The Gift was originally transcribed by "James"
and submitted to COWPIE on 11/30/97. I wanted to use it as an example to go
along with my lessons on alternating bass, so I've reworked the
transcription a little. The lyrics are taken from James' transcription, but
the chord and tab information is my own work. I taped it off the radio and
missed the intro, so your guess is as good as mine.
- Darragh Egan
This song is played with an alternating bass style in 3/4 time. Pick the
bass note with your thumb on the first beat of each measure (alternate bass
notes are marked with a slash on every other measure). Pluck the treble
strings on the second and third beats of each measure. To get that spanish
sound to the song, it is important that the strings are plucked rather than
strummed. Use your index finger on the third string (G string), middle
finger on the second string (B string), and your ring finger on the first
string (high e string). Your fingers should be slightly curled into what's
often referred to as a claw shape. Pluck all three treble strings
simultaneously by quickly snapping your fingers in towards your palm. It
helps to have a little length to the finger nails on your picking hand (but
not too long).
"The Gift" as performed by Garth Brooks
>From his Christmas album "Beyond the Season"
Written by Stephanie Davis
A [D]poor orphan [D/A]girl named Ma[D]ria[D/A]
Was [D]walking to [D/A]market one [A7]day[A7/E]
She [A7]stopped for a [A7/E]rest by the [A7]roadside[A7/E]
Where a [A7]bird with a [A7/E]broken wing [D]lay[D/A]
A [D]few moments [D/A]passed till she [D]saw it[D/A]
For it's [D]feathers were [D/A]covered with [A7]sand[A7/E]
But [A7]soon clean and [A7/E]wrapped it was [A7]travelling[A7/E]
In the [A7]warmth of Mar[A7/E]ia's small [D]hand[D/A]
She [G]happily [G/D]gave her last [G]peso[G/D]
On a [D]cage made of [D/A]rushes and [D]twine[D/A]
She [G]fed it loose [G/D]corn from the [G]market [G/D]
And [D]watched it grow [D/A]stronger with [A7]time[A7/E]
Now the Christmas Eve service was coming
And the church shone with tinsel and light
And all of the town folks brought presents
To lay by the manger that night
There were diamonds and incense and perfumes
In packages fit for a king
But for one ragged bird in a small cage
Maria had nothing to bring
She waited till just before midnight
So no one would see her go in
And crying she knelt by the manger
For her gift was unworthy of Him
(CHANGES KEY)
Then a [E]voice spoke to [E/B]her through the [E]darkness[E/B]
"Mar[E]ia, what [E/B]brings you to [B7]Me[B7/F#]
If the [B7]bird in the [B7/F#]cage is your [B7]offering[B7/F#]
[B7]Open the [B7/F#]door let Me [E]see"[E/B]
Though she [E]trembled she [E/B]did as He [E]asked her[E/B]
And [E]out of the [E/B]cage the bird [B7]flew[B7/F#]
[B7]Soaring up [B7/F#]into the [B7]rafters[B7/F#]
On a [B7]wing that had [B7/F#]healed good as [E]new[E/B]
[A]Just then the [A/E]midnight bells [A]rang out[A/E]
And the [E]little bird [E/B]started to [E]sing[E/B]
A [A]song that no [A/E]words could re[A]capture[A/E]
Whose [E]beauty was [E/B]fit for a [B7]king[B7/F#]
Now Ma[E]ria felt [E/B]blessed just to [E]listen[E/B]
To that [E]cascade of [E/B]notes sweet and [B7]long[B7/F#]
As her [B7]offering was [B7/F#]lifted to [B7]heaven[B7/F#]
B7 B7/F# (pause) E
By the very first nightingale's... song.
Outro: The song seems destined to end abruptly on the last word, and then up
comes a guitar solo out of nowhere. I haven't bothered to figure out the solo,
so I just end it with a single strum on the word "song".
Here are the chords for this song. Since you will only be playing the bass
note and the three treble strings, those are the only strings I have marked.
I have placed an "x" over some strings which would normally be part of the
chord but aren't used in this arrangement.
Dxx0232 D/Ax0x232 A7x0x020 A7/E0xx020 G3xx003 G/Dxx0003
E0xx100 E/Bx2x100 B7x2x202 B7/F#2xx202 Ax0x220 A/E0xx220
For those who need tabs to understand the alternating bass style, this
should be enough to get you started. The song follows an AABAAB format (I'm
referring to sections of the song, not chords). Remember that the song
changes key toward the end, and you'll have to switch to a new set of chords.
SECTION A TABS IN KEY OF D
[D] [D/A] [D] [D/A]
e ----2---2--- ----2---2--- ----2---2--- ----2---2---
B ----3---3--- ----3---3--- ----3---3--- ----3---3---
G ----2---2--- ----2---2--- ----2---2--- ----2---2---
D 0----------- ------------ 0----------- ------------
A ------------ 0----------- ------------ 0-----------
E ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
1) A poor orphan girl named Maria
2) A few moments passed till she saw it
[D] [D/A] [A7] [A7/E]
e ----2---2--- ----2---2--- ----0---0--- ----0---0---
B ----3---3--- ----3---3--- ----2---2--- ----2---2---
G ----2---2--- ----2---2--- ----0---0--- ----0---0---
D 0----------- ------------ ------------ ------------
A ------------ 0----------- 0----------- ------------
E ------------ ------------ ------------ 0-----------
1) Was walking to market one day
For it's feathers were covered with sand (
and submitted to COWPIE on 11/30/97. I wanted to use it as an example to go
along with my lessons on alternating bass, so I've reworked the
transcription a little. The lyrics are taken from James' transcription, but
the chord and tab information is my own work. I taped it off the radio and
missed the intro, so your guess is as good as mine.
