Ride the Lightning
Tuning: Standard (E A D G)
Original Bassist: Cliff Burton
Album: Ride the Lightning

Like every song Cliff played he used his fingers in this one, and it sounds great if you 
use your fingers like a real bassist.This song was very easy to tab out except for the 
solo. Its not hard to play but kind of hard to figure out.

KEY: *= Hold
     /= slide
     b= bend     
          
INTRO (Play with bass drum)
G|———————————————————————|   
D|———————————————————————|
A|———————————————————————| x5 (to me it sounds like he slaps these notes)
E|—0————0————0————0————0—|

PRE—VERSE 1
G|—————————————|
D|—————————————|
A|—1———1———————| x8
E|———0———0—0—0—|

G|—————————————|
D|—————————————| 
A|———————0—3—0—| x4
E|—2—0—2———————|

G|———————————|
D|———————————|
A|—————3—2—1—|
E|—2—————————|

VERSE 1
G|—————————————|                         |———————|
D|—————————————|                         |———————|
A|—1———1———————| x4 on fourth time play  |—3—2—1—| and play both riffs 2 times like that
E|———0———0—0—0—|                         |———————|

G|—————————————|
D|—————————————|
A|—1———1———————| x4 
E|———0———0—0—0—|

CHORUS
G|———————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————|
A|—4——3—2—3—4——0—0—0—0—0—| x2
E|———————————————————————|

G|—————————————|
D|—————————————|
A|—1———1———————| x2
E|———0———0—0—0—|

G|——————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————|
A|—4——3—2—3—4——0—0—0—0—0——8—7—6—7—8—0—0—0—0—0—0—|
E|——————————————————————————————————————————————|

G|—————————————|
D|—————————————|
A|———————0—3—0—|
E|—2—0—2———————|

VERSE 2
G|—————————————|                         |———————|
D|—————————————|                         |———————|
A|—1———1———————| x4 on fourth time play  |—3—2—1—| and play both riffs 2 times like that
E|———0———0—0—0—|                         |———————|

G|—————————————|
D|—————————————|
A|—1———1———————| x4 
E|———0———0—0—0—|

CHORUS
G|———————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————|
A|—4——3—2—3—4——0—0—0—0—0—| x2
E|———————————————————————|

G|—————————————|
D|—————————————|
A|—1———1———————| x2
E|———0———0—0—0—|

G|——————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————|
A|—4——3—2—3—4——0—0—0—0—0——8—7—6—7—8—0—0—0—0—0—0—|
E|——————————————————————————————————————————————|

PRE—VERSE 3
G|———————————————————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————————————————|
A|—7—6—5——3—2————————————————————————| x4
E|————————————2—3——0—0—0—0—3—0—0—0—3—|

VERSE 3
G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
E|—3333333333—2222222222—1111111111—0000000000—1111111111—2222222222—3333333333—|
                                         ^
(I'm not to sure about the number of notes. You just have to listen to the song and get the 
timing)

PRE—SOLO
G|———————————————————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————————————————|
A|—7—6—5——3—2————————————————————————| x3
E|————————————2—3——0—0—0—0—3—0—0—0—3—|

G|——————————————————|
D|——————————————————|
A|—7—6—5——3*—————2*—|
E|——————————————————|

SOLO
G|————————————————————————|
D|————————————————————————|
A|—————————5——————————————| x6
E|—2————22———————55—5/7—7—|

G|———————————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————————|
A|————————5——555—————————————| x4
E|—2——222————————5/7—777—777—|

G|———————————————|
D|———————————————|
A|———————————————|
E|555————33———1b—|

G|——————————————————————|
D|——————————————————————|
A|————————————————0—232—| x4 (I'm not 100% sure about these 2 parts but it sounds right to 
E|—0——023—023—023———————|     me)

G|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A|—3333333333333333—2222222222222222—1111111111111111—0000000000000000—|
E|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|

