Bass Songs for Beginners – Holiday – Green Day –> Here is a jammin’ song that’s fun to play and great for beginner bass guitar players. The bass line is essentially constructed of the G# (Ab) major scale – see our Major Scales Fretboard Diagrams for help. The verse plays scale notes F, C#, G#, D#, and C. The chorus again plays the scale notes F, C#, G#, D# and C. And the break plays the same scale notes of F, G#, C#, A#, D# and C. The song is a great example of how to take a single scale (G# major) and play it with variation to construct a great sounding bass line.
Here is Marlon Wörsching with a bass cover video of “Holiday”. It includes bass play along bass tabs. Play your bass in standard tuning – E, A, D, G.
Note: Marlon (and other “Holiday” bass tabs) show the open E and open A strings being played – these notes are not part of the G# major scale, but are being played more as muted “ghost” notes.
Here are the isolated bass and drums to Holiday to help with your ascertaiment:
Green Day Band Members:
Billie Joe Armstrong – lead vocals, guitars, piano
Mike Dirnt – bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals
Tré Cool – drums, percussion, backing vocals, lead vocals
Holiday – Lyrics:
Say, hey!
Hear the sound of the falling rain
Coming down like an Armageddon flame (Hey!)
The shame
The ones who died without a name
Hear the dogs howling out of key
To a hymn called “Faith and Misery” (Hey!)
And bleed, the company lost the war today
I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
On holiday
Hear the drum pounding out of time
Another protester has crossed the line (Hey!)
To find, the money’s on the other side
Can I get another Amen? (Amen!)
There’s a flag wrapped around a score of men (Hey!)
A gag, a plastic bag on a monument
I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
On holiday
(Hey!)
(Say, hey!)
“The representative from California has the floor”
Sieg Heil to the president Gasman
Bombs away is your punishment
Pulverize the Eiffel towers
Who criticize your government
Bang bang goes the broken glass and
Kill all the fags that don’t agree
Trials by fire, setting fire
Is not a way that’s meant for me
Just cause (hey, hey, hey), just cause, because we’re outlaws yeah!
I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
This is our lives on holiday
Bass Songs for Beginners – Holiday – Green Day