- Darragh Egan
This song is played with an alternating bass style in 3/4 time. Pick the
bass note with your thumb on the first beat of each measure (alternate bass
notes are marked with a slash on every other measure). Pluck the treble
strings on the second and third beats of each measure. To get that spanish
sound to the song, it is important that the strings are plucked rather than
strummed. Use your index finger on the third string (G string), middle
finger on the second string (B string), and your ring finger on the first
string (high e string). Your fingers should be slightly curled into what's
often referred to as a claw shape. Pluck all three treble strings
simultaneously by quickly snapping your fingers in towards your palm. It
helps to have a little length to the finger nails on your picking hand (but
not too long).
"The Gift" as performed by Garth Brooks
>From his Christmas album "Beyond the Season"
Written by Stephanie Davis
A [D]poor orphan [D/A]girl named Ma[D]ria[D/A]
Was [D]walking to [D/A]market one [A7]day[A7/E]
She [A7]stopped for a [A7/E]rest by the [A7]roadside[A7/E]
Where a [A7]bird with a [A7/E]broken wing [D]lay[D/A]
A [D]few moments [D/A]passed till she [D]saw it[D/A]
For it's [D]feathers were [D/A]covered with [A7]sand[A7/E]
But [A7]soon clean and [A7/E]wrapped it was [A7]travelling[A7/E]
In the [A7]warmth of Mar[A7/E]ia's small [D]hand[D/A]
She [G]happily [G/D]gave her last [G]peso[G/D]
On a [D]cage made of [D/A]rushes and [D]twine[D/A]
She [G]fed it loose [G/D]corn from the [G]market [G/D]
And [D]watched it grow [D/A]stronger with [A7]time[A7/E]
Now the Christmas Eve service was coming
And the church shone with tinsel and light
And all of the town folks brought presents
To lay by the manger that night
There were diamonds and incense and perfumes
In packages fit for a king
But for one ragged bird in a small cage
Maria had nothing to bring
She waited till just before midnight
So no one would see her go in
And crying she knelt by the manger
For her gift was unworthy of Him
(CHANGES KEY)
Then a [E]voice spoke to [E/B]her through the [E]darkness[E/B]
"Mar[E]ia, what [E/B]brings you to [B7]Me[B7/F#]
If the [B7]bird in the [B7/F#]cage is your [B7]offering[B7/F#]
[B7]Open the [B7/F#]door let Me [E]see"[E/B]
Though she [E]trembled she [E/B]did as He [E]asked her[E/B]
And [E]out of the [E/B]cage the bird [B7]flew[B7/F#]
[B7]Soaring up [B7/F#]into the [B7]rafters[B7/F#]
On a [B7]wing that had [B7/F#]healed good as [E]new[E/B]
[A]Just then the [A/E]midnight bells [A]rang out[A/E]
And the [E]little bird [E/B]started to [E]sing[E/B]
A [A]song that no [A/E]words could re[A]capture[A/E]
Whose [E]beauty was [E/B]fit for a [B7]king[B7/F#]
Now Ma[E]ria felt [E/B]blessed just to [E]listen[E/B]
To that [E]cascade of [E/B]notes sweet and [B7]long[B7/F#]
As her [B7]offering was [B7/F#]lifted to [B7]heaven[B7/F#]
B7 B7/F# (pause) E
By the very first nightingale's... song.
Outro: The song seems destined to end abruptly on the last word, and then up
comes a guitar solo out of nowhere. I haven't bothered to figure out the solo,
so I just end it with a single strum on the word "song".
Here are the chords for this song. Since you will only be playing the bass
note and the three treble strings, those are the only strings I have marked.
I have placed an "x" over some strings which would normally be part of the
chord but aren't used in this arrangement.
Dxx0232 D/Ax0x232 A7x0x020 A7/E0xx020 G3xx003 G/Dxx0003
E0xx100 E/Bx2x100 B7x2x202 B7/F#2xx202 Ax0x220 A/E0xx220
For those who need tabs to understand the alternating bass style, this
should be enough to get you started. The song follows an AABAAB format (I'm
referring to sections of the song, not chords). Remember that the song
changes key toward the end, and you'll have to switch to a new set of chords.
SECTION A TABS IN KEY OF D
[D] [D/A] [D] [D/A]
e ----2---2--- ----2---2--- ----2---2--- ----2---2---
B ----3---3--- ----3---3--- ----3---3--- ----3---3---
G ----2---2--- ----2---2--- ----2---2--- ----2---2---
D 0----------- ------------ 0----------- ------------
A ------------ 0----------- ------------ 0-----------
E ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
1) A poor orphan girl named Maria
2) A few moments passed till she saw it
[D] [D/A] [A7] [A7/E]
e ----2---2--- ----2---2--- ----0---0--- ----0---0---
B ----3---3--- ----3---3--- ----2---2--- ----2---2---
G ----2---2--- ----2---2--- ----0---0--- ----0---0---
D 0----------- ------------ ------------ ------------
A ------------ 0----------- 0----------- ------------
E ------------ ------------ ------------ 0-----------
1) Was walking to market one day
For it's feathers were covered with sand (
