Buck 65 – Indestructable Sam (Banjo Tab)
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5-String
This is done on a 5-string banjo with some heavy droning on the G string (the small one at the bottom that’s pegged halfway up the neck). You’ll be safe if you just let it ring out the whole time.
The Tab
Buck 65 Indestructable Sam Drone String: Be sure to let the G drone string ring throughout the song to get the proper sound Riff 1: d|-------------------------------------------- B|---------1^3-----------3^1------------------ G|-0-0-0^3-----0-0--0^3-------3--0----0-0-0^3- D|-------------------------------------------- g|-------------------------------------------- ------3^5-3^5-3^5---------- -1^3--3---3---3---3\1------ ------------------------3-0 --------------------------- --------------------------- Riff 2: d|--3^5-----3^5-3^5---3^5-3^5-----3^5-3^5--------- B|--3---------3---3---3---3-------3---3----3\1---- G|---------------------------------------------3-0 D|------------------------------------------------ g|------------------------------------------------ Lyrics: Well this here's the story of Samuel Donbay A man like any other at the end of a long day Guts and muscles and maybe a little more He worked as a grave digger after the civil war Miles around competition burned with the deepest rage The work was hard and Sam did it for the cheapest wage Seemed that the other Man's shoes didn't fit him When he was out working the others were out to get him They called him indestructible Sam, He promised he would die with a shovel in his hands That's right, they called him indestructible Sam He promised he would die with a shovel in his hands Diggin' all day Sam's pockets got richer But the others were wishing he was out of the picture So late one night some of the competition went to see Doctor Beauregard a local magician They asked if he could help put things in reverse They pooled all their money for a fifty dollar curse Next morning at work was a commotion Digging a grave Sam heard an explosion Followed by a moaning, cursing and mumbling From the nearby bushes a figure came stumbling Sam shrugged his shoulders and surveyed the damages Later Dr Beauregard was seen wearing bandages Worse for wear he wasn't taking suggestion Said he'd hex anyone that asked him any questions The coast wasn't clear trouble kept lurking The others kept scheming and Sam kept working They called him indestructible Sam, He promised he would die with a shovel in his hands That's right, they called him indestructible Sam He promised he would die with a shovel in his hands The other gravediggers lamented their blown chance Decided to take matters into their own hands Thoughts full of poison and making a trap They blew up the shed where Sam was taking a nap The others were astonished and totally annoyed Cause Sam walked away while the shed was destroyed Next they tied him up and they were sure that they got him when they threw him in a lake and watched him sink to the bottom Below and behold and to the others dismay Sam was back at work again the very next day They burned his house down to the ground they were possessed And when that didn't work they finally shot him in the chest So hold your head low and fly the flag half mast But it was actually Samuel who had the last laugh He recovered again, lord be praised He lived to be a hundred and dug the others graves They called him indestructible Sam, He promised he would die with a shovel in his hands That's right, they called him indestructible Sam He promised he would die with a shovel in his hands And he did They called him indestructible Sam, He promised he would die with a shovel in his hands That's right, they called him indestructible Sam And he died with a shovel in his hands And this is an even true song It was wrote on account of old Sam workin' so hard And I reckon that's how it 'ought to be Tabbed by Matthew Gruman http://matthewgruman.com Lyrics from: http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=3530822107858660636
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Comments
Just lettting you know that Old Man Luedecke played his banjo part on this song using the clawhammer technique and that the tuning is actually G-modal, also known as Mountain Minor or Sawmill and involves raising the pitch of the second string up to C. Once you’re in that tuning, the whole sound of the song will come together much better. All the best-John
I agree that this sounds like G modal tuning as I use that tuning sometimes although I was taught that double C tuning was sawmill tuning. If the drone is so important to this tune, why isn’t it shown in the tab? Also the basic frailing(clawhammer) figure isn’t shown either but I can hear it when I listen to the recording. anyways there might be enough here that I can work out something from it.
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