One man, one song, one guitar, many towns

A song about sobriety for all you dry January maniacs!! I heard this song last year on the radio in North Carolina and it has become a listening and playing regular of mine. It’s a great, fun song with some outstanding playing on it. Not by me I should add - I watch Billy Strings play with my jaw on the floor, he can pick a guitar like no one I’ve ever seen, I’ve just figured out the chords so I can play along. Recorded in our apartment in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The city view behind is the view from our bedroom, the Landmark building is the tallest building in the city and lights up like that every night at 6pm. The guitar was ‘borrowed’ by our hosts for me from the school they work at, it has a hefty crack in the body and some seriously old strings but has done the job for me for the last month. Played in the key of G - standard tuning.

Been working a lot on this song, it’s pretty tricky with the picking and it had a lot of words that I haven’t quite completely learned, hence the glasses and the constant glancing at my laptop. It’s a really beautiful song, with great lyrics from Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s most recent Weathervanes album. Recorded in Cologne, France about 45 minutes west of Toulouse on one of the final days of our housesit there. The guitar belongs to the hosts Phill and Damien who happened to have it lying around. Despite a very dusty case the guitar was immaculate and barely played. The strings were like new. It’s a Vintage fully acoustic guitar and very nice to play, especially in their kitchen where the reverb and echo made for a nice effect. Played in standard tuning, key of E.

There’s many great versions of this songs and I’ve liked it since Eric Church did it as part of a live medley on tour a few years ago. It now has special resonance with me as I have my own ‘how I got to Memphis’ story. Essentially in a freezing cold blizzard, from Nashville, with my wife and some good friends, to everything completely shut down for 2 days, is how I got to Memphis. Thankfully on the final day the ice and snow disappeared and we managed to get to Graceland, Beale Street, Rendevouz, and had one of the most memorable days ever. Recorded in Piegut-Pluviers, France, a tiny town about an hour south of Limoges. It’s our last day pet sitting Alfie here before we head for a week in the city by ourselves. The guitar is a beautiful fully acoustic Gibson J-45, lent to me by a friend of our hosts. Played in standard tuning, Capo 2, in the key of E.

I’ve loved this song since the first time I heard it, and I’m a huge fan of the Killers. Lyrically it just hit a chord during the summer of 2020, when everyone was literally wanting to ‘get out of this town’ during the restrictions. This is my own version, quite different from the original, but maintaining all the great lyrics and really powerful chorus. Recorded just outside of Frome, UK, on a lousy Sunday morning with no signs of sunshine on the horizon. The guitar has been loaned to me by the people we are housesitting for. It’s a Northwoods fully acoustic 6-string, and probably the nicest guitar I’ve laid my hands on since leaving the UK. It plays beautifully and sounds great. The song is in standard tuning, capo 4, key if G.

Filmed out on the front porch on a warm and sunny Sunday morning in Durham, North Carolina. I have been playing this Miranda Lambert song for over a year and even gigged it during a set in Nashville back in January. It’s a great song from her most recent album that I enjoy playing and getting the lyrics wrong so as to annoy Hannah (Stop getting Miranda wrong!!) Thanks to my neighbour Tuck, who lives a few doors up from our place in Durham for lending me the guitar for the duration of our stay, it’s a Korean made Takamine electro-acoustic that plays great. The song is in standard tuning but capo 4 to help with the vocals, key of Em.

It’s not the most well known Elton John song by any stretch, but it’s a song I really love. It was released on a greatest hits compilation in the early 2000s along with I Want Love, another great song. I learnt the song in Mission, Texas back in November, but this was recorded on our final day in Brescia, Northern Italy, and uploaded rather ironically on the train south as we head to Rome to catch a flight back to America. I managed to get one good recording out of the 1960s Italian made EKO acoustic. Sadly as mentioned previously the guitar has seen better days, I’d been having trouble keeping it in tune and it’s quite difficult to play anything other than the main chords, alter someone (not me!) has evidently dropped it at some point, but hopefully it’s not too far out of tune on the video. Played in the key it G.

This is a song that was really doing the rounds in the USA during our trips last year, (and I’m sure still is). Morgan Wallen has become an international superstar in recent times, it’s a great song I enjoyed playing at many a Texas bbq. Played on a 1975 (ish) Italian made EKO guitar, that belongs to our good friends in Italy - Laura and Angelo. Sadly the guitar has seen better days since I last played it a year ago, someone has dropped it meaning there is a sizeable crack in the body of the guitar, creating quite a boxy sound, and the neck has warped some, but still playable and as always am very happy to have a guitar for our 2.5 week stay in Brescia, to the North of Italy. Played in the key of E, standard tuning as the guitar doesn’t like to be messed about with tuning or capos!

Probably one of my all time favourite songs, that I only learnt to play recently while staying here in Fot, Hungary. The Manics, and this song primarily, were an early musical influence that has stayed with me since and their greatest hits was an album that seldom came out of the band van CD player, many a cold night trekking back from the arse end of nowhere listening to it. Final song from Fot as Hannah and I move on next week for a short break in Vienna, and the Johnson hollow body has to go back to its owner on Monday. I’ll pick things up in Brescia, Italy where I am hoping there should be a very old Italian guitar waiting for me! This song is played in my favourite acoustic tuning, which is Capo 4, tuned down a semi town. Key of A minor 🤘

I heard this song playing in a shop in Nashville and went straight home and learnt it. Took me ages to get it anywhere near a satisfactory playing level, but I’m content with how I’ve got it sounding now. Again playing the Chinese made Johnson hollow body, still at the apartment in Fot, Hungary. Song is played in the key of C, but capo 4, on a guitar that’s tuned a half step down, make of that what you will.

I only started playing this song a few days ago, and I won’t claim it to be perfect but I enjoy playing it so much it had to be the first upload. Recorded in Fot, Hungary, just outside of Budapest, in our apartment kitchen which has some okay acoustics. Played on a Chinese made Johnson hollow body guitar that was loaned to me by someone at the school we’re currently volunteering at. It has a couple of ‘dead frets’ but does the job nicely.