HERO OF WAR
by Rise Against
Tabbed by ssjEasterBunny
ssjEasterBunny@hotmail.com
NOTES:
This tab is designed for one guitar; it is exactly what Tim McIlrath plays when the band
the song live. It’s also what he’s seen playing in the music video. So rest assured,
tab will have you playing the song just like you’ve seen it and heard it!
Keep in mind, the first half of the recorded bridge (the palm-muted part) uses the same
as the rest of the song, while the live version uses modified chords. I tabbed the
’cause it’s more interesting.
I personally like to move the intro riff down the neck onto the first fret, but I’ll tab
how McIlrath plays it for those who want to be exact.
TUNING:
Half-step down (Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb)
STRUMMING:
D D DU DU D DU
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
CHORDS USED: (Named by finger position, not by notes. The Roman numeral VI after the A#
it’s on the sixth fret, just so no one thinks I made it up.)
F Am A# C Dm Fsus Am7 A#VI F5
Eb|--------0-----------0-----1-----------------------------|
Bb|--1-----1-----------1-----3-----------------------------|
Gb|--2-----2-----3-----0-----2----12----12-----7----10-----|
Db|--3-----2-----3-----2-----0----10----10-----8----10-----|
Ab|--3-----0-----1-----3-----------8-----0-----x-----8-----|
Eb|--------------------------------------------6-----------|
Okay, here we go:
INTRO:
Eb|---------------------------------|----------------/5---3---1---0---|
Bb|-----6-------6-------6-------6---|-1~~-----------------------------|
Gb|---------5-------5-------5-------|-0~~-----------------------------|
Db|---------------------------------|-2~~-----------------------------|
Ab|---------------------------------|-3~~-----------------------------|
Eb|-6-------------------------------|---------------------------------|
F
He said, "Son,
Am
Have you seen the world?
A#
Well, what would you say
F
If I said that you could?
A# F
Just carry this gun; you'll even get paid."
C
I said, "That sounds pretty good."
F
Black leather boots,
Am
Spit-shined so bright
A# F
They cut off my hair, but it looks alright.
A#
We marched and we sang;
F
We all became friends,
C
As we learned how to fight.
[ Tab from: https://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/r/rise_against/hero_of_war_live_tab_ver_2.html ]
Dm
A hero of war,
A#
Yeah that's what I'll be.
F
And when I come home,
C
They'll be damn proud of me.
Dm
I'll carry this flag
A#
To the grave if I must.
F
’Cause it's a flag that I love,
C
And a flag that I trust.
F
I kicked in the door.
Am
I yelled my commands.
A#
The children, they cried,
F
But I got my man.
A#
We took him away,
F
A bag over his face,
C
From his family, his friends.
F
They took off his clothes.
Am
They pissed in his hands.
A#
I told them to stop,
F
But then I joined in.
A#
We beat him with guns
F
And batons not just once,
C
But again and again.
Dm
A hero of war,
A#
Yeah that's what I'll be.
F
And when I come home,
C
They'll be damn proud of me.
Dm
I'll carry this flag
A#
To the grave if I must.
F
’Cause it's a flag that I love,
C
And a flag that I trust.
NOTE:
Replace the last strum of the chorus with the note in parentheses below. Palm-mute the
chords until the original ones kick back in.
Eb|-----|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
Bb|-----|-----6-------6-------6-------6---|-1~~------------/9---------------|
Gb|-----|---------5-------5-------5-------|-0~~----------------12--10---9---|
Db|-----|---------------------------------|-2~~-----------------------------|
Ab|-----|---------------------------------|-3~~-----------------------------|
Eb|-(5)-|-6-------------------------------|---------------------------------|
Fsus Am7
She walked through bullets and haze.
A#VI
I asked her to stop;
F5
I begged her to stay.
A#VI
But she pressed on,
F5
So I lifted my gun,
C
And I fired away...
F Am
And the shells jumped through the smoke
A#
And into the sand
F
That the blood had now soaked.
A# F
She collapsed with a flag in her hand;
C
A flag white as snow...
Dm
A hero of war,
A#
Is that what they see?
F
Just medals and scars;
C
So damn proud of me.
Dm
And I brought home that flag.
A#
Now it gathers dust.
F
But it's the flag that I love;
C
It's the only flag I trust.
F
He said, "Son,
Am
Have you seen the world?
A#
Well, what would you say
F
If I said that you could?
NOTE:
Fear not if you have a hard time picking out the individual notes in the outro; McIlrath
pulls a “the hell with it” it and strums them like in the verse.
Enjoy!
