Wire
Music by U2
Lyrics by Bono
Transcribed by Brandon Leniart
"Wire" is written in E major and has 2 main guitar parts:
the intro/outro, and the chorus. The intro and outro are
played by rapidly going back and forth on the 12th and 15th
frets on the 1st and 2nd strings. The chorus is simply E
and D chords being arpegiated. I wish I had my CD here to
transcribe this completely, but this is basically how it
goes:
Intro (with delay set on fast with few repeats, played with
a heavy 4/4 beat)
(faster)
1)---12---12---12---12---12---12---12---12------15-15-15-15-15-15-
2)------12---12---12---12---12---12---12---12---15-15-15-15-15-15-
3)----------------------------------------------------------------
4)----------------------------------------------------------------
5)----------------------------------------------------------------
6)----------------------------------------------------------------
When the band comes in, the intro is repeated with several
overdubbed fills, 3 of which are below:
1)---x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x--
2)---x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x--
3)---x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-- (strum muted strings)
4)---x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x--
5)---x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x--
6)---x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x--
1)---<12>--<12>--<12>-
2)---<12>--<12>--<12>-
3)---<12>--<12>--<12>- (strum natural harmonics
4)---<12>--<12>--<12>- at 12th fret)
5)---<12>--<12>--<12>-
6)---<12>--<12>--<12>-
1)---12--(12)--(12)---
2)---12--(12)--(12)---
3)-------------------- (Hit E & B at 12th frets and
4)-------------------- let echo repeat)
5)--------------------
6)--------------------
Another overdubbed fill is Edge sliding up and down the
neck of the guitar, so try to do as many overdubs that you
can.
The Verse is done with Edge strumming muted strings then
hitting E & B of the 12th fret on the 1st and 2nd strings,
letting them echo.
The Chorus can be done by arpegiating E and D chords:
(E) (D)
1)----------------------------------------
2)---------9-----------------7------------
3)-------9----9------------7----7---------
4)-----9--------9--------7--------7-------
5)---7------------7---5--------------5----
6)----------------------------------------
The part before the outro (Bono sings "do, do, do") is the
same as the above overdubs. The outro (with Bono singing
fast) is the same as the intro. Here's a tip:
For those with a delay pedal, listen to the last 2 seconds
of the song, when Edge slides down the strings, which is
echoed. This will give you an idea as to the speed and the
repetition of the delay used.
--Brandon Leniart