Rivers of Babylon
by Sublime • Lesson #10 • Nov 17, 2013
Editor’s Notes
Here’s a guitar lesson teaching you how to play Rivers of Babylon from Sublime’s 1998 acoustic album. This is one of the very first songs I ever learned back on my acoustic guitar back in 1999 – such a fun one to learn. I’ll teach you the chord shapes and also show tabs for the distinctive intro riff. Best of luck with it!
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Chords w/ lyrics
INTRO
G ... G ... G ... G ... (see below for tab)
D ... D ... G ... G ...
VERSE
G
By the rivers of Babylon
G
Where he sat down
D
And there he wept
G
When he remembered Zion
CHORUS
G
Oh for the wicked, carry us away captivity
C G
Requireth from us a song
G
How can we sing King Alpha's song
D G
In a strange land
REFRAIN
G D
So let the words of our mouth
G D
And the meditation of our heart
G D
Be acceptable in thy sight
G
Over I
(intro chords)
By the rivers of Babylon
Where he sat down
And there he wept
When he remembered Zion
Oh for the wicked, carry us away captivity
Requireth from us a song
How can we sing King Alpha's song
In a strange land
How can we sing King Alpha's song
In a strange land
Notes and tabs
Chords Used
Here are the chords used to play this song. Nice and straightforward.
e-|----3----0----2----
B-|----0----1----3----
G-|----0----0----2----
D-|----0----2----0----
A-|----2----3---------
E-|----3--------------
G C D
Intro & Verse Riff
Here is how you play the main riff heard in the intro. You can also play this during the verse sections of the song. Don’t forget to add strumming for each chord – this mainly focuses on the notes you play that lead to each chord. As always, listen along to the song for reference.
e-|---------------------3---|---------------------3---|-
B-|---------------------0---|---------------------0---|-
G-|---------------------0---|---------------------0---|-
D-|---------------------0---|---------------------0---|-
A-|---------2--2--3-----2---|---------2--2--3-----2---|-
E-|---3--3-----------3--3---|---3--3-----------3--3---|-
G G
-|---------------------2---|---------------------3---||
-|---------------------3---|---------------------0---||
-|---------------------2---|---------------------0---||
-|---------------------0---|---0--0--2--0--------0---||
-|---2--2--3--3--2--0------|---------------2--0--2---||
-|-------------------------|---------------------3---||
D G
Chord progressions
INTRO
Played with the riff shown above
| G . . . | G . . . | G . . . | G . . . |
| D . . . | D . . . | G . . . | G . . . |
VERSE
"By the rivers of Babylon..."
| G . . . | G . . . | G . . . | G . . . |
| D . . . | D . . . | G . . . | G . . . |
CHORUS
"Oh for the wicked, carry us away..."
| G . . . | G . . . | C . . . | G . . . |
| D . . . | D . . . | D . . . | G . . . |
REFRAIN
"So let the words of our mouth..."
| G . . . | D . . . | G . . . | D . . . |
| D . . . | D . . . | D . . . | G . . . |
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