LATHER (Bassline)
As recorded by Jefferson Airplane
(From the 1968 Album CROWN OF CREATION)
Words and Music by Grace Slick
Transcribed by Slowhand
Gtr I (E A D G) - 'Jack Casady - Bass'
[Intro]
Q.=55
6/8
Gtr I
W W W Q. E E E
G|--------|--------|--------|------------||
D|--------|--------|--------|------------||
A|--------|--------|--------|--------0-2-||
E|--------|--------|--------|------------||
[1st & 2nd Verses]
Segno $
Q. Q +S S Q. +E E E Q. Q. Q. +E E E
G|---------------|--------------|-----------|--------------|
D|------1--(1)---|--------------|-5----3----|-1----(1)-----|
A|-3-----------0-|-1----(1)-1-3-|-----------|----------0-1-|
E|---------------|--------------|-----------|--------------|
Q. Q +S S Q. +E E E Q. Q. Q. +E E E
G|---------------|--------------|-----------|--------------|
D|------1--(1)---|--------------|-5----3----|-1----(1)-1---|
A|-3-----------0-|-1----(1)-1-3-|-----------|--------------|
E|---------------|--------------|-----------|------------1-|
Q. E. S E Q E E E E E. S E Q E Q. +E E E
G|-------------|-1--0-------|--------0----|---------------|
D|-------------|------3---0-|-1--0-1----4-|-3----(3)-3-4--|
A|-------------|--------3---|-------------|---------------|
E|-3----3--0-1-|------------|-------------|---------------|
To Coda
Q. E. E S Q E E E E E. S E Q E H.
G|-------------|-1--0-------|--------0-----|-------|
D|-5----3--2-3-|------3---0-|-1--0-1----4--|-3-----|
A|-------------|--------3---|--------------|-------|
E|-------------|------------|--------------|-------|
Q. Q. E Q +Q. Q. Q. E Q +Q.
G|-----------|------------|-----------|-------------|
D|-1----3----|-5----------|-1----3----|-5-----------|
A|-----------|------------|-----------|-------------|
E|-----------|---3--(3)---|-----------|---3--(3)----|
Q. Q. E E E E E E E E E E Q Q E E E E E S S E E S S E
G|-----------|-------------|------------|------------|------------------||
D|-1----3----|-5---5---5---|-3---3---3--|------------|------------------||
A|-----------|-------------|------------|-3--3-3-3-3-|-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3--||
E|-----------|---3---3---3-|---1---1----|------------|------------------||
[Bridge]
H. H. Q. Q. H.
G|---------|---------|-----------|-------|
D|-5-------|-3-------|-5----3----|-5-----|
A|-3-------|-1-------|-3----1----|-3-----|
E|---------|---------|-----------|-------|
H. H. Q. Q. Q. +Q E
G|---------|---------|-----------|--------------||
D|-5-------|-3-------|-5----3----|-5----(5)--5--||
A|-3-------|-1-------|-3----1----|-3----(3)--3--||
E|---------|---------|-----------|--------------||
[Interlude]
E. E S Q S S Q S S S S S S S S E. E S E. E S
G|---------------|----------5---------|----0---0--0---|
D|----5---5--5---|-5--5---5---5-------|---------------|
A|-3----3------3-|------3-------0-3-0-|-1----1------1-|
E|---------------|--------------------|---------------|
E. E S S S S S S S E. E S E. E S E. E S S S S S E H.
G|-0--0-----3---------|---------------|----------5-------|-------|
D|--------3---3-------|----5---5--5---|-5--5---5---5-----|-5-----|
A|------1-------0-1-0-|-3----3------3-|------3-------0-3-|-------|
E|--------------------|---------------|------------------|-------|
Dal Segno al Coda
W W W Q. Q.
G|--------|--------|--------|------3-----||
D|--------|--------|--------|-5----1-----||
A|--------|--------|--------|-3----------||
E|--------|--------|--------|------------||
Coda &
Q S S Q E Q S S Q. E Q E E. S E Q +E Q
G|----5-4-5----|----3-2-3----|---3----5----|-------------|
D|-3---------3-|-1-----------|-1----3----3-|-5-5--(5)-5--|
A|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
E|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
E Q E E E E E E E Q E Q E Q Q. Q E Q. Q.
