that where it would go to Bm, play a D and start the Intro/Outro to end the song



---------------------------

Enjoy
TheHYPO - thehypo@rockitoldschool.com


http://www.rockitoldschool.com
TheHYPO's (Accurate) BNL Tab Archive