Love In Vain Tab

by Robert Johnson
76,350 views, added to favorites 706 times
Capo: no capo
Author Unregistered. Last edit on Feb 10, 2014
#----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE---------------------------------#
#This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the #
#song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. #
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------##
From: tron@elrayo.rhein-main.de (markus tron)
 
I thing Robert Johnson plays in standard tuning
and capoed his guitar somewhere...
I play it in G (standard tuning).
 
 
~Title:  Love in vain
Artist: Robert Johnson
 
INTRO:
 
e -|-10--10-10--9---9--9--9--9--9---8--|-8--8--8--8-----|
B -|-12--12-12--11--11-11-11-11-11--10-|-10-10-10-10----|
G -|-----------------------------------|-------------0--|
D -|-----------------------------------|----------------|
A -|-----------------------------------|----------------|
E -|-----------------------------------|----------------|
 
e -|-3--3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3--3--|----2--2--2---------------|
B -|-------------------------|----1--1--1---------------|
G -|-------0-----------------|----2--2--2---------------|
D -|-------3-----2---2-3--1--|--0---------------0-------|
A -|-------------------------|------------------0-------|
E -|-------------------------|--------------------------|
 
						And I
 
FIRST VERSE:
 
e -|-3-----------------3-----|-1-----------------1------|
B -|-------------------------|--------------------------|
G -|-------------------------|--------------------------|
D -|-------------------------|--------------------------|
A -|-2-----2-----2-----2-----|-2-----2-----2-----2------|
E -|-3-----3-----3-----3-----|-3-----3-----3-----3------|
 
G    followed her to the    station
 
                                (xx)
e -|-1-----------------------|-1---1-1------------------|
B -|-3-----------------------|---3---3------------------|
G -|-------------------------|--------------------------|
D -|-------------------------|--------------------------|
A -|-2-----2-----2-----2-----|-2-----2-----2-----2------|
E -|-3-----3-----3-----3-----|-3-----3-----3-----3------|
 
G7  with her suitcase in my hand                  And I
 
 
e -|-3-----3-----------3-----|-------3-----------1------|
B -|-------1-----------1-----|-1------------------------|
G -|-------------------------|--------------------------|
D -|-------------2-----2-----|-2-----------2-----2------|
A -|-3-----3-----3-----3-----|-3-----3-----3-----3------|
E -|-------------------------|--------------------------|
 
C   followed her to the station with her suitcase in my hand
 
 
e -|-------1-----------2-----|-3------------------------|
B -|-3-----3-----------1-----|--------------------------|
G -|-0-----------------------|--------------------------|
D -|-------------------0-----|--------------------------|
A -|-------------2-----------|-2-----2-----2------------|
E -|-3-----3-----3-----------|-3-----3-----3------------|
 
G7                                            Well, it's
 
 
e -|-3------------------------|
B -|--------------------------|
G -|-------------------3------|
D -|-2-----2-----2-----0------|
A -|-0-----0-----0-----0------|
E -|-------------0------------|
 
A7/5  hard to tell, it's hard to tell
 
 
e -|-----------------------------|
B -|-----------------------------|
G -|-----------------------------|
D -|-0-----0-----0-----0---------|
A -|-0-----0-----0-----0---------|
E -|-2---------------------------|
 
D7  when all your love's in vain.
 
 
e -|-------------------------|-------2-----2-----2------|
B -|-0----0-----0------------|-1-----1-----1-----1------|
G -|-------------------------|-2-----2-----2-----2------|
D -|-3----2-----1-----0------|-------0-----------0------|
A -|-------------------------|-------------------0------|
E -|-------------------------|--------------------------|
 
G   All my love's in vain
 
 
------------------------
additional lyrics:
 
When the train rolled up to the station, I looked her in the eye
When the train rolled up to the station, I looked her in the eye
Well, I was lonesome, I felt so lonesome
and I could not help but cry
All my love's in vain
 
 
When the train left the station with two lights on behind
When the train left the station with two lights on behind
Well the blue light was my blues
and the red light was my mind
All my love's in vain
 
 
Ohh ho ho ho Willie Mae
Ohh ho ho ho Willie Mae
Ohh ho ho ho Willie Mae
All my love's in vain
 
------------------------
 
 
(xx): he's doing these "fills" throug out the whole song.
	  try to place these things for your own!
 
 
------------------------
 
The above is a very easy way to play that Robert Johnson song.
For a more detailed transcription I would recommend:
Scott Ainslie's "Robert Johnson complete guitar transcription".
It's NO book for beginners!
 
BTW listen to Bob Brozman's version of that song!!!
He plays it with a bottleneck and offers a lot of real
great slide licks in that song. I prefer to play Bob's
version of this song.
 
I hope this tab's not too bad, and you folks can work with it.
 
have fun
 
markus
 
 
PS: Any corrections or comments welcome!
 
Any Johnny Winter, Rory Gallagher or Muddy Waters tab would be very welcome!
 
 
markus tron
tron@elrayo.rhein-main.de
 
blues and beyond?
X
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Love In Vain – Robert Johnson
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"Love In Vain"
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8 comments
guitarmaster70
is this like Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven" where the stacked notes are finger-picked? i.e. the 3/e,2/A, and 3/E e -|-3-----------------3-----|-1-----------------1------| B -|-------------------------|--------------------------| G -|-------------------------|--------------------------| D -|-------------------------|--------------------------| A -|-2-----2-----2-----2-----|-2-----2-----2-----2------| E -|-3-----3-----3-----3-----|-3-----3-----3-----3------|
0
314159
Thank you for that tab ! Concerning the lyrics, I hear: "When the train it left the station..." And the outro is something like that: "Hee hee hoo Willie Mae Ohh ho he hoo Willie Mae Hee hee, hee Wi ho wo All my love's in vain" And in one take (alternate) it is "Well, I was lonesome, I felt so lonesome", and in the other take "Well, I felt lonesome, I was so lonesome".
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New_Morning
Good shit, also brilliantly covered by the almighty Faces!
0