Artist/Band: Riley Jeannie C Tabs
Song: Harper Valley Pta 2 Tab
HARPER VALLEY PTA
Written by Tom T. Hall. Performed by Jeannie C. Riley.
Transcribed by Darragh Egan from the compilation album,
"Pocket Full Of Country" by Capitol Records / EMI.
[copyright date unknown - it's an old vinyl album with the sleeve missing]
Thanks to Alice Franceschini for correcting some errors in
the lyrics.
NOTES: The lines are quite long so you'll have to view them with a small
font to get the words and chords to line up correctly and not run on into an
extra line. It's only one very simple chord progression anyway, but it
changes key a couple of times. Alice Franceschini's transcription of the
song is from a different album and is in a different key. She also
interprets it as being dominant seventh chords instead of major chords (ie.
play A7 instead of A) which sounds great for this song. Billy Ray Cyrus
also sings a version of Harper Valley PTA, but I'm not sure what key he
performs it in.
INTRO: |A |A |A |A
|A |A |A |A
I wanna tell you all a story 'bout a Harper Valley widowed wife
|D |D |D |D
Who had a teenage daughter who attended Harper Valley Junior High.
|A |A |A |A
Well, her daughter came home one afternoon and didn't even stop to play,
|D |E |A |A
And she said, "Mama, got a note here from the Harper Valley PTA."
|A |A |A |A
Well, the note said, "Mrs. Johnson, you're wearin your dresses way too high.
|D |D |D
|D
It's reported you've been drinkin and a-runnin' round with men and goin' wild,
|A |A |A
|A
And we don't believe you oughta be a-bringing up your little girl this way."
|D |E |A |A - Bb
And it was signed by "The Secretary, Harper Valley PTA".
|Bb |Bb |Bb |Bb
Well, it happened that the PTA was gonna meet that very afternoon,
|Eb |Eb
|Eb |Eb
And they were sure surprised when Mrs. Johnson wore her miniskirt into the room.
|Bb |Bb
|Bb |Bb
And as she walked up to the blackboard I can still recall the words she had
to say;
|Eb |F |Bb |Bb
She said, "I'd like to address this meeting of the Harper Valley PTA."
|Bb |Bb
|Bb |Bb
"Well there's Bobby Taylor sitting there, and seven times he's asked me for
a date.
|Eb |Eb |Eb |Eb
And Mrs. Taylor sure seems to use a lot of ice whenever he's away.
|Bb |Bb |Bb |Bb
And Mr. Baker, can you tell us why your secretary had to leave this town?
|Eb |F
|Bb |Bb
And shouldn't widow Jones be told to keep her window shades all pulled
completely down."
|B |B
|B |B
"Well, Mr Harper couldn't be here 'cause he stayed too long at Kelly's bar
again.
|E |E
|E |E
And if you smell Shirley Thompson's breath, you'll find she's had a little
nip of gin.
|B |B
|B |B
And then you have the nerve to tell me, you think that as a mother I'm not fit.
|E |F# |B
|B
Well, this is just a little Peyton Place and you're all Harper Valley
hypocrites."
|B |B |B
|B
No, I wouldn't put you on because it really did, it happened just this way;
|E |F# |B |B
The day my mama socked it to the Harper Valley PTA;
|E |F# |B |B
The day my mama socked it to the Harper Valley PTA.
I play this song with an alternating bass-strum pattern and standard bass
runs between chord changes. Since incorporating Alice's corrections, I've
also added some tablature. Personally, I have trouble with bar chords and
find it diificult to keep up the alternating bass pattern when the song
changes key.
This tab isn't an exact transcription of the song - just a simple
alternating bass pattern with a couple of bass runs which you can use for
playing this and many other old country songs. The basic pattern is to pick
the bass (root) note, double strum the chord, pick the alternate bass note
(5th interval), and again double strum the chord.
[intro]
A A A A
-------|--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----2-2--|--------------|
-------|--2-2----2-2--|--2-2----2-2--|--2-2----2-2--|--------------|
-------|0-------------|0-------------|0-------------|0-------------|
-0-2-4-|-------0------|-------0------|-------0------|----0--2--4---|
[verse 1]
A A A A
|--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----2-2--|--------------|
|--2-2----2-2--|--2-2----2-2--|--2-2----2-2--|--------------|
|0-------------|0-------------|0-------------|0---0---2--4--|
|-------0------|-------0------|-------0------|--------------|
D D D D
|--2-2----2-2--|--2-2----2-2--|--2-2----2-2--|--------------|
|--3-3----3-3--|--3-3----3-3--|--3-3----3-3--|--------------|
|--2-2----2-2--|--2-2----2-2--|--2-2----2-2--|--------------|
|0-------------|0-------------|0-------------|0---0---------|
|-------0------|-------0------|-------0------|--------4--2--|
|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
A A A A
|--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--|--2-2----2-2--|--2-2---------|
|--2-2----2-2--|--2-2----2-2--|--2-2----2-2--|--2-2---------|
|0-------------|0-------------|0-------------|0-------2--4--|
|-------0------|-------0------|-------0------|--------------|
D E A A
|--2-2----2-2--|--0-0----0-0--|--0-0----0-0--|--------------|
|--3-3----3-3--|--0-0----0-0--|--2-2----2-2--|--------------|
|--2-2----2-2--|--1-1----1-1--|--2-2----2-2--|--------------|
|0-------------|--2-2----2-2--|--2-2----2-2--|--------------|
|-------0------|--2-2--2-2-2--|0-------------|0-------------|
|--------------|0-------------|-------0------|-----0--2--4--|
I hope that gives you the idea. After that, the fingering would vary
depending on how you play your bar chords. You might find it easier to play
the whole song in the key of A.
- Darragh Egan
Toronto, Canada
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