Standard (EADGBE)

4 | * * | | |

4 (play four times)

Ziggy played guitar, jamming good

with Wierd and Gilly and the Spiders from Mars.

He played it left hand, but made it too far

became the special man, and we were Ziggy's band.

Ziggy really sang, with screwed up eyes and

screwed down hairdo like some cat from Japan.

He could lick 'em by smiling, he could leave 'em to hang.

He came on so loaded man, well hung and snow-white tan.

But where were the spiders,

while the fly tried to break our balls.

Just the beer light to guide us.

And so we bitched about his fans and should we crush his sweet hands.

[power section]X2

Ziggy played for time, jiving us that

we were voodoo and the kids was just crass.

He was the nazz with God-given ass.

He took it all too far but boy could he play guitar.

Making love with his ego,

Ziggy sucked up into his mind

Like a leper messiah.

When the kids had killed the man I had to break up the band.

[power section repeated to fade]

Chords used: * *

NOTES: on D* and F*

D* is used in the [power] section. I play a normal D and used my 'pinky'

on the 3rd fret on alternate strums to acheive the (D D* D D* etc) sound on

the record. I think D* is actually Dsus but I'm not sure.

F* is used in the chorus. I pay the F chord as a barre chord (see tab above)

and lift my first (barre) finger on alternate strums.

I guess you really have to listen to the record to get the [chorus] and

[power] sections timed/played correctly.

Anyway, there it is. By no means an expert opinion, but it seems to impress my

flat-mate.

Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie.

Thanks to Johnny Birchett and Richard Ashley for their postings, which

inspired me to dig further.. Richard's lyrics are nearly perfect, and

Johnny's tab and chords are right on the mark. I've borrowed heavily

from Johnny, but made a few modifications (note the A / A7 in place

of ).

I've verified the lyrics against the version included on the jacket of the

recent AU 20 remaster of the Ziggy Stardust CD. The recorded version adds

a few words, which I've marked with parentheses.

For a great unplugged version of Ziggy, check out Bowie's original

acoustic 12-string demo included as a bonus track on this CD. The lyrics

are identical to those written on the jacket.

I've included two tabs for the Intro, the first is similar to the Mick

Ronson electric version, and the second is Bowie's acoustic demo version.

Intro

Ronson)

Ronson does some hammering on during the intro, so play around with this

if you want to imitate him more closely. He also plays it a little

differently on the Santa Monica live album (he picks more individual

notes).

Intro

Bowie)

Bowie's original intro is pretty simple, but very nice on 12-string.

Transition

The transition between C and D during "the Spiders from Mars" and

subsequent verses goes something like this:

the Spi ders from Mars

Chorus

Repeat 3 times:

then:

* * ** * **

This is one suggested pattern, but it varies, so improvise.

(My personal preference is to play the D and E in open position.)

On the acoustic and live versions, Bowie and Ronson continue

strumming on the D and E chords. Bowie also sometimes noodles

around with his pinky on the B string on the D and E chords.

On electric, emphasize the lower (thicker) strings, especially

to get the right sound during the F chord. The acoustic version

tends to emphasize the upper (thinner) strings.

Lyrics and chords

(Intro x 4, or Intro x 2 in acoustic version)

Ziggy played guitar, jamming good with Wierd and Gilly,

(and) the Spiders from Mars.

He played it left hand, but made it too far,

became the special man, then we were Ziggy's band.

Ziggy really sang, screwed up eyes and screwed down hairdo,

like some cat from Japan.

He could lick 'em by smiling, he could leave 'em to hang;

(they) came on so loaded, man. Well-hung and snow-white tan.

So where were the Spiders?

While the fly tried to break our balls.

Just the beer light to guide us. So we

bitched about his fans and should we crush his sweet hands...

(Intro x 2)

Ziggy played for time, jiving us that we were voodoo,

the kids was just crass,

He was the nazz, with God given ass,

He took it all too far, but boy could he play guitar.

Making love with his ego,

Ziggy sucked up into his mind,

like a leper messiah, when the

kids had killed the man I had to break up the band.

(Intro x 3) then:

Ziggy played ..... guitar.

(In acoustic version, after the second chorus Bowie immediately repeats

the second chorus, then he plays the intro several times and fades out,

without singing "Ziggy played guitar").