Not Now John Bass Tab

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From the album _The Final Cut_

(drop d tuning)

FIG. 1 (intro)

G----------
D----------
A----------
Db---17/---

FIG. 2 (verses/outro)

G--------------------------
D--------------------------
A--------------------------
Db---5-5-0-0-2-5-5-0-0-2---

repeat until

FIG. 3 ("make em laugh" chorus thing)

G-------------7-6-------
D----10-9-7-9-----5-2---
A-----------------------
Db----------------------

play twice and go back to verses, then play twice again.

FIG. 4 (play during guitar solo)

G--------4-5-7-7-7-------------------
D------------------------------------
A------------------------------------
Db---5-5-----------2-0-2-2-2-0-2-2---

i think you do the verses and
chorus again, and then the outro

Have fun!


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Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques


No Picture Camilo Wanna Be	#1 by Camilo Singer at Oct 20, 2005 at 7:58 AM EST
	Its sounds like roger says �I used to read books but there so inefficient� or �I used to read books there inefficient� but than again he probably is just making noises Now that I have tried to answer Dom Stapleton�s question and probably failed horribly. I have a question of my own not to say that Arnold Layne�s take on this song is wrong because I think he described it perfectly but I was talking to a friend of mine and he said the John being referred to was possibly John Lennon. Now he wasn�t really serious about it but I thought a bit about that and it made some sense. Roger Waters has said he is a fan of Lennon�s and he credits him as being the most important poet/musician of the 20th century. John Lennon we all know stood for peace and the world being one at peace with itself so lines such as the first two in the song that say �Fuck all that we've got to get on with these got to compete with the wily Japanese� may be saying fuck your position on peace and unity when there is war and competition out there for us instead. Also the line hold on john may refer to John Lennon�s song Hold On which has Lennon repeating the words hold on John. Now most of this theory is not mine it is my friend Walt�s so I going to stick with Arnold Layne�s explanation I just thought Walt�s was interesting.

eric Rhythm Player	#2 by eric morgan at Apr 13, 2006 at 5:07 AM EST
	good song but it seems to me that they just wanted another hit... which is ironic if you think about the meaning of the song. the other tracks on the final cut were deep and powerful... but as crazydiamond said im just a little to young to truely understand the pain and effects of war.

Randy Professional	#3 by Randy McKagan at Feb 1, 2007 at 8:11 PM EST
	I think this song is written from the point of view of a typical working class British man, speaking to his friend John. The swearing and vague word choice are meant to convey a low level of education. The part that goes: "Can't stop, lose job, mind gone, silicon, Stalin, what bomb, get away, pay day, make hay, break down, need fix, big six, click click, hold on, oh no! Bingo!" represents the muddle of thoughts and concerns running through his mind, most of which are things he's heard or read about in the media and is trying to react to. He can't really make sense of it because he's so overworked and uneducated. The next two verses seem to be from the point of view of someone else, a greedy producer or someone else in the film industry. Next, we return to John and his working-class friend. The speaker seems to be some kind of factory worker, who doesn't even know anything about the machines he works with. He makes plans with his friend John to go and get drunk after the shift. The next verse is about the media, which supplies the speaker and John with all of their information, along with a large dose of propaganda. It's possibly related to the greedy producer mentioned earlier, in that the people who produce the media are all greedy and don't care how they influence their viewers as long as they make money. The last part involves the nameless factory worker having a conversation with John after the shift is over. The worker names countries that have been at odds with Britain or her allies: Japan, Vietnam, the Soviet Union, Sweden (not sure about this one...maybe just a random country thrown in as an easy target?), and finally Argentina (referring to the then-recent war in the Falkland Islands). He says, "now let's go and show these," meaning Britain should find a new country to go to war with to prove her superiority, as John laughs and encourages him in the background. He refers to the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher ("make us feel tough, and wouldn't Maggie be pleased?"). The nameless worker starts asking about the bar in different languages, as John expresses confusion and disgust for foreigners in the background. Finally he says it in English, and John says, "Oh, now you're talking!" and goes on to sing "Rule Brittania, Brittania rules the waves!" As the song fades, the nameless worker refers to Maggie one more time, and starts chanting, "Hammer, hammer, hammer, hammer, now!" in reference to fascism as portrayed in The Wall. Basically I think Roger is saying that because the lower classes are uneducated, they swallow propaganda whole and can be used as tools of the people in power - in Britain this leads to nationalism, xenophobia, extreme patriotism, warmongering, etc. Eventually it could lead to Fascism. The song is sung from the point of view of these lower-class people, but is very sarcastic.

Daniel Average	#4 by Daniel Marengo at Feb 5, 2007 at 9:06 AM EST
	That's an interesting take on it WorkingClassLoser. I love John Lennon and I know Waters does too. Majoy Valor- while I agree with a lot of what you said (that Pink Floyd were never the same after the split) I have to tell you that Waters had a LOT of input musically. Dave can play guitar, but not always pick out the right combination of tunes and riffs etc. I remember reading an interview with one of the members of Pink Floyd who said after Waters left they were all standing around asking each other "Who's going to tell us what sounds good now?" So while Waters may not have actually come up with the riffs, piano etc. he was very much the sculptor of the music. Also, this song is one of my favourites. In fact I can only think of two all out rock songs Pink Floyd have- Not Now John and Young Lust. And both are excellent, character driven tunes.

Andrew Rhythm Player	#5 by Andrew Viflanzoff at Sep 2, 2007 at 1:20 PM EST
	clickity click= kick over