G|———————————————————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————————————————|
A|———————————————————————————————————|
E|—1—1—1—1—1—1—1—1——3—3—3—3——6—6—6—6—|

PRE—VERSE 4
G|———————————————————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————————————————|
A|—7—6—5——3—2————————————————————————| x4
E|————————————2—3——0—0—0—0—3—0—0—0—3—|

VERSE 4
G|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A|—3333333333333333—2222222222222222—1111111111111111—0000000000000000—|
E|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|

G|———————————————————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————————————————|
A|———————————————————————————————————|
E|—1—1—1—1—1—1—1—1——3—3—3—3——6—6—6—6—|

PRE—VERSE 5
G|———————————————————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————————————————|
A|—7—6—5——3—2————————————————————————| x3
E|————————————2—3——0—0—0—0—3—0—0—0—3—|

G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A|—7—6—5—3——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
E|—————————0————0————0————0————0————0————0————0————0————0————0————0————0————0————0————0—|
                    ^
                  (slap all these open notes)

G|———————————|                        |———————————————|
D|———————————|                        |———————————————|
A|—1———1—————| x8 on eighth time play |—3—2—1———3—2—1—|
E|———0———000—|                        |———————————————|

VERSE 5
G|—————————————|                         |———————|
D|—————————————|                         |———————|
A|—1———1———————| x4 on fourth time play  |—3—2—1—| and play both riffs 2 times like that
E|———0———0—0—0—|                         |———————|

G|—————————————|
D|—————————————|
A|—1———1———————| x4
E|———0———0—0—0—|

CHORUS
G|———————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————|
A|—4——3—2—3—4——0—0—0—0—0—| x2
E|———————————————————————|

G|—————————————|
D|—————————————|
A|—1———1———————| x2
E|———0———0—0—0—|

G|——————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————|
A|—4——3—2—3—4——0—0—0—0—0——8—7—6—7—8—0—0—0—0—0—0—|
E|——————————————————————————————————————————————|

G|—————————————|
D|—————————————| 
A|———————0—3—0—| x4
E|—2—0—2———————|

OUTRO
G|———————————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————————|
A|———————0—3*————————————0———| x2 
E|—2—0—2——————————2—0—2————0—|

G|—————————————————————————————————|
D|—————————————————————————————————|
A|———————0—3—3—3—2*————————————0———| x2 
E|—2—0—2———————————————2—0—2—————0—|

G|——————————————————|
D|——————————————————|
A|——————————————————|
E|—0————0————0———00—|

LYRICS
Guilty as charged
But damn it, it ain't right
There is someone else controlling me
Death in the air
Strapped in the electric chair
This can't be happening to me
Who made you God to say
"I'll take your life from you!" 

Flash before my eyes
Now it's time to die
Burning in my brain
I can feel the flames 

Wait for the sign
To flick the switch of death
It's the beginning of the end
Sweat, chilling cold
As I watch death unfold
Consciousness my only friend
My fingers grip with fear
What I am doing here?

Flash before my eyes
Now it's time to die
Burning in my brain
I can feel the flames 

Someone help me
Oh please God help me
They are trying to take it all away
I don't want to die
Time moving slowly
The minutes seem like hours
The final curtain call I see
How true is this?
Just get it over with
If this is true, just let it be
Wakened by the horrid scream
Freed from the frightening dream

Flash before my eyes
Now it's time to die
Burning in my brain
I can feel the flames 

There thats the entire song as correct as I can make it. Any question or comments contact 
me on my profile or through my e—mail [email protected].

About Metallica

Metallica (pronounced /m??tæl?k?/) is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1981. Founded when drummer Lars Ulrich posted an advertisement in a local newspaper, Metallica's line-up has primarily consisted of Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, while going through a number of bassists. Currently, the spot is held by Robert Trujillo.

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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Metallica — Ride The Lightning (ver 2) bass tabs