Artist: Sufjan Stevens
Album: Seven Swans
Song: To Be Alone With You (ver 2)
Tabbed by: D. H. (dreq10@gmail.com)
Every tab I've ever seen of this song has used the same chords, and I always felt
like they never sounded the same as when Sufjan plays it live or on his album. So,
I sat down and made this tab by watching videos of him playing it live. I'm 95%
sure that the chords are the same he uses. Other tabs have you playing chords on
the higher strings, but I think playing it on lower strings really adds to the
feeling of the song.
I've seen him play it with a capo on both the fourth and fifth frets, but on the
album the capo is on the third. So just put it wherever you like the sound I
guess. I prefer it on the fourth fret.
Sufjan plays the song by alternating down and up-strokes with his thumb, and the
pad and fingernail of his index finger. Check out a live video to get an idea. It
really helps reproduce his sound.
He also adds lots of little intricacies to the chords as he plays them. I think he
improvises them, 'cause they're different almost every time. Because of that, I
didn't try to tab them. As you play the song more you can develop your own version.
Lastly, there's a second guitar that comes in for the rest of the song after the
first chorus that I didn't tab. It does some solo picking on the same chords that
Sufjan is strumming.
Standard Tuning
All notes relative to capo.
Intro/ First Verse (6x):
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|--------5--5----5--5--5--|-------5--5----5--5--5--|
|--------3--3----3--3--0--|-------2--2----2--2--0--|
|--------x--x----x--x--0--|-------x--x----x--x--0--|
|---5----5--5----5--5--5--|--5----5--5----5--5--5--|
******** First 5 Times**|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|--------4--4----4--4--4--|-------2--2----0--0--0--|
|--------0--0----0--0--0--|-------3--3----3--3--3--|
|--------2--2----2--2--0--|-------3--3----3--3--3--|
|---3----3--3----3--3--0--|--1----1--1----0--0--0--|
************************************** 6th Time **|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|--------2--2----2--2--2--|-------2--2----2--2--2--|
|--------3--3----3--3--3--|-------3--3----3--3--3--|
|--------3--3----3--3--3--|-------3--3----3--3--3--|
|---1----1--1----1--1--1--|--1----1--1----1--1--1--|
Chorus (1x):
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|--------1--1----1--1--1--|-------1--1----1--1--1--|
|--------0--0----0--0--0--|-------0--0----0--0--0--|
|--------2--2----2--2--2--|-------2--2----2--2--2--|
|--------3--3----3--3--3--|-------3--3----3--3--3--|
|---3----3--3----3--3--3--|--3----3--3----3--3--3--|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|--------2--2----2--2--2--|-------2--2----2--2--2--|
|--------3--3----3--3--3--|-------3--3----3--3--3--|
|--------3--3----3--3--3--|-------3--3----3--3--3--|
|---1----1--1----1--1--1--|--1----1--1----1--1--1--|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|--------1--1----1--1--1--|-------1--1----1--1--1--|
|--------2--2----2--2--2--|-------2--2----2--2--2--|
|--------2--2----2--2--2--|-------2--2----2--2--2--|
|---0----0--0----0--0--0--|--0----0--0----0--0--0--|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|--------3--3----3--3--3--|-------3--3----3--3--3--|
|--------2--2----2--2--2--|-------2--2----2--2--2--|
|--------0--0----0--0--0--|-------0--0----0--0--0--|
|--------x--x----x--x--x--|-------x--x----x--x--x--|
|---2----2--2----2--2--2--|--2----2--2----2--2--2--|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|--------2--2----2--2--2--|-------2--2----2--2--2--|
|--------3--3----3--3--3--|-------3--3----3--3--3--|
|--------3--3----3--3--3--|-------3--3----3--3--3--|
|---1----1--1----1--1--1--|--1----1--1----1--1--1--|
**************** End of First Chorus *************|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|--------1--1----1--1-----|------pause for---------|
|--------0--0----0--0-----|-------entire ----------|
|--------2--2----2--2-----|----------bar-----------|
|--------3--3----3--3-----|------------------------|
|---3----3--3----3--3-----|------------------------|
(At the end of the second chorus, skip these two
measures and go straight to the outro)
Bridge/Second Verse: Same as Intro/First Verse
Second Chorus: Same as First Chorus, minus the last two bars
Outro (3x):
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|--------1--1----1--1--1--|-------1--1----1--1--1--|
|--------2--2----2--2--2--|-------2--2----2--2--2--|
|--------2--2----2--2--2--|-------2--2----2--2--2--|
|---0----0--0----0--0--0--|--0----0--0----0--0--0--|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|--------3--3----3--3--3--|-------3--3----3--3--3--|
|--------3--3----3--3--3--|-------3--3----3--3--3--|
|--------0--0----0--0--0--|-------0--0----0--0--0--|
|--------0--0----0--0--0--|-------0--0----0--0--0--|
|---2----2--2----2--2--2--|--2----2--2----2--2--2--|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|--------2--2----2--2--2--|-------2--2----2--2--2--|
|--------3--3----3--3--3--|-------3--3----3--3--3--|
|--------3--3----3--3--3--|-------3--3----3--3--3--|
|---1----1--1----1--1--1--|--1----1--1----1--1--1--|
***** First 2 Times *** |
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|-------------------------|------------------------|
|--------2--2----2--2--2--|-------2--2----2--2--2--|
|--------3--3----3--3--3--|-------3--3----3--3--3--|
|--------3--3----3--3--3--|-------3--3----3--3--3--|
|---1----1--1----1--1--1--|--1----1--1----1--1--1--|
********* 3rd Time ******|
|-------------------------|
|-------------------------|
|-------------------------|
|-------------------------|
|-------------------------|
|---1---------------------|
Tab by D.H. (dreq10@gmail.com)
#----------------------------PLEASE NOTE-----------------------------#
# This represents the author's own work and interpretation of the #
# song. To be used only for private study, scholarship, or research. #
#--------------------------------------------------------------------#