
The Needle and the Spoon                          KEY: *= let note ring
Bassist: Leon Wilkeson AKA "The Mad Hatter"            /= slide
Tuning: Standard (E A D G)                             h= hammer on
Album: Second Helping (bonus track)and One More From the Road
The other tab on here was correct for what it had but it was missing 
about 6—10 riffs I never counted them up but I'm gonna show them 
in this tab for this kick ass song.

INTRO (come in at 0:04)
G|———————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————1*(0:13—0:16)—5—3———————|
A|—0h2h3/5*————————————————————————————————5—3/1—|
E|———————————————————————————————————————————————|

PRE—VERSE
G|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————0h3—3—0————————————————————————0—————————|
A|—5—5——3—3—3—————————5—0—3/5—5——3—3—3—————————0h2h3/5—|
E|—————————————————————————————————————1—1—0———————————|

VERSE 1
G|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————0h3—3—0————————————————————0h3—5—3—0—————————|
A|—5—5——3—3—3—————————0h2h3/5—5—5——3—3—3———————————0h2h3/5—| x2
E|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|

CHORUS
G|—————————————————————————————|
D|—0*——————————————————————————|
A|——————————————3*————7h9—9—9/—|
E|————————1*————————3——————————|

PRE—VERSE
G|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————0h3—3—0————————————————————————0—————————|
A|—5—5——3—3—3—————————5—0—3/5—5——3—3—3—————————0h2h3/5—|
E|—————————————————————————————————————1—1—0———————————|

VERSE 2
G|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————0h3—3—0————————————————————0h3—5—3—0—————————|
A|—5—5——3—3—3—————————0h2h3/5—5—5——3—3—3———————————0h2h3/5—| x2
E|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|

CHORUS 2
G|—————————————————————————————|
D|—0*——————————————————————————|
A|——————————————3*————7h9—9—9/—|
E|————————1*————————3——————————|

POST CHORUS 2
G|—————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————0h3—3—0————————————————————————0—|
A|—5—5——3—3—3—————————5—0—3/5—5——3—3—3—————————|
E|—————————————————————————————————————1—1—0———|

REST

PRE—SOLO
G|———————————————————|
D|—————————5—3———————|
A|—55——33——————5—3/1—|
E|———————————————————|

SOLO 1
G|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————0h3—3—0—————————————————————————0————————|
A|—5—5——3—3—3—————————5—0—3/5—5——3—3————————————5—0—3/—| x3 
E|———————————————————————————————————19/1—2—3——————————|

G|——————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————0h3—3—0—————————————————————————0—|
A|—5—5——3—3—3—————————5—0—3/5—5——3—3————————————| 
E|———————————————————————————————————19/1—2—3———|

G|—————————————————————————————|
D|—0*——————————————————————————|
A|——————————————3*————7h9—9—9/—|
E|————————1*————————3——————————|

PRE—VERSE 3
G|———————————————————————————————————————————|
D|———————————0h3—3—0———————————————5—3———————|
A|—5—5—3—3—3—————————5—0—3/5—5—3—3—————5—3/1—|
E|———————————————————————————————————————————|

VERSE 3
G|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————0h3—3—0————————————————————0h3—5—3—0—————————|
A|—5—5——3—3—3—————————0h2h3/5—5—5——3—3—3———————————0h2h3/5—| x2
E|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|

CHORUS
G|—————————————————————————————|
D|—0*——————————————————————————|
A|——————————————3*————7h9—9—9/—|
E|————————1*————————3——————————|

PRE—SOLO 2
G|——————————————————————————|
D|———————————0h3—3—0————————|
A|—5—5—3—3—3—————————5—0—3/—| x2
E|——————————————————————————|

SOLO 2/OUTRO
G|——————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————0h3—3—0—————————————————————————0—|
A|—5—5——3—3—3—————————5—0—3/5—5——3—3————————————| x
E|———————————————————————————————————19/1—2—3———|

G|——————————————————————————| (start fade)
D|———————————0h3—3—0————————|
A|—5—5—3—3—3—————————5—0—3/—| x6
E|——————————————————————————|

G|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————0h3—3—0————————————————————0h3—5—3—0—————————|
A|—5—5——3—3—3—————————5—0—3/5—5—5——3—3—3———————————5—0—3/5—| 
E|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|

LYRICS
Thirty days, lord and thirty nights
I'm comin' home on an airplane flight
Mama waitin' at the ticket line
Tell me son why do you stand there cryin' 

It was the needle and the spoon
And a trip to the moon
Took me away, took me away 

I've been feelin' so sick and tired
Got to get better, lord before I die
Seven doctors couldn't help my head, they said
You better quit, son before your dead 

Quit the needle. Quit the spoon
Quit the trip to the moon
We gonna take you away. Lord, we gonna take you away

It was the needle and the spoon

I've seen a lot of people who thought they were cool
But then again, lord I've seen a lot of fools
Well, I hope you people, lord can hear what I say
You'll have your chance to hit it some day 

Don't mess with the needle or a spoon
Or any trip to the moon
It'll take you away
Lord, their gonna bury you boy
Don't mess with the needle
Now I know, I know, I know...(fade)

Songs sounds harder than what it really is. I'm sure this is right 
but if you find any mistakes contact me through my profile or 
my e—mail address [email protected]

About Lynyrd Skynyrd

Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced /?l?n?rd ?sk?n?rd/ LEN-?rd-SKIN-?rd) is an American rock band, formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The band became prominent in the Southern United States in 1973, and rose to worldwide recognition before three members and one road crew member died in an airplane crash in 1977. The band reformed in 1987 for a reunion tour with lead singer Ronnie Van Zant's younger brother Johnny as the frontman. Lynyrd Skynyrd continues to tour and record. Of its original members, only Gary Rossington remains with the band as of 2010. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006.

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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Lynyrd Skynyrd — The Needle And The Spoon bass tabs