Big City Chords

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Difficulty:	beginner
Tuning:	E A D G B E
Capo:	no capo

Author Unregistered.

2 contributors total, last edit on Aug 11, 2020

We have an official Big City tab made by UG professional guitarists.

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Big City
Written by Merle Haggard and Dean Holloway
c 1981 Shade Tree Music
Performed by Merle Haggard
 
[Intro]
E  A
E  B
E
 
[Verse 1]
    E                       A
I'm tired of this dirty old city.
  E                                     B
Entirely too much work and never enough play.
     E                          A
And I'm tired of these dirty old sidewalks.
         E              B              E
Think I'll walk off my steady job today.
 
[Chorus]
E                           A                            E
Turn me loose, set me free, somewhere in the middle of Montana.
                                B
And gimme all I got comin' to me,
    E                            A                  E
And keep your retirement and your so called social security.
                 B                   E
Big City turn me loose and set me free.
 
[Break]
E A E B E
 
[Verse 2]
      E                            A
Been workin' everyday since I was twenty.
  E                                            B
Haven't got a thing to show for anything I've done.
         E                                    A
There's folks who never work and they've got plenty.
            E                  B           E
Think it's time some guys like me had some fun. So
 
[Chorus]
E                           A                             E
Turn me loose, set me free, somewhere in the middle of Montana.
                                B
And gimme all I got comin' to me,
    E                            A                  E
And keep your retirement and your so called social security.
                 B                   E
Big City turn me loose and set me free.
 
[Outro]
                        B                E
Hey,  Big City turn me loose and set me free.
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Big City – Merle Haggard

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"Big City"

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7 comments

Hi, Ken Keefover, I just registered today. Actually, I was looking for "Big City," and found your tab first thing. Great job. I can use it for sure. I have the Merle Haggard original on tape, and, at least on my recorder, it is in E. Wondered how you got F? Do you think your recorder is playing flat, or maybe mine is playing sharp? Nothing to add on the lyrics, except that I note a "So!" at the end of Verse 2, and an Ending of "Hey, Big City, Turn me loose and set me free!" following the last chorus. Also, I have done a scansion and put in numeric chord notation (I, I7, IV and V). Maybe you have a slightly different version than I do, but I sure do hear a I7 coming in all over the place. How do I post my version? Your version made it so EASY for me to do my version. I credit you entirely and consider mine a "tweaking" of yours. What would the protocol be in the case of my posing this tab? tapjammer

I transposed it with the Transpose tab, down 3. Then I put a capo on the second fret, and now all is well, and the chords are only natural, D, G, and A. Sounds right with the YouTube recording of this song as sung by Merle.

I would assume 99% of singers/guitarists would play any song in the key of F, with a Capo on the 1st fret, and play in E, as it's a much easier key to play in, resulting in not having to play a barred F chord.