Papa Ain’t Salty | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| G9 | G9 | G9 | G9 |
| C9 | C9 | G9 | G9 |
| D9 | C9 (F#m7b5 Em7b5) |
| G9 | G9 |
Verse 1
| G9 | G9 | G9 | G9 |
Come home little girl, your papa ain’t salty no more.
| C9 | C9 | G9 | G9 |
Come home little girl, your papa ain’t salty no more.
| D9 | C9 | G9 | G9 |
I need your love and I swear I miss you so.
Verse 2
I know I was wrong, and I know I’ve caused you pains.
I know I was wrong, and I’ve caused you pains.
I’m sorry pretty baby, I won’t do that again.
Solo
| G9 | C9 | G9 | G9 |
| C9 | C9 | G9 | G9 |
| D9 | C9 | G9 | G9 |
| G9 (C#m7b5 Bm7b5) | G9 | G9 | G9 |
| C9 (F#m7b5 Em7b5) | C9 | G9 (C#m7b5 Bm7b5) | G9 |
| D9 (G#m7b5 F#m7b5) | C9 (F#m7b5 Em7b5) |
| G9 (C#m7b5 Bm7b5) | G9 |
Verse 3
| G9 | G9 | G9 | G9 |
Why or why pretty baby, why did you have to go.
| C9 | C9 | G9 | G9 |
Why or why pretty baby, why did you have to go,
| D9 | N.C | N.C | Ab9 G9 |
Please come back home pretty mama, Papa ain’t salty no more.
Papa Ain’t Salty Chords: Exploring 9 Chord Substitutions in a Blues Progression
Built around a standard 12-bar blues, Papa Ain’t Salty‘s chords have been extended to 9 through substitutions.
By substituting each chord with a min7b5, starting on the 3rd, we achieve a smooth-sounding dom9 extension.
Furthermore, sliding this up a tone hints at a 6th extension before the 9.
I’ve indicated these min7b5 chords in brackets. On the original recording, this technique is only applied after the solo, but you could experiment with incorporating it more frequently, possibly even in other songs, such as in B.B. King’s Paying The Cost To Be The Boss.
Here’s the chord chart, where I’ve omitted the substitutions. Simply noting it as a 9 chord should trigger the memory, now that you know the secret.
Papa Ain’t Salty Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
My chord chart can be acquired in either PDF or iReal Pro format:
T-Bone Walker: The Electric Guitar Pioneer and His Influence on the Blues
Like many Texans before and afterhim, T-Bone Walker moved to California to record. It was there that he first got his hands on one of the earliest electric guitars, the Gibson ES, known as the Electric Spanish.
Around 1939, T-Bone made his mark in musical history by recording the first blues track with an electric guitar.
T-Bone could have stopped there and still been a legend. Fortunately for us, he didn’t. The most famous blues guitarists after him cite T-Bone as a primary influence.
In the video lesson above, you can learn how to play Papa Ain’t Salty, one of T-Bone’s most famous tracks and a perfect introduction to his legendary licks.
A personal favourite is the use of the Am-shaped m7b5 chords as a substitute, creating a dom9-sounding chord lick.
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