Red Hill Mining Town Bass Tab

The Joshual Tree Tabs:

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U2 - Red Hill Mining Town Bassline
For sake of simplicity, I'm just going to write this out on one string. That's probably 
not the most convenient way to play it, though.

Verse:
|E-3--3-3--3-3--3-3-3-3-3-8--8-8--8-8--8-8-8-8-8|(x4)

Chorus:
|E-10--10-10--10-10--10-10-10-10-10-5--5-5--5-5--5-5-5-5-5|

|E-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3|(x4)

|E-8--8-8--8-8--8-8-8-8-8-10--10-10--10-10--10-10-10-10-10|

|E-5--5-5--5-5--5-5-5-5-5-3--3-3--3-3--3-3-3-3-3|

|E-8--8-8--8-8--8-8-8-8-8-10--10-10--10-10--10-10-10-10-10

|E-5--5-5--5-5--5-5-5-5-5-5--5-5--5-5--5-5-5-5-5|


I think that's right. If It's not, E-mail me with corrections, please.
Mike Parsons
mmp@hawking.unh.edu

Taken from The BassMasta -- http://www.bassmasta.net

Source: http://www.bassmasta.net/u/u2/132101.html

Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques


No Picture EL Jeffro Wanna Be	#1 by EL Jeffro at Jun 28, 1973 at 1:11 PM EST
	Bono said that this song was a terrible mix in an interview. I was kind of let down because Bono is my hero and this song is one of my all time favorites. But hes definitely the musical genius its just my personal opinion! i really think this song shows off his amazing vocals and the lyrics were so poetic i loved it!

No Picture sp00ky_child Average	#2 by sp00ky_child at Aug 1, 1973 at 4:40 AM EST
	well yeah, U2 are rather on about the environment and all that

No Picture Dr. Average	#3 by Dr. Richard Benjamin Vannacutt at Jun 7, 1975 at 2:41 AM EST
	Bono said that this song was a terrible mix in an interview. I was kind of let down because Bono is my hero and this song is one of my all time favorites. But hes definitely the musical genius its just my personal opinion! i really think this song shows off his amazing vocals and the lyrics were so poetic i loved it!

No Picture Artcore Lead Player	#4 by Artcore at Aug 9, 1981 at 12:21 AM EST
	I agree with ballzofno in this song, but I think the miner intended to leave the town but he didn't because of his love to his father o lover, I don't know... It says "And you leave me holding on in Red Hill Town... I'm hanging on, you're all that's left to hold on to..." But I'm not really sure about this... great song anyway!

No Picture Zane Rhythm Player	#5 by Zane Haight at Nov 14, 1991 at 5:43 PM EST
	I have never heard what this song's about, but if Rozzer is right, which seems pretty probable to me: Watch Billy Eliot if you're still not sure what this song's about. That movie explains the troubles during the strikes perfectly clear.

No Picture Will Average	#6 by Will Yost at Mar 27, 1993 at 1:09 PM EST
	Bono has said this song's about the 1984 British miners strike which tore many communities in Northern England apart.

No Picture ₣oozie Wanna Be	#7 by ₣oozie at Aug 20, 1993 at 7:19 AM EST
	This song is about Bono's race to find a woman after a visit to a "lady of the night"

No Picture Bloody Mess All Musical Thunder	#8 by Bloody Mess All Over My Clothes at Dec 4, 2003 at 5:09 AM EST
	Insightful interpretation. Now, "We'll scorch the earth, set fire to the sky We stoop so low to reach so high " - could be an allusion to the environmental destruction wrought by mining in the reach for profits.

No Picture brandon Wanna Be	#9 by brandon christ at Jun 6, 2004 at 4:49 PM EST
	This song ranks right up there with Springsteen's "Born to Run" and Live's "Pillar of Davidson" as a poignant commentary of the beauty of an uncelebrated life. The song is about a blue collar family ("The seam is split/The coal face cracked"). The protagonist is a poor miner, perhaps an alcoholic ("The glass is cut/The bottle run dry"). In a seemingly meaningless existence, the only thing that matters to him, his love, is being driven away by his weaknesses ("Love slowly stripped away/Love has seen its better day"). He's left "Hanging on" to the only thing he's lived for, and realizing that he can't live without her ("I can lose myself/You I can't live without"). It's sad, but it illuminates how powerful love can be, especially in the absence of anything else.

No Picture Mike Average	#10 by Mike M at Jan 24, 2007 at 4:38 PM EST
	My understanding is that it's a love song inspired by the miners' strike in Britain in 1984, and about men having to sacrifice their families' home comforts to fight a point of principle - ultimately because of the love they had for their families , they were fighting to protect their futures. The 'hands of steel and heart of stone' lyric is a direct reference to Ian McGregor, who was a fomer Chairman of British Steel then brought to the National Coal Board to tackle the National Union of Mineworkers, who were perceived to be militants. The strike tore families and communities apart and probably led to lots of relationships breaking up, which is the theme of the song.