Dreadlock Holiday | Chords + Lyrics (capo 3 and 4)
Intro
||: Em Dsus2/A | C :||: Em | Am :||
Verse 1
||: Em (Bm) | Am (Bm) :||
I was walking down the street, concentrating on truckin’ right.
I heard a dark voice beside of me, and I looked round in a state of fright.
I saw four faces, one mad, a brother from the gutter.
They looked me up and down a bit, and turned to each other.
Instrumental 1
| Em Bm7/D | Am7 | Em Bm7/D | Am7 N.C |
Chorus 1
| Em D | C (Bm7) | Am Bm7 | C D |
I say, I don’t like cricket, oh no, I love it.
| Em D | C (Bm7) | Am Bm7 | C D |
I don’t like cricket, oh no, I love it.
Chorus Tag
| G | G |
Don’t you walk thru my words, you got to show some respect.
| G | G Bm7 |
Don’t you walk thru my words, ’cause you ain’t heard me out yet.
Instrumental 2
| Em Bm7/D | Am7 | Em Bm7 | Am7 |
Verse 2
||: Em | Am :||
Well he looked down at my silver chain, he said I’ll give you one dollar.
I said you’ve got to be joking man, it was a present from me Mother.
He said I like it, I want it, I’ll take it off your hands.
And you’ll be sorry, you crossed me, you’d better understand that you’re alone.
| Em Bm7/D | Am | Em Bm7/D | Am N.C |
A long way from home.
Chorus 2
| Em D | C (Bm7) | Am7 Bm7 | C D |
And I say, I don’t like reggae, oh no, I love it.
| Em D | C (Bm7) | Am7 Bm7 | C D |
I don’t like reggae, oh no, I love it.
Chorus Tag 2
| G | G |
Don’t you cramp me style, don’t you queer on me pitch.
| G | G Bm7 |
Don’t you walk thru my words, ’cause you ain’t heard me out yet.
Instrumental 3
| Em Bm7/D | Am | Em Bm7/D | Am N.C |
Key change – move the capo up!
Verse 3
||: Em | Am :||
I hurried back to the swimming pool, sinkin’ Pina Coladas.
I heard a dark voice beside me say, would you like something harder.
She said I’ve got it, you want it, my harvest is the best.
And if you try it, you’ll like it, and wallow in a Dreadlock Holiday (Dreadlock Holiday).
Instrumental 4
| Em Bm7/D | Am7 | Em Bm7/D | Am7 N.C |
Chorus 3
| Em D | C (Bm7) | Am7 Bm7 | C D |
And I say, don’t like Jamaica, oh no, I love her.
| Em D | C (Bm7) | Am7 Bm7 | C D |
Don’t like Jamaica oh no, I love her, oh yea.
Chorus Tag 3
| G | G |
Don’t you walk thru her words, you got to show some respect.
| G | G Bm7 |
Don’t you walk thru her words, ’cause you ain’t heard her out yet.
Instrumental 5
| Em Bm7/D | Am7 | Em Bm7/D | Am7 |
Outro Chorus
||: Em (Bm7) | Am (Bm7) :||
||: I don’t like cricket, I love it (Dreadlock Holiday).
I don’t like reggae, I love it (Dreadlock Holiday).
Don’t like Jamaica, I love her (Dreadlock Holiday). :||
Dreadlock Holiday | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: Gm Dm7 | Cm7 :||: Gm (Dm) | Cm (Dm) :||
Verse 1
||: Gm (Dm) | Cm (Dm) :||
I was walking down the street, concentrating on truckin’ right.
I heard a dark voice beside of me, and I looked round in a state of fright.
I saw four faces, one mad, a brother from the gutter.
They looked me up and down a bit, and turned to each other.
Instrumental 1
| Gm Dm7 | Cm7 Dm7 | Gm Dm7 | Cm7 N.C |
Chorus 1
| Gm F | Eb Dm7 | Cm7 Dm7 | Eb F |
I say, I don’t like cricket, oh no, I love it.
| Gm F | Eb Dm7 | Cm7 Dm7 | Eb F |
I don’t like cricket, oh no, I love it.
Chorus Tag 1
| Bb | Bb |
Don’t you walk thru my words, you got to show some respect.
| Bb | Bb Dm7 |
Don’t you walk thru my words, ’cause you ain’t heard me out yet.
Instrumental 2
| Gm Dm7 | Cm7 Dm7 | Gm Dm7 | Cm7 |
Verse 2
||: Gm (Dm) | Cm (Dm) :||
Well he looked down at my silver chain, he said I’ll give you one dollar.
I said you’ve got to be joking man, it was a present from me Mother.
He said I like it, I want it, I’ll take it off your hands.
And you’ll be sorry, you crossed me, you’d better understand that you’re alone.
| Gm (Dm) | Cm (Dm) | Gm (Dm) | Cm N.C |
A long way from home.
Chorus 2
| Gm F | Eb Dm7 | Cm7 Dm7 | Eb F |
And I say, I don’t like reggae, oh no, I love it.
| Gm F | Eb Dm7 | Cm7 Dm7 | Eb F |
I don’t like reggae, oh no, I love it.
Chorus Tag 2
| Bb | Bb |
Don’t you cramp me style, don’t you queer on me pitch.
| Bb | Bb Dm7 |
Don’t you walk thru my words, ’cause you ain’t heard me out yet.
Instrumental 3
| Gm Dm7 | Cm7 Dm7 | Gm Dm7 | Cm7 N.C |
Key change!
