Honky Tonk Women | TAB
Let’s work out how to play this classic using just one guitar in standard tuning.
Intro
Here’s the intro. Notice how we use the G major pentatonic throughout to outline the groove.
Verse
For the verse, we use slash chords based on each underlying chord, with an added chord a fourth above — essentially the IV chord, if you like. This is a classic Keith Richards trick.
- C gets the F/A variation, which sounds best using just two strings, almost like a Csus4
- G gets a C/G and G7
- A has a quick sus4, or D/F#
- D gets a G/B
- The final lick is similar to playing G – C6/G – G (compare this with Soul Man)
As a final note, check out the three variations on the low G major pentatonic lick in bars 8, 10, and 13.
Chorus
The chorus can be played in a very simple way that really grounds the groove and makes it sound big, like this:
Alternatively, you can incorporate licks from the original recording. In bars three and four, I’ve taken a chord riff from the original version and dropped it down an octave. The final lick is recycled from the intro.
Once you can play all of this TAB, go back to the chords lesson and play along with The Stones. The more you play this, the more you’ll start to vary the ideas, ultimately developing the confidence to improvise your own part.
Honky Tonk Women TAB | Related Pages
Honky Tonk Women | Chords + Lyrics
You can learn how to play Honky Tonk Women by The Rolling Stones using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| G | G | C F/A | C |
I met a gin-soaked, bar-room queen in Memphis…
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