G|---3----5---|---7-----7--|-5----5----|-5----5--5-|-5----5-----||
D|-1----3---3-|-5---5-5----|---3----3--|-----------|------------||
A|------------|------------|-----------|-3----3--3-|-3----3-----||
E|------------|------------|-----------|-----------|------------||
[Outro]
E. E S E. E S E. E S S E. S S E. E S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S E E
G|---------------|----3---5--------|------3-------------|---------------------|
D|----5---5--5---|-5----5---5--0-1-|----3---3---2-3---2-|-3---2-3---2-3-------|
A|-3----3------3-|-----------------|-1--------1-----1---|---1-----1-----0-1-2-|
E|---------------|-----------------|--------------------|---------------------|
E. E S E. E S E. E S S S S S S S H. +H.
G|---------------|----3---5-3---------|---------|--------*|
D|----5---5--5---|-5----5-----5---3-5-|-5-------|-(5)----*|
A|-3----3------3-|--------------3-----|---------|--------*|
E|---------------|--------------------|---------|--------*|
[Lyrics]
Lather was thirty years old today,
They took away all of his toys.
His mother sent newspaper clippings to him,
About his old friends who'd stopped being boys.
There was Harwitz E. Green, just turned thirty-three,
His leather chair waits at the bank.
And Seargent Dow Jones, twenty-seven years old,
Commanding his very own tank.
But Lather still finds it a nice thing to do,
To lie about nude in the sand,
Drawing pictures of mountains that look like bumps,
And thrashing the air with his hands.
But wait, oh Lather's productive you know,
He produces the finest of sound,
Putting drumsticks on either side of his nose,
Snorting the best licks in town,
But that's all over...
Lather was thirty years old today,
And Lather came foam from his tongue.
He looked at me eyes wide and plainly said,
Is it true that I'm no longer young?
And the children call him famous,
what the old men call insane,
And sometimes he's so nameless,
That he hardly knows which game to play...
Which words to say...
And I should have told him, "No, you're not old."
And I should have let him go on...smiling...babywide.
************************************
Duration Legend
W - whole; H - half; Q - quarter; E - 8th; S - 16th; a - acciaccatura;
+ - note tied to previous; . - note dotted;
Duration letters will always appear directly above the note/fret number it represents the
duration for. Duration letters with no fret number below them represent rests.
Uncapitalized letters represent notes that are staccato (1/2 duration).
| (n) - note tied to previous
************************************
| Bass Tabs |
|
| Title |
Lather |
| Artist |
Jefferson Airplane |
| Tablature Type |
ASCII Tab |
| YouTube ID |
3VYDBZzM-g0 |
Interactive Bass Tab Guide
Interactive bass tabs provide a better experience than ASCII tabs. With playback, loop, print features and a responsive display that follows the screen of your device.
Use these buttons to control the digital tab player.
| Symbol | Function |
|---|
| Move cursor to the first bar |
| Play interactive tabs |
| Pause playback |
| Loop |
| Print the tab |
| Zoom |
| Page | Switch between page and horizontal view mode |
How to Read Bass Tab: A Beginner's Guide
1. Understanding the Basics
a. Strings:
Bass tab consists of horizontal lines representing the strings of the bass guitar.
The lowest-pitched string (usually the E string) is at the bottom, and the highest-pitched string
(usually the G string) is at the top.
b. Numbers:
Numbers on the lines indicate which fret to play on a specific string.
For example, if you see "3" on the E string, it means you should press down the third fret on the lowest string.
2. Reading Bass Tab Example
In this tab:
- Play the note on the 1st fret of the E string.
- Play the open E string.
- Play the 3rd fret on the A string.
- Play the 1st fret on the A string.
G|-----------------|
D|-----------------|
A|---------3-------|
E|---1-1---1---3---|
3. Playing Techniques
a. Hammer-ons and Pull-offs:
Hammer-ons are represented by an "h" (e.g., 5h7 means play the 5th fret and hammer onto the 7th fret).
Pull-offs are represented by a "p" (e.g., 7p5 means play the 7th fret and pull off to the 5th fret).
b. Slides:
Slides are often indicated by an "/" or "\\" between two numbers (e.g., 5/7 means slide from the 5th fret to the 7th fret).
