Biography:
Steely Dan is an American jazz rock band which formed in 1972. The band was formed by Donald Fagen (vocals, keyboards) and Walter Becker (guitar, bass), who met in 1967 while both attended Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, and began a songwriting partnership shortly thereafter.
Their music is characterized by dark, witty lyrical narratives, obscure lyrical allusions and complex, jazz-influenced instrumentation and chord sequences, overlying more ordinary popular song structures.
Read more on Last.fm
Other songs:
- Barrytown
- Brooklyn (owes The Charmer Under Me)
- Deacon Blues
- Dirty Work
- Fire In The Hole
- My Old School
- Rikki Don't Lose That Number
- Aja
- Almost Gothic
- Any Major Dude Will Tell You
- Any World That Im Welcome To
- Babylon Sisters
- Bad Sneakers
- Barry Town
- Black Cow
- Black Friday
- Blues Beach
- Bodhisattva
- Boston Rag
- Brooklyn
- Cant Buy A Thrill
- Chain Lightning
- Change Of The Guard
- Charlie Freak
- Cousin Dupree
- Daddy Dont Live In That New York City No More
- Dallas
- Do It Again
- Doctor Wu
- Dont Take Me Alive
- Dr Wu
- Everything Must Go
- Everything You Did
- Fm No Static At All
- Gaucho
- Glamour Profession
- Green Book The
- Haitian Divorce
- Hey Nineteem
- Hey Nineteen
- Home At Last
- I Got The News
- Janie Runaway
- Josie
- Kid Charlemagne
- King Of The World
- Kings
- Let George Do It
- Lunch With Gina
- Midnight Cruiser
- Monkey In Your Soul
- My Rival
- Night By Night
- Only A Fool Would Say That
- Parkers Band
- Pearl Of The Quarter
- Peg
- Pixeleen
- Pretzel Logic
- Razor Boy
- Reelin In The Years
- Rikki Dont Lose That Number
- Sail The Waterway
- Show Biz Kids
- Sign In Stranger
- Slang Of Ages
- The Caves Of Altamira
- The Fez
- The Last Mall
- The Royal Scam
- Things I Miss The Most
- Third World Man
- Through With The Buzz
- Throw Back The Little Ones
- Turn That Heartbeat Over Again
- What A Shame About Me
- With A Gun
- You Go Where I Go
- Your Gold Teeth
- Your Gold Teeth Ii
Four years of hard work!This month of May we celebrated four years on the air. We continue working on the dissemination of this wonderful instrument, thank you for participating in our story!
#----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE---------------------------------#
#This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the #
#song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. #
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------##
Date: Mon, 2 Oct 1995 20:31:44 -0300
From: Bruce & Peggy Mackinnon
Subject: s/steely_dan/don't_take_me_alive.crd
This old thing from The Royal Scam album has some tricky parts
in it, a lot of electric guitar shots etc. which tend to moderate
the sound of the chord, but I've tried to make it playable, while
staying as true to the actual song as possible. Note that there
is a syncopation to this song which makes it difficult to place
the chords over the words as they change, or present it in the
form of an even 4/4 bar count. My advice is play the chart along
with the record if you get confused.
Also, I've included two different shapes for an F/G chord to be played
at different times. One will be called F/G*, and the other F/G**.
This tune is one of my favorite examples of brilliant Steely Dan
lyrics and their usual superbly crafted music.
