This can be played strummed but sounds nice with just about any finger-picking pattern.
These are the chords in standard tuning, I believe he plays with a capo on the second
fret. After each verse he stops his finger-picking and plays a tiny pattern (I'll call it "riff")-
RIFF:
||---------------------|
||0-------0/1----0-----|
||---------------0-----|
||--------0------------|
||2--------------2-----|
||------3--------------|
[G]Rolled on out of [B]Motown [C]back in '9[G]1
[G]Left them bitter [Em]winters for the [D7]Florida summer [D]sun
[G]Breakin' hearts in [G7]theme parks
[C] G ([Cm]riff)[G][D7]
Smiled for anyone who held a camera to my face and said "Say cheese!"
[G]Wound up on the [B]telly With a [C]twinkle in my [G]eye
[G]Twinkle disa[Em]ppeared the night I s[D7]tarted gettin' [D]high
[G]And everything seemed [G7]so absurd
[C]Until the night I f[Cm]inally heard the [G]sound of Coltrane
D7 G (riff)
It brought me to my knees
CHORUS
There's a [D]long drive straight through the [C]night
Starin' out the [G]window Lookin' for the [D7]first signs of daylight
Just[G] hold on tight With [C]all of your might
G D7 G (riff)
See it takes the time it takes to get it right
So I [G]peddled across the [B]country Wound up [C]here in Holly[G]wood
[G]Left my high school [Em]sweetheart when I [D7]realized I [D]could
[G]She became a [G7]movie star
D7 [C] G (ri[Cm]ff)[G]
I've took to sleepin' in my car Still singin' songs about her to this day
[G]Drove myself to [B]New York City [C]Chasin' love [G]again
[G]She moved me to [Em]tears and then I [D7]wound up movin' [D]in
[G]That Apple got the [G7]best of me
D7 [C] G (rif[Cm]f)[G]
So I packed up the rest of me And I grabbed a cab, said "Straight to JFK!"
CHORUS
There's a [D]long drive straight through the [C]night
Starin' out the [G]window Lookin' for the [D7]first signs of daylight
Just [G]hold on tight With [C]all of your might
G D7 G (riff)
See it takes the time it takes to get it right
[G]Now I'm back in [B]Hollywood This [C]guitar in my [G]hand
These [G]days I'm only [Em]using words that [D7]I can under[D]stand
[G]Singin' songs, I'll [G7]carry on
[C] G (riff)[Cm][G][D7]
Keep at it until I'm dead and gone Then maybe my gravestone will say
CHORUS
There's a [D]long drive straight through the [C]night
Starin' out the [G]window Lookin' for the [D7]first signs of daylight
Just [G]hold on tight With [C]all of your might
G D7 G (riff)
See it takes the time it takes to get it right
See it [G]takes the time it [D7]takes to get it [G]right (Third time's the charm)
G D7 G (riff)
They say it takes the time it takes to get it right
First tab, so feel free to let me know if I made any mistakes!
These are the chords in standard tuning, I believe he plays with a capo on the second
fret. After each verse he stops his finger-picking and plays a tiny pattern (I'll call it "riff")-
RIFF:
||---------------------|
||0-------0/1----0-----|
||---------------0-----|
||--------0------------|
||2--------------2-----|
||------3--------------|
[G]Rolled on out of [B]Motown [C]back in '9[G]1
[G]Left them bitter [Em]winters for the [D7]Florida summer [D]sun
[G]Breakin' hearts in [G7]theme parks
[C] G ([Cm]riff)[G][D7]
Smiled for anyone who held a camera to my face and said "Say cheese!"
[G]Wound up on the [B]telly With a [C]twinkle in my [G]eye
[G]Twinkle disa[Em]ppeared the night I s[D7]tarted gettin' [D]high
[G]And everything seemed [G7]so absurd
[C]Until the night I f[Cm]inally heard the [G]sound of Coltrane
D7 G (riff)
It brought me to my knees
CHORUS
There's a [D]long drive straight through the [C]night
Starin' out the [G]window Lookin' for the [D7]first signs of daylight
Just[G] hold on tight With [C]all of your might
G D7 G (riff)
See it takes the time it takes to get it right
So I [G]peddled across the [B]country Wound up [C]here in Holly[G]wood
[G]Left my high school [Em]sweetheart when I [D7]realized I [D]could
[G]She became a [G7]movie star
D7 [C] G (ri[Cm]ff)[G]
I've took to sleepin' in my car Still singin' songs about her to this day
[G]Drove myself to [B]New York City [C]Chasin' love [G]again
[G]She moved me to [Em]tears and then I [D7]wound up movin' [D]in
[G]That Apple got the [G7]best of me
D7 [C] G (rif[Cm]f)[G]
So I packed up the rest of me And I grabbed a cab, said "Straight to JFK!"
CHORUS
There's a [D]long drive straight through the [C]night
Starin' out the [G]window Lookin' for the [D7]first signs of daylight
Just [G]hold on tight With [C]all of your might
G D7 G (riff)
See it takes the time it takes to get it right
[G]Now I'm back in [B]Hollywood This [C]guitar in my [G]hand
These [G]days I'm only [Em]using words that [D7]I can under[D]stand
[G]Singin' songs, I'll [G7]carry on
[C] G (riff)[Cm][G][D7]
Keep at it until I'm dead and gone Then maybe my gravestone will say
CHORUS
There's a [D]long drive straight through the [C]night
Starin' out the [G]window Lookin' for the [D7]first signs of daylight
Just [G]hold on tight With [C]all of your might
G D7 G (riff)
See it takes the time it takes to get it right
See it [G]takes the time it [D7]takes to get it [G]right (Third time's the charm)
G D7 G (riff)
They say it takes the time it takes to get it right
First tab, so feel free to let me know if I made any mistakes!