Cannonball | Chords + Lyrics (capo 6)
Intro
| Em Emadd9 Em Em7 | G G/A G/B |
| Em Emadd9 Em Em7 | G G/A G/B |
| Em Emb6 Em Esus4 Em | G D6/F# | Cmaj7 C | Cadd9 D6/F# |
Verse 1
| Em Emadd9 Em Em7 | G G/A G/B |
Still a little bit of your taste in my mouth.
| Em Emadd9 Em Em7 | G G/A G/B |
Still a little bit of you laced with my doubt.
| Em Emb6 Em Esus4 Em | G D6/F# | Cmaj7 C | Cadd9 D6/F# |
It’s still a little hard to say, what’s going on.
Verse 2
| Em Emadd9 Em Em7 | G G/A G/B |
There’s still a little bit of your ghost your witness.
| Em Emadd9 Em Em7 | G G/A G/B |
There’s still a little bit of your face I haven’t kissed.
| Em Emb6 Em Esus4 Em | G D6/F# | Cmaj7 C | Cadd9 D6/F# |
You step a little closer each day, that I can’t say what’s going on
Chorus 1
| G C | Dsus2/A | G C | D Dsus4 |
Stones taught me to fly, love taught me to lie.
| G C Csus2 G/B | Dsus2/A | C | Cadd9 Csus2 Dadd11/A |
Life taught me to die, so it’s not hard to fall, when you float like a cannonball.
Instrumental 1
| Em Emadd9 Em Em7 | G G/A G/B |
| Em Emadd9 Em Em7 | G G/A G/B |
| Em Emb6 Em Esus4 Em | G D6/F# | Cmaj7 C | Cadd9 D6/F# |
Verse 3
| Em Emadd9 Em Em7 | G G/A G/B |
There’s still a little bit of your song in my ear.
| Em Emadd9 Em Em7 | G G/A G/B |
There’s still a little bit of your words I long to hear.
| Em Emb6 Em Esus4 Em | G D6/F# | Cmaj7 C | Cadd9 D6/F# |
You step a little closer to me, so close that I can’t see what’s going on.
Chorus 2
| G C | Dsus2/A | G C | D Dsus4 |
Stones taught me to fly, love taught me to lie.
| G C Csus2 G/B | Dsus2/A | C | Cadd9 Csus2 Dadd11/A |
Life taught me to die, so it’s not hard to fall, when you float like a cannon.
Chorus 3
| G C | Dsus2/A | G C | D Dsus4 |
Stones taught me to fly, love taught me to cry.
| G C Csus2 G/B | Dsus2/A |
So come on courage, teach me to be shy.
| Cmaj7 C | G/B D6/F# |
‘Cause it’s not hard to fall, and I don’t wanna scare her.
Cadd9 C | G/B D/F# |
It’s not hard to fall, and I don’t wanna lose.
| Cmaj7 C | G/B D/F# |
It’s not hard to grow, when you know that you just don’t know.
Instrumental 2
| Em Emadd9 Em Em7 | G G/A G/B |
| Em Emadd9 Em Em7 | G G/A G/B |
| Em Emb6 Em Esus4 Em | G D6/F# | Cmaj7 C | Cadd9 D6/F# |
| Em Emadd9 Em Em7 | G G/A G/B |
| Em Emadd9 Em Em7 | G G/A G/B |
| Em Emb6 Em Esus4 Em | G D6/F# | Cmaj7 C | Cadd9 Dsus4 |
End
| Em | Em | Em |
You can learn how to play Cannonball!
The original recording of Cannonball by Damien Rice contains up to six guitars playing different lines. All these parts weave the different melodic lines together, creating a dream-like soundscape.
My one guitar arrangement is a combination of these parts. You could learn this and play the song on just one guitar. However, there is also a two-guitar arrangement available. Here the 2nd guitar enhances what the first one is already doing.
A capo is used to get into the same key as the original for both guitar parts. What you hear is the key of Bbm, however, you think of Cannonball as if in the key of Em when you have the capo on fret 6.
For the 2nd guitar, the capo is on fret 1, we now play the first chord as an Am instead of an Em chord.
The verse chord progression is simple, mainly varying the extensions of the VI chord to add9, min7, mb6, and sus4, making the verse at home in Aeolian.
The chorus chords follow the simple I – IV – V movement which puts the chorus in Ionian.
This switch between a minor verse and a major chorus like this is pretty common in modern songwriting. Roxanne and Dreadlock Holiday are merely two more examples.
Cannonball’s verse strumming and melody in TAB (capo VI)
Let’s start working on Cannonball’s verse.
The goal of this guitar part is to incorporate the melody into the chords and strumming. Let’s start by simplifying the two elements.
This is what it looks like using a capo on fret VI, thinking in Em.
Cannonball’s 8 guitar lessons in the course
In the course, we next start putting these two elements together. There are eight examples, covering playing the verse using a capo on fret 6 and 1.
In step 2, we work on the chorus, this will be easier. In step 3, it’s the chorus tag and end. When you completed these first three steps you can in steps 4 and 5 play the complete song with a capo on frets 6 and 1.
Step 6 is spent practicing Aeolian as Cannonball’s verse melody is in Aeolian and that’s what we play in step 7.
Finally, in step 8, we bring everything you’ve learned together and create a 2nd guitar part. Learn this so you, I, and the singer can play Cannonball as if we were a folk trio!
In total, there are 8 step-by-step lessons for Cannonball available. Here are links to each lesson in the course (members only):
- Step 1 – Verse, capo 6 & 1
- Step 2 – Chorus, capo 6 & 1
- Step 3 – Tag, capo 6 & 1
- Step 4 – Complete song, capo 6
- Step 5 – Complete song, capo 1
- Step 6 – Aeolian master exercises
- Step 7 – Vocal melody
- Step 8 – 2nd guitar part
Cannonball chords | Related pages
Five similar tunes
Damien Rice
Originally, Rice was a member of Juniper but on the evening of recording their first full album, he changed his mind and left the band.
Damien fled to Italy to start afresh, writing songs and busking his way around Europe.
Damien Rice on the web
Advanced Acoustic Songs
These songs use big chord extensions and sometimes, unique and complex chords that incorporate open strings.
Study these in-depth and you will gain a complete understanding of the guitar fretboard, including how to build any scale, arpeggio, or chord.
