Song Title: Ironic
Artist: Alanis Morissette
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IRONIC — ALANIS MORISSETTE
Bass tablature
Transcribed by Louis Visscher
Notation legend: h = hammer on;  \ = slide down;  / = slide up
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
INTRO: no bass
Hey—ey, hey,..." etc etc
VERSE 1: no bass
An old man turned ninety—eight.
He won the lottery, and died the next day.
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay.
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late.
Isn't it ironic...don't you think?
CHORUS:
It's like rai—
Fig. 1
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————|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|
————|—————————————2—————1—2———————1———|—————————————————————————————————|
—7\—|—2—————2———————————————————————4—|—2—————2—————4———————4———————————|
—ai—ain                        on your  wedding day            It's a free
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|—————————————2—————1—2———————————|—————————————————————————————————|
|—2—————2—————————————————————————|—2—————2—————4———————4———————————|
ride                 that you've  already paid.     It's the good ad—
| +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .   | +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .   |
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|—————————————2—————1—2———————1—1—|—————————————————————————————————|
|—2—————2—————————————————————————|—2—————2—————4—————2h4———————————|
—vice                    that you just didn't take.             And
End fig.1
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|—0———————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|
|—————4———2———0———————0———————————|—2—————2—————2———————2———————————|
who would have thought....    it  figures.
VERSE 2: repeat Fig.2, and sometimes play the notes between ()
Fig.2                                                     End Fig.2
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|—1—————1—————2—————2————(2)——————|—1—————1—————————————————————————|
|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————4—————4————(4)——————|
Mr. Play It Safe.................. was afraid to fly.   He packed his
suitcase and kissed his........... kids goodbye. He waited his
whole damn life just to........... take that flight. And as the
plane crashed down he thought "Well isn't this nice..." And isn't it I—
ronic?..... don't you
last bar of verse 2:
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|—————————————————————————————————|
|—1—————1—————————————————————————|
|—————————————4—————4———————7\————|
think?         It's like rai—ai——
CHORUS: play Fig.1, but replace the last bar by:
| +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .   |
|—————————————————————————————————|
|—————————————————4—————4—————————|
|—————————————————————————————————|
|—2—————2—————2h4—————————————————|
it figures.
BRIDGE:
| +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .    | +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .   |
————|——————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|
————|——————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|
————|——————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|
————|—0—————0—————0———————0————————————|—2—————2—————2———————2———————————|
Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you when you think everything's
okay and
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|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|
|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|
|—0—————0—————0———————2/4—————————|—2—————2—————2———————2———————————|
everything's going right.                                   And
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|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|
|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|
|—0—————0—————0———————0———————————|—2—————2—————2———————2/4———2—————|
life has a funny way of helping you out when you think everything's
gone wrong and
| +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .   | +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .   |
|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|
|—————————————————————————————————|—9—————8—————————————————————————|
|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————9———————————————————|
|—0—————0—————0———————0———————————|—————————————————————7———————————|
everything blows up in your face.
VERSE 3: repeat Fig.3
Fig.3                                                     End Fig.3
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|—1———————————2———————————————————|—1———————————————————————————————|
|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————4———————————————————|
A traffic jam, when you're........already late............A no—
smoking sign on your..............cigarette break.........It's like
ten thousand spoons when all you  need is a knife.........It's
meeting the man of my dreams and then meeting his beautiful wife.
And isn't it I—
ronic.................don't you think?............. A little too I—
ronic, .................and yeah I really do think  it's like rai—ai—
CHORUS: play Fig.1, but replace last bar by:
| +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .   |
|—————————————————————————————————|
|—————————————————————————————————|
|—————————————————————————————2///|
|—2—————2—————2———————2———————————|
figures
OUTRO
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|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|
|/7———————————————————————9—/—11——|—9—————————————————————————————6—|
|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————7———|
And you—ou—ou
| +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .   | +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .    |
|—————————————————————————————————|——————————————————————————————————|
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|—7—————————————————9/11————9/11——|—9———————————————————————————9h11—|
|—————————————————————————————————|——————————————————————————————————|
Life has a funny way of           you—ou—ou             Ooh—ooh
sneaking up on
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|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|
|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|
|—7—————————————————9/11——————————|—9———————————————————————————————|
|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————7/9———7/9———|
life has a funny, funny way                          of helping you
| +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .   | Free time. Slow down
|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————
|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————
|—7———————————————————————————————|————7——9—————————7————————7——————
|—————————————————————————————————|———————————7h9——————7————————————
out...           helping you out
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Submitted by:  Louis Visscher ([email protected])

About Alanis Morissette

Alanis Nadine Morissette (born 1 June 1974) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. She has won 12 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards. Morissette began her career in Canada, and as a teenager recorded two dance-pop albums, Alanis and Now Is the Time, under MCA Records. Her worldwide debut album was the rock-influenced Jagged Little Pill, which remains the best-selling debut album by a female artist in the U.S., and the highest selling debut album worldwide, selling 30 million units globally. Her following album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, was released in 1998 and was a success as well. Morissette took up producing duties for her subsequent albums, which include Under Rug Swept, So-Called Chaos and Flavors of Entanglement. Morissette has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. In February 2005, Morissette became a naturalized citizen of the United States while maintaining her Canadian citizenship.

How to Read Bass Tabs

Bass tablature (tabs) is an easy way to learn songs without needing to read traditional sheet music. Here’s a quick guide to understanding the symbols and techniques commonly found in tabs:

1. The Basics

Strings and Frets:
Each line in a tab represents a string on your bass:
- The top line is the highest-pitched string (G on a 4-string bass).
- The bottom line is the lowest-pitched string (E on a 4-string bass).
Numbers on the lines indicate which fret to press. For example:
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------------------|
A|---3---------------|
E|-------------------|
            
```
This means you play the 3rd fret on the A string.

2. Common Techniques

Hammer-On (h):
Play the first note by picking it, then press down on a higher fret with another finger without picking again.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------5h7---------|
            
```
Pull-Off (p):
Pluck a note and then "pull off" your finger to let a lower fret ring.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------7p5---------|
            
```
Slide (/ or \):
Move your finger up (/) or down (\) the fretboard while maintaining pressure.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------5/7---------|
            
```

3. Advanced Techniques

Bend (b): Push the string up or down to raise the pitch. Example: G|-------7b9---------|
Vibrato (~): Shake the string slightly after playing a note to create a vibrating sound. Example: G|-------7~----------|
Muted Notes (x): Rest your finger lightly on the string without pressing a fret and pluck for a percussive "click" sound.

4. Rhythm and Timing

Tabs don’t always indicate timing, so listen to the song while reading the tab. Wider spaces between numbers mean longer pauses, while closer numbers indicate quicker notes.

5. Slap and Pop

Slap (s): Strike the string with the side of your thumb for a percussive sound.
Pop (p): Pull the string away from the fretboard and let it snap back.

Practice Makes Perfect

Tabs are a great tool to learn songs, but mastering the techniques takes practice. Listen carefully to the original track and play along to lock in the rhythm. Don’t rush — smooth, accurate playing is more important than speed. Happy jamming! 🎸

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Alanis Morissette — Ironic bass tabs