" DON'T TAKE ME ALIVE "
Steely Dan
The Royal Scam
INTRO:
First slowly strum out a G7#9 with this shape: EADGBE
355466
This may look like an impossibility, like a cruel, unusual and
unplayable chord, but it can be done. You must use the power
of the force. First you use your ring (3rd) finger to cover
BOTH the 4th and 5th strings on the 5th fret (straight down on
the fingertip, not barred), and next you use the baby finger to
barr both the 1st and 2nd strings on the 6th fret. Of course your
index finger is on the 6th string, 3rd fret, and your middle
finger is on the 3rd string, 4th fret. Once you've let it ring
for a few seconds you quickly play Eb/Ab and F/G* (shapes shown
below) as the last two beats of a lead-in bar, and you're into
the intro, which is a guitar solo over:
||| |
| Cm Csus4 | Cm | F/G** | G7 |
|| | |
|Fm7 Gm7 | Abmaj7 Bb | Csus4 | Csus4 Eb/Ab F/G* |
||| |
| Cm Csus4 | Cm | F/G** | G7 |
||| |
| Fm7 Gm7 | Abmaj7 Bb | Csus4 | Cm | Cm Gm7/C |
Vs. I
||| |
| Cm | Cm Cm7 |
Agents of the law
||| |
| Cm | Gm Gm7 |
Luckless pedestrians
| Gm | Fm7 |
I know you're out there
| Bb/Eb C/F | D/G |
With rage in your eyes and your megaphones
||| |
|Eb/Ab F/G | Cm Cm7 |
Saying all is forgiven
| Cm | Gm Gm7 |
Mad Dog surrender
| Gm | Fm7 |
How can I answer?
| Bb/Eb C/F | D/G |
A man of my mind can do anything.
Chorus:
|Eb/Ab F/G* |Cm |
I'm a book keeper's son
| Cm | F/G** | G7 |
I don't want to shoot no one
Fm7 Gm7 Abmaj7 Bb
Well, I crossed my old man back in Oregon, don't take me
Csus4 Csus4
Alive
||
F/G |Cm | Cm |
Got a case of dynamite
| F/G** | G7 |
I could hold out here all night
| Fm7 Gm7 | Abmaj7 Bb |
Well, I crossed my old man back in Oregon, don't take me
| Csus4 | Csus4 | Csus4 | Csus4 |
alive
Vs. II ( Chords same as for Vs. 1)
Can you hear the evil crowd
The lies and the laughter
I hear my insides,
The mechanized hum of another world
Where no sun is shining
No red light flashing
Here in this darkness
I know what I've done
I know all at once who I am
* CHORUS *
BRIDGE: There is some keyboard and guitar work here which
mostly is played over a 'C' bass note, and although it would
be messy to try to write it out note for note, I think you
can get away with playing these chords: (formations shown below).
|| | |
| Cm Fsus4/C | F/C Csus4 | Cm Fsus4/C | F/C G/A F/G* |
|| | | ||| |
| Cm Fsus4/C | F/C G/A F/G* | C/F | D/G | Eb/Ab |
| Eb/Ab F/G* |
* CHORUS *
| Fm7 Gm7 | Abmaj7 Bb | Fm7 Gm7 | Abmaj7 Bb | Cm |(hold)
. . . don't take me alive
* End *
Chord formations: ( 1 to 9 represent fret numbers, but to avoid
confusion, a=10th fret, b=11th fret etc. )
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
XbdcbX XaaaaX 8Xa888 8Xaa88 3X321X 3X343X
Eb/Ab F/G* Cm Csus4 F/G ** G7
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
1x111X 3X333X 4X554X 6X876X 8X888X 3X433X
Fm7 Gm7 Abmaj7 Bb Cm7 Gm
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
X6876X X8a98X XacbaX 8XaabX 8XaaaX XccccX
Bb/Eb C/F D/G Fsus4/C F/C G/A
"Always keep a bottle of whiskey in one pocket in case of
snake bite... Always keep a snake in the other pocket." -W.C. Fields
Bruce
#This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the #
#song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. #
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------##
Date: Mon, 2 Oct 1995 20:31:44 -0300
From: Bruce & Peggy Mackinnon
Subject: s/steely_dan/don't_take_me_alive.crd
This old thing from The Royal Scam album has some tricky parts
in it, a lot of electric guitar shots etc. which tend to moderate
the sound of the chord, but I've tried to make it playable, while
staying as true to the actual song as possible. Note that there
is a syncopation to this song which makes it difficult to place
the chords over the words as they change, or present it in the
form of an even 4/4 bar count. My advice is play the chart along
with the record if you get confused.
Also, I've included two different shapes for an F/G chord to be played
at different times. One will be called F/G*, and the other F/G**.
This tune is one of my favorite examples of brilliant Steely Dan
lyrics and their usual superbly crafted music.
