Skip to content

Milk Cows Half Blues

Bob Dylan
Tab

This is tablature — fret positions rather than chord names. Wide lines scroll sideways on their own, so the page never does.

Song

Milk Cows half Blues

by Bob Dylan

Chored By Russ Stone

Outtake from the freewheeling album

Open D/E tuning Capo 8th or 10th fret

(I recommend the E tuning here, otherwise it may be difficult to get the capo in place)

The thumb basically has a 9-to-5 job on the 6th string. I've indicated some of the deviations from the

rhythm, but these might as well be disregarded: do what your fingers tells you to do (this is nothing a

teacher would tell you, but then again: I'm not a guitar teacher). The thumb job even includes the 5th string once in a while, especially towards the end of the verse, before and after the A7. This is probably intentional.

The slide up on the 2nd and 3rd strings should, I believe, be done with the first finger (or the first and

in order to come in the correct position for the pull-off on the 4th string.

The tab reflects the first verse. The follwing verses are almost identical.

Chords:

E7 000330 (no fifth)

A 020100

A7 020103

E7-10 000033

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

E7

: . . : . . . : . . .

---|---0-----0---------|-----------------------0-|---------0-----0-----0---------|
---|/3---3-------------|-------------------0h3---|-------------------------------|
---|/3----/3---3-------|-------------------0-----|------/3---3/3---3/3---3-------|
---|-------------5p3-0-|-----------0-------------|-------------------------5p3-0-|
---|-------------------|-------0h3---------------|-------------------------------|
-0-|-0---0-0---0---0---|-0---0-------0---0-0-----|-0---0-0---0-0---0-0---0-0-----|

: . . . : . . . : . . .

|---------------------0---||---0-----0-----0-----0---|---0-----0-----0-----0---|
|-------------------------||-------------------------|-------------------------|
|-------------------3---3-||-3---3-3---3-3---3-3---3-|-3---3-3---3-3---3-3---3-|
|-----------0-------------||-------------------------|-------------------------|
|-------0h3---------------||-------------------------|-------------------------|
|-0---0-------0---0-0---0-||-0---0-0---0-0---0-0---0-|-0---0-0---0-0---0-0---0-|

Well I woke up this morning looked all around

A

: . . . : . . . : . . .

|---0-----0-----0-----0---|---0-----0-----0-----0---|---0-----0-----0-----0---|
|-------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
|-3---3-3---3-3---3-3---3-|-3---3-3---3-3---3-3---3-|-1---1-1---1-1---1-1---1-|
|-------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
|-------------------------|-------------------------|-2---2-2---2-2---2-2---2-|
|-0---0-0---0-0---0-0---0-|-0---0-0---0-0---0-0---0-|-------------------------|

see my milkcow, but she can't be found, please

holler

A7 E7

: . . . : . . . : . . .

|---0---3---3---3---3---3-|-0-------0-----0---------|-----------------0-------|
|-------------------------|-------------------------|-----------------0-------|
|-1---1---1---1---1---1---|-0---3/3---3-3---3-------|-----------------0-------|
|-------------------------|-------------------5p3-0-|-----------0-------------|
|-2---2-----2-----2-----2-|(0)----------------------|-------0h3---------------|
|-------------------------|-------0-----0-----0-----|-0---0-------0-----0---0-|

please don't do don't do If you see

me wrong me wrong

E7-10 E7 A7 E7

: . . . : . . . : . . .

|-3-3-3-3-3-3-3---3-3---3-|(0)------------------3---|---------0-----0---------|
|(3)----------------------|-3-3-3-3-3-3-------------|------/3-----------------|
|(0)----------------------|-3-3-3-3-3-3-1---1-1---1-|-0----/3---3-3---3-------|
|-------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------5p3-0-|
|-------------------------|(0---0-0---0)2---2-2---2-|-------------------------|
|-0---0-0---0-0---0-0---0-|-0---0-0---0-------------|-0---0-0-0---0---0-0-----|

my milkcow Lord Lord send her home

: . . . :

|-----------------0-------||---0----|
|-----------------0-------||/3------|
|-----------------0-------||/3---3--| etc.
|-----------0-------------||--------|
|-------0h3---------------||--------|
|-0---0-------0-----0---0-||--------|

Well, I . . .

E7

Well I woke up this morning, looked all around

see my milkcow, but she can't be found,

A A7 E7

holler please, please don't do me wrong, don't do me wrong

E7-10 E7*) A7 E7

If you see my milkcow, Lord, Lord send her home!

Well, I woke up this morning, blues around my bed

coudn't even eat my breakfast ,blues in my bed

holler please, please don't do me wrong, don't do me wrong

If you see my milkcow, Lord, Lord send her home!

Mama, your calf is hungry I believe she needs a suck

But your milk is turning blue, I believe she's out of luck

holler please, please don't do me wrong, don't do me wrong

If you see my milkcow, Lord God, send her home!

Well, since my milk cow left me, I been a-treated wrong

I ain't had no milk an butter since my cow been gone

holler please, please don't do me wrong, don't do me wrong

If you see my milkcow, Lord, Lord, send her home, send her home!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comments

Spotted a wrong chord, or know a capo position that sounds closer to the record?

Sign in to join the conversation.

No comments yet. If you play this one, say what works.