Saturday, January 29, 2011

Stone River (J.J. Cale)

As per request from Ray, here's the Stone River song. He's released two versions.  You can hear them back to back here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFOzPY_ZF0c I am basing my post here on the version you hear on the vid first, the version that sounds basically just acoustic guitar and organ.

Anyway, sounds like the key of F# minor.

The intro licks are using the F#m pentatonic (like on 9th fret on e string and then playing around the 5th and 7th frets on B and e strings).

Intro is F#m chord, except for a drop to A at around 19.5s and then to B and then back to F#m. .

For the verse it's just the F#m chord, except for a quick stab to B once in a while:
[F#m]Water ain't runnin' no more[B][F#m]

This is the chorus progression:
[F#m]Man he done [B]cut if off
And [F#m]moved it all [B]around

The outro is a bit like this (still the same F# minor pentatonic as before):
--------------------------
-s7---5-------------------
----6---6-4-2--2----------
-----------------4--------
-------------------2-2H4--
-------------------------2

3 comments:

  1. When and when and where was that second version released?

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  2. "Tulsa and back" was the second version. :D The original is on http://jjcale.org/stone.htm#index "Fish Tree Water Blues" album, has songs on it by Branford Marsalis, Joe Louis Walker, John Lee Hooker, John Hammond, The Robert Cray Band, Roomful of Blues, Etta James...
    1999, Earthjustice

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