DRUNKEN BUTTERFLY by Sonic Youth tab by Chris Lawrence (silvercircle@shaw.ca) special thanks to nollie (gav) '97 TUNINGS: Thurston: F#F#GGAA (right) Lee: F#F#GGAA (left/center) Kim: F#F#GA A SECTION 00:00-00:08 Thurston and Lee both play random flurries of harmonics up and down the neck. Kim runs her hand up the fretboard while strumming with distortion. B SECTION (VERSE) 00:08-00:23 Thurston: A-------------------------------------------------- A---------X-X-X-X-----X-X-X-X-----X-X-X-X-X-X------ G---------X-X-X-X-----X-X-X-X-----X-X-X-X-X-X---7-- G---------X-X-X-X-----X-X-X-X-----X-X-X-X-X-X---0-- F#----7-7-X-X-X-X-7-7-X-X-X-X-7-7-X-X-X-X-X-X---0-- F#----0-0---------0-0---------0-0-------------0---- palm mute the open F# strings Lee has a part similar to Thurston's in the left speaker, but he also overdubbed this note (which is what he plays live): A----------- A----------- G------6---- G------6---- slowly bend up and return while picking F#---------- F#---------- Kim: A----------------------------6-- she doesn't always hit the note on the A string G----------------------------0-- F#----7-7-----7-7-----7-7------- F#----7-7-----7-7-----7-7------- C SECTION (CHORUS) 00:23-00:34 Thurston: A----------------------------------- ------- A----------------------------------- ------- G----------------------------------- ---6--- G----------------------------------- x 2 ---6--- F#---x-5-5---x-6-5---x-6-5---3-3-3-- ---0--- F#---x-5-5---x-6-5---x-6-5---3-3-3-- ---0--- Lee: A----------------------------------- ------- A----------------------------------- ------- G----------------------------------- x 2 ------- G----------------------------------- ------- F#---5-5-5---5-6-5---5-6-5---3-3-3-- ---0--- F#---5-5-5---5-6-5---5-6-5---3-3-3-- ---0--- Kim: A----------------------------------- -------- G----------------------------------- -------- F#---------------------------------- x 2 --\19--- F#-----5-5---5-6-5---5-6-5---3-3-3-- --\19--- A SECTION 00:34-00:42 B SECTION 00:42-00:57 C SECTION 00:57-01:08 A SECTION 01:08-01:16 D SECTION 01:16-01:31 Thurston: A------9-------------10---9---------10--14---------15--14-------15-- A------9-------------10---9---------10--14---------15--14-------15-- G-----11-------------12--11---------12--16---------17--16-------17-- trem pick all G-----11-------------12--11---------12--16---------17--16-------17-- F#-----/--------------/---/----------/---/----------/---/--------/-- F#-----/------------------/--------------/--------------/----------- Lee: A------------------------------------------------------------------- A------------------------------------------------------------------- G-----11-------------12--11---------12--18---------17--18-------17-- trem pick all G-----11-------------12--11---------12--18---------17--18-------17-- F#-----/--------------/---/----------/---/----------/---/--------/-- F#-----/------------------/--------------/--------------/----------- Kim runs her hand up the fretboard while strumming with distortion. E SECTION 01:31-01:46 Thurston: A------------------------------------ A------------------------------------ repeat simile G---------0------0---0-----0------0-- G---------0------0---0-----0------0-- palm mute F# strings F#----0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0---0-0--0-0-0-- F#----0-0----0-0---0-----0----0-0---- throw in a scrape or slide after each rep if you want Lee: A-----19-----------19----------------- --19-----------19--------- A-----19-----------19----------------- --19-----------19--------- G------------17----------17----19b---- x 2 --------17-----------19b-- x 2 G------------17----------17----19b---- --------17-----------19b-- F#------------------------------------ -------------------------- F#------------------------------------ -------------------------- Kim: A------------------------------------- G------------------------------------- F#----12-12---12-12---12-12----------- F#----12-12---12-12---12-12----\3\5\-- E SECTION continued 01:46-02:04 Thurston: A-----21------ A-----21------ G-----21------ G-----21------ F#-----/------ F#-----/------ Lee: A-----21------ A-----21------ G-----21------ G-----21------ F#-----/------ F#-----/------ Kim runs her hand up the fretboard while strumming with distortion. After pummelling that chord, they break to open F# drone and the guitars idly scrape the strings. B SECTION 02:04-02:34 This is a little different from the previous verses. For the first four lines, Kim is playing her bassline and both guitars are doing pick scrapes. For the next four lines, the guitars both play Thurston's chunky verse riff. I swear Kim drops down to F# instead of the C# she stays on for the rest of the verse, but in both videos above she sticks to that 7th fret. When Jim was playing the song, he did drop to F# for this part. C SECTION 02:34-02:53 In the final chorus, they play the "I love you" riff four times instead of twice. Thurston goes up an octave during the third repetition: A--------------------------------------------- A--------------------------------------------- G--------------------------------------------- G--------------------------------------------- F#----x-17-17---x-18-17---x-18-17---15-15-15-- F#----x-17-17---x-18-17---x-18-17---15-15-15-- A SECTION 02:53-03:03 That's all! It's a really fun song - the F#GA tuning is surprisingly easy to play in, and it's always nice when half the riffs are harmonic bursts and gloriously long pick scrapes. Kim's bass part, as with most of her parts on Dirty, has me totally scratching my head...in a good way! last updated: 04/01/22 ------------------------------------------------ THE SONIC YOUTH GUITAR/BASS TABLATURE ARCHIVE: http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/tab/index.html ------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------