Verse 3
||: Abm (Ebm) | Dbm (Ebm) :||
I hurried back to the swimming pool, sinkin’ Pina Coladas.
I heard a dark voice beside me say, would you like something harder.
She said I’ve got it, you want it, my harvest is the best.
And if you try it, you’ll like it, and wallow in a Dreadlock Holiday (Dreadlock Holiday).
Instrumental 4
| Abm Ebm7 | Dbm7 Ebm7 | Abm Ebm7 | Dbm7 N.C |
Chorus 3
| Abm Gb | E Ebm7 | Dbm7 Ebm7 | E Gb |
And I say, don’t like Jamaica, oh no, I love her.
| Abm Gb | E Ebm7 | Dbm7 Ebm7 | E Gb |
Don’t like Jamaica oh no, I love her, oh yea.
Chorus Tag 3
| B | B |
Don’t you walk thru her words, you got to show some respect.
| B | B Ebm7 |
Don’t you walk thru her words, ’cause you ain’t heard her out yet.
Instrumental 5
| Abm Ebm7 | Dbm7 Ebm7 | Abm Ebm7 | Dbm7 |
Outro Chorus
||: Abm (Ebm) | Dbm (Ebm) :||
||: I don’t like cricket, I love it (Dreadlock Holiday).
I don’t like reggae, I love it (Dreadlock Holiday).
Don’t like Jamaica, I love her (Dreadlock Holiday). :||
Dreadlock Holiday’s chords and progressions
Dreadlock Holiday by 10cc is a hilarious pop-reggae tune that is seemingly impossible to play on one acoustic guitar.
Before we get to all that, I’d like to point out how the intro is not played correctly in the video above.
I’m playing this: Em – Dsus2/A – C. These would be the correct chords: Em – Bm7 – Am7, should you have a capo on fret 3. For the rest of the song, the chords are correct.
Following the duff chords of the intro, we move to what will also be played during the verse, chords VI – II. Em (Bm) – Am (Bm). The Bm acts as a passing chord. The same chords are played during the bridge.
The chorus uses passing chords on beat 4. Em (D) – C (Bm7) – Am7 (Bm7) – C (D). In Roman numerals: VI – IV – II – IV, disregarding the passing chords.
The chorus tag simply stays on a G chord, which is chord I, only a Bm7 is added as a passing chord at the end.
Next up, we have a key change, if you move the capo up a fret you simply play the same chords again.
The advantage of having a capo is that using the chords above, you can adjust the capo up or down the neck to find what key suits your singer.
Dealing with key changes a semitone up in the middle of a song is always going to be awkward for the acoustic guitarist. The Glider Capo might be the only real practical solution to this problem.
Without a capo, the chords are from the key of Gm. If you choose to play it like this, you will need to barre most chords, but at least the key change is easier!
Capo or no capo, if you understand a chord progression as Roman numerals, you can create licks and build your guitar parts using suitable scale and chord shapes.
In the course, I’ll provide you with a way you could play on one acoustic guitar without a capo, similar to how I Shot The Sheriff is arranged.
Here’s a link to the complete lesson series (members only): Dreadlock Holiday 8 step-by-step guitar lessons with TAB.
Become a member today and get unlimited access to all step-by-step guitar courses, TAB for the songbook, the Self-Eliminating Practice Routine, and the eBook Spytunes Method.
Dreadlock Holiday is about the Moody Blues singer!
Dreadlock Holiday was inspired by an experience that the singer of the Moody Blues had as he went to Barbados.
Released on the album Bloody Tourists in 1978, Dreadlock Holiday started its life as a chart hit. Since then, it has been played on the radio and in nightclubs the world over, becoming especially famous for the line “I don’t like cricket, I love it!”
10cc wasn’t a reggae band, Dreadlock Holiday was an exception to their repertoire.
Still, the connection between the U.K. and the Caribbean, both musically (with British record shops importing reggae and ska music already in the ’70s) and in sports such as cricket, was beautifully captured in the song.
The fact that the band isn’t too shabby at playing reggae helps too!
The lyrics that refer to how the singer shouldn’t be mugged since he likes Cricket, have more to them than one might first think.
The Brits are very proud of their influence on the world musically and also with regard to sports. Cricket, tennis, and football, all of these games came from England.
Whether this helped the Moody Blues singer when he traveled to Barbados remains uncertain.
Dreadlock Holiday chords | Related pages
Intermediate Acoustic
Most intermediate acoustic tunes can’t be played using just basic open-position chords. We have to move up the fretboard and play CAGED barre chords as well.
We incorporate bass lines, add licks, extend chords, and play vocal melodies. Most importantly, we’ll invent second guitar parts and play these songs together.
Five similar tunes with chords and lyrics
10cc
With influences such as the late Beatles and Frank Zappa, 10cc was not your average middle-of-the-road band.
Similar to Supertramp, 10cc was prog/rock/pop with long instrumental sections and many styles mixed. Hits include Dreadlock Holiday and I’m Not In Love.
10cc on the web
Pop & Rock
Whenever a tune doesn’t fit into a specific genre, it tends to end up here, in the Pop & Rock section.
Learn tunes from Tom Petty, Eagles, Toto, Oasis, Elvis, Clapton, John Mayer, Kings Of Leon, R.E.M., Radiohead, Bruno Mars, and more.
Reggae & Ska
Originating from Jamaica as Reggae & Ska, these musical styles were largely made popular once records started to appear in the U.K.
Learn tunes from Bob Marley, Madness, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Afroman, 10cc, Men At Work, The Police, and many more.
