"Pictures of Matchstick Men" – Status Quo - (Bass tab & lyrics) FRANKS BASS COVERS

"Pictures of Matchstick Men" – Status Quo - (Bass tab & lyrics) FRANKS BASS COVERS
*enable CC on your device for lyric

Released January 5, 1968
From the album “Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo”

Bass cover notes:
Although the tabs indicate playing higher on the neck; it just didn’t sound right playing the entire song in that way. I did try to stay true to the bassists runs; some of which begin at the 19th fret on the “G” string…. etc.

The tabs are a guide and of course, you can play it where and how you believe it sounds best to you.

Just for fun: when you hear the chorus instead of singing “pictures of matchstick men” replace it with “crimson and clover, over and over”. Does it fit?

Song Notes:
Founding member Francis Rossi wrote most of it in the bathroom where he would go for hours to get away from his soon to be ex-wife and mother-in-law.

The "matchstick men" reference is to the paintings of artist L. S. Lowry.

The song reached number 7 in the British charts, number 8 in Canada, and number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their only Top 40 single in the United States

Status Quo are an English rock band that formed in 1962.

Best known in Britain for their no-nonsense, heads-down boogie rock which they have played since the 1970s, but this psychedelic effort is their best-known hit in America, where it is a staple of oldies radio.

As of 2022, the group have been active for 60 consecutive years

They have had over 60 chart hits in the UK - more than any other rock band
In July 1985 the band opened Live Aid at Wembley Stadium

With the sole exceptions of 1980 and 1985, Status Quo embarked on multinational tours every year between 1968 and 2019

Status Quo entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1991 after playing four venues in one day (Sheffield International Centre, Glasgow Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Birmingham National Exhibition Centre and Wembley Arena) as part of a Rock Till You Drop tour to commemorate their 25th anniversary.

Founding Members:
Francis Rossi – lead guitar, vocals (1962–present);
Rick Parfitt – rhythm guitar, vocals (1967–2016; died 2016);
Alan Lancaster – bass, vocals (1962–1985; died 2021);
John Coghlan – drums, (1963–1981)