Beast Of Burden chords

by The Rolling Stones

Song Key: E Major

Time Signature: 4/4

Tempo: 100 bpm


Guitar Tuning: E A D G B e

Skill Level: Intermediate

Intermediate Chords: E, B/D#, C#m, A, B, E/G#, A/B

Beginners Chords: E, C#m, A, B (see charts below for all chord voicings)

Guitar Tab Intro Arrangement Song Details
Play-Along Video
R-H Chord Charts Chord Chart Legend
E Major B/D# Major C#m C#m barre chord A Major E/G# B Major B Major barre chord A/B
L-H Chord Charts Lefties Chord Chart Legend
E Major-LH B/D#-LH C#m-LH C#m barre chord-LH A Major-LH E/G#-LH B Major-LH B Major barre chord-LH A/B-LH
Speed: x0.1

Beast Of Burden

Intro:
The Rolling Stones

Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key 
Intro: 4/4 (This timing pattern and chords run throughout the song)
            E     B/D#  C#m    C#m   A   B   E     B/D#  C#m    C#m   A
Timing: ||: 1+2+3 +4    +    | 1+2+  3+4 + | 1+2+3 +4    +    | 1+2+  3+4+ :||

  E              B/D#      C#m      A
1. I'll nev-er be    your  beast of bur-den
  E           B/D#   C#m            A
   My back is broad      But it's a hurt-ing
  E         B/D#  C#m             A         E    B/D#  C#m    C#m     A
   All I want  is for you to make love to | me              |      -     |

  E              B/D#      C#m      A
2. I'll nev-er be    your  beast of bur-den
  E                B/D#  C#m            A
   I've walked for miles    My feet are hurt-ing
  E         B/D#  C#m             A         E     B/D#  C#m    C#m      A
   All I want  is for you to make love to | me               |      -    (Am I)|

             A                    E/G#
Chorus: Am I hard e-nough    Am I rough e-nough
             A                   E/G#          A   B
        Am I rich e-nough    I'm not too blind to  see

  E                   B/D#  C#m      A
3. I'll nev-er be your      beast of bur-den
  E            B/D#  C#m              A
   So let's go home      And draw the cur-tains
   E             B/D#   C#m
   Mu-sic on the ra-di-o
                 A                    E     B/D#  C#m    C#m     A 
   Come on ba-by make sweet love to | me               |      -   (Am I)|

             A                    E/G#
Chorus: Am I hard e-nough    Am I rough e-nough
             A                   E/G#          A   B
        Am I rich e-nough    I'm not too blind to  see

   B               E          B/D#     C#m                   A
**  Oh lit-tle sis-ter   Pret-ty, pret-ty, pret-ty, pret-ty, girl

      E     B/D#  C#m    C#m     A      E     B/D#  C#m    C#m     A
    | 1+2+3 +4    +    | 1+2+    3+4+ | 1+2+3 +4    +    | 1+2+    3+4+ |
    
      E     B/D#  C#m    C#m   A
    | 1+2+3 +4    +    | 1+2+  3+4+ | 
                                (You're a)

             E                                   A
*** You're a pret-ty, pret-ty, pret-ty, pret-ty, pret-ty, pret-ty girl
             E                        A
    Pret-ty, pret-ty, Such a pret-ty, pret-ty, pretty girl
    E             A               E
    Come on ba-by please, please, please

        A             E                B/D#  C#m        A
Spoken: I'll tell ya    You can put me out       On the street
      E           B/D#  C#m                A
        Put me out           With no shoes on my feet

             E               B/D#   C#m
Sung:   But, put me out, put me out
                      A     E    E   B/D#  C#m    C#m     A
        Put me out of mi-se-ry |                | Yeah -     |
         E            B/D#      C#m   C#m       A  
        All your sick-ness    I can | suck it up   |
        E                 B/D#  C#m   C#m         A
        Throw it all at me    I can | shrug it off   |
 
         E                          B/D#  C#m               A
Bridge: There's one thing ba-by that         I don't un-der-stand
        E           E/G#          A
        You keep on tel-ling me I ain't your kind of man
                E             B/D#  C#m
        Ain't I rough e-nough       
           A        E            B/D#  C#m
        Oh! ain't I tough e-nough
       A        E                     B/D#    C#m
        Ain't I rich e-nough, in love e-nough
             A     E     B/D#    C#m      A 
        Ooh Ooh    Please             |      |

     E                     A
Outro: I'll nev-er be your beast of burden
     E                     A
       I'll nev-er be your beast of burden
     E               B/D#            C#m               A
       Nev-er, nev-er, nev-er, nev-er, nev-er, nev-er, nev-er be
          E      B/D#  C#m     C#m     A   A/B     
       | (be)               |       /           | 

     E                     A
       I'll nev-er be your beast of burden
     E                             A
       I've walked for miles and my feet are hurt-ing
     E       B/D#    C#m         A
       All I want is you to make love to me
          E      B/D#  C#m     C#m     A   A/B 
       | (me)               |       /           |
     E                 A
       I won't need no beast of burden
     E                     A
       I need no fussing    I need no nurs-ing
       E               B/D#            C#m             A
       Nev-er, nev-er, nev-er, nev-er, nev-er, nev-er, nev-er be
          E      B/D#  C#m     C#m     A   A/B 
       | (be)               |       /           |...(repeat to fade)

Guitar Tab - Intro


The Rolling Stones

x - play 'note' with heavy damping - percussive sound made by dampening the strings, in this case with your fretted hand as you are only dampening 3 notes - when played, the strings make a 'deadened' sound... an excellent technique for this style of playing.


Arrangement Details:

  • Key Signature: E Major - 4 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#)
  • Time Signature: 4/4 — Four quarter-note beats per measure
  • Tempo: Moderately
  • Metronome: ♩ = 100
  • Voice Range: A4 - C#6


Beginners:

If you find some of these chord changes a little difficult, you can play the alternative chords below. This may be useful for beginner guitarists... simply avoid the leading bass note after ther forward slash and play the major chord instead. 

You will notice the guitar tab intro, uses a B chord instead of B/D#. If you find it difficult to play the bass notes with the chords simply play the chord itself like so:

  • Replace: B/D# with B (see charts)
  • Replace: E/G# with E
  • Replace: A/B with A
  • Replace: E/G# with E

Song Details:

Some girls Album Cover
Album Cover
  • Songwriters: Mick Jagger & Keith Richards
  • Lyrics Begin: I'll never be your Beast of Burden.
  • Performing Artists: The Rolling Stones
  • Single:
    Recorded: 10 October–21 December 1977
    Released: 28 August 1978 (US)
    B-side: When the Whip Comes Down
  • Genre: Blues rock, Soul, Soft rock
  • Album: Some Girls
    Recorded: 10 October 1977 – 2 March 1978
    Released: 9 June 1978
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