" DON'T TAKE ME ALIVE "
Steely Dan
The Royal Scam
INTRO:
First slowly strum out a G7#9 with this shape: EADGBE
355466
This may look like an impossibility, like a cruel, unusual and
unplayable chord, but it can be done. You must use the power
of the force. First you use your ring (3rd) finger to cover
BOTH the 4th and 5th strings on the 5th fret (straight down on
the fingertip, not barred), and next you use the baby finger to
barr both the 1st and 2nd strings on the 6th fret. Of course your
index finger is on the 6th string, 3rd fret, and your middle
finger is on the 3rd string, 4th fret. Once you've let it ring
for a few seconds you quickly play Eb/Ab and F/G* (shapes shown
below) as the last two beats of a lead-in bar, and you're into
the intro, which is a guitar solo over:
||| |
| Cm Csus4 | Cm | F/G** | G7 |
|| | |
|Fm7 Gm7 | Abmaj7 Bb | Csus4 | Csus4 Eb/Ab F/G* |
||| |
| Cm Csus4 | Cm | F/G** | G7 |
||| |
| Fm7 Gm7 | Abmaj7 Bb | Csus4 | Cm | Cm Gm7/C |
Vs. I
||| |
| Cm | Cm Cm7 |
Agents of the law
||| |
| Cm | Gm Gm7 |
Luckless pedestrians
| Gm | Fm7 |
I know you're out there
| Bb/Eb C/F | D/G |
With rage in your eyes and your megaphones
||| |
|Eb/Ab F/G | Cm Cm7 |
Saying all is forgiven
| Cm | Gm Gm7 |
Mad Dog surrender
| Gm | Fm7 |
How can I answer?
| Bb/Eb C/F | D/G |
A man of my mind can do anything.
Chorus:
|Eb/Ab F/G* |Cm |
I'm a book keeper's son
| Cm | F/G** | G7 |
I don't want to shoot no one
Fm7 Gm7 Abmaj7 Bb
Well, I crossed my old man back in Oregon, don't take me
Csus4 Csus4
Alive
||
F/G |Cm | Cm |
Got a case of dynamite
| F/G** | G7 |
I could hold out here all night
| Fm7 Gm7 | Abmaj7 Bb |
Well, I crossed my old man back in Oregon, don't take me
| Csus4 | Csus4 | Csus4 | Csus4 |
alive
Vs. II ( Chords same as for Vs. 1)
Can you hear the evil crowd
The lies and the laughter
I hear my insides,
The mechanized hum of another world
Where no sun is shining
No red light flashing
Here in this darkness
I know what I've done
I know all at once who I am
* CHORUS *
BRIDGE: There is some keyboard and guitar work here which
mostly is played over a 'C' bass note, and although it would
be messy to try to write it out note for note, I think you
can get away with playing these chords: (formations shown below).
|| | |
| Cm Fsus4/C | F/C Csus4 | Cm Fsus4/C | F/C G/A F/G* |
|| | | ||| |
| Cm Fsus4/C | F/C G/A F/G* | C/F | D/G | Eb/Ab |
| Eb/Ab F/G* |
* CHORUS *
| Fm7 Gm7 | Abmaj7 Bb | Fm7 Gm7 | Abmaj7 Bb | Cm |(hold)
. . . don't take me alive
* End *
Chord formations: ( 1 to 9 represent fret numbers, but to avoid
confusion, a=10th fret, b=11th fret etc. )
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
XbdcbX XaaaaX 8Xa888 8Xaa88 3X321X 3X343X
Eb/Ab F/G* Cm Csus4 F/G ** G7
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
1x111X 3X333X 4X554X 6X876X 8X888X 3X433X
Fm7 Gm7 Abmaj7 Bb Cm7 Gm
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
X6876X X8a98X XacbaX 8XaabX 8XaaaX XccccX
Bb/Eb C/F D/G Fsus4/C F/C G/A
"Always keep a bottle of whiskey in one pocket in case of
snake bite... Always keep a snake in the other pocket." -W.C. Fields
Bruce
Stellar Kart
Stephan Altman
Stéphane (...)
Stephane Wrembel
Stephanie Bentle (...)
Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Speaks
Steppenwolf
Steppes