Common "campfire" songs you keep on hand?

Dpoirier

Dpoirier

Fractal Fanatic
I'm mostly an electric guitarist, you know, the full-band kinda thing.

Every once in a while, you're visiting friends, and someone pulls out an old beat up acoustic with a number of rusted-out strings on it (all 6 if you're lucky) and they hand you the guitar and declare that you'll play something for the group. Oh great! Now I'm going to pull off the 6-instruments-shrunk-down-to-acoustic version of Van Halen ... not!

So, I decided I need to develop (and maintain) a small repertoire of songs that are playable (and enjoyable to play *and* listen to) for solo acoustic. Perhaps with (bad) singing, or perhaps instrumental.

So I'm looking for submissions / suggestions from the forum. I'm sure many of you do this all the time, and I'm sure many other folks on the forum will appreciate the forthcoming suggestions.

I'll at least start with a couple of ideas I think would work out great:

- Ticket to ride (Beatles)... actually, many Beatles songs could be on that list
- Cat Stevens (not sure which cut, but probably several candidates in his repertoire).

I wish I could think of some good instrumentals, though. Something recognizable, and hopefully not requiring a large learning investment (acoustic is not my main instrument, so limited play time).
 
Life by the Drop - SRV
Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
Blowin' in the Wind - Bob Dylan
Everlong - Foo Fighters
Times Like These - Foo Fighters
Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton
Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi
Runaway Train - Soul Asylum

Watch old episodes of MTV Unplugged. A lot of electric songs translate well to acoustic.
 
In my neck of the woods, it's older country and more roots rock type of songs that people all know and sing along too. Stuff like:

Garth Brooks - Friends In Low Places
Hank Williams Jr. - Family Tradition
David Allan Coe - You Never Even Call Me By My Name
Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison
John Mellencamp - Pink Houses
The Bodeans - Still The Night or Closer To Free (Milwaukee loves The Bodeans, and so do I)
Bob Seger - Night Moves

and Violent Femmes are always good sing-a-long guitar only kinda songs, like Blister In The Sun, etc.

These are all the kinds of songs where it doesn't matter if you aren't really a singer. Everyone else will most likely be singing right along with you. At least in Wisconsin.
 
End of the Line - Travelling Wilbury's
Personal Jesus - Johnny Cash
What's Up - 4 Non-Blondes
Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
I Saw Her Standing There - The Beatles
 
Virtually any Beatles song.
Lots of Tom Petty - like "Mary Jane", "Learning to Fly", "Won't Back Down", etc. Most stuff from that semi-acoustic period.
America songs like "Horse With No Name", "Daisy Jane", "Sister Golden Hair"

Stuck in the Middle - Stealer's Wheel
Handle with Care - Wilburys (a good one cuz you can do your Petty/Dylan/Orbison imitations;))
From the Beginning - ELP

...and that's just the beginning...

TT
 
My brothers and I used to play bluegrass tunes which are a blast for taking solos. I can't even remember the names of them now though.

Hot burrito breakdown
salty dog
wildwood flower
Just look up anything by Flatt & Scruggs, Bill Monroe or Doc Watson and most likely it's a great campfire type tune.

One of my bros used to play with guys like Tony Rice and Daryl Anger though, so he had a great repertoire and on a 5 string banjo you're practically playing a solo the whole time, so it was pretty easy just playing in G all the time. lol We used to throw in some TV show tunes too. Beverly Hillbillies and Gilligan's Island come to mind. The Munsters.

We don't see each other much now so I just noodle around on Jazz standards mostly. Stella by Starlight, Desafinado, Green Dolphin Street, Like Someone in Love, stuff like that.
 
Hellbat said:
Personal Jesus - Johnny Cash
Click to expand...

Uhh...that's like saying "Landslide - Smashing Pumpkins". ;)

I find these go over well with my set:

Sugar - Believe What You're Saying
Sugar - If I Can't Change Your Mind
Pearl Jam - Alive
Pearl Jam - Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town
DMB - Crash
Phish - Sample In A Jar
Phish - Dirt
James - Laid
The Tragically Hip - Ahead By Century
The Tragically Hip - Bobcaygeon

Did someone say The Femmes? Their tunes are usually a hit too. And Stompin' Tom.
 
For some reason, I associate those with 60ies (and 70ies) songs more...

A few personal faves that I love to "sing" are The Guitar Man (Bread) & San Fransisco (Scott McKenzie). Wish I could sing "Fire and Rain" James Taylor style... (a song I once found "nothing" and became to love).

More classics (not all by boys, but I don't know your register ;) )

A Whiter Shade of Pale, Procol Harum. / Bad Bad Leroy Brown, Jim Croce. / Dust in the Wind, Kansas. / Happy Together, The Turtles. / If You Could Read My Mind, Gordon Lightfoot. / Just the Two of Us, Bill Withers. / Killing me softly with this song, Roberta Flack. / Let Your Love Flow, Bellamy Brothers. / Lola, The Kinks. / Lovin' You, Minnie Ripperton. / California Dreamin', Mamas and The Papas (Monday Monday is great too) / Mrs Robinson, Simon & Garfunkel. / My Cherie Amour (and many more), Stevie Wonder / Nights in White Satin, The Moody Blues / Something, George Harrison. / Suicide is Painless - Theme from Mash, The Ventures / Vincent, Don McLean. / You've Got A Friend, James Taylor / ...

Some 70ies "male only":
Stevie Wonder: As; Overjoyed / Alan Parsons Project: Eye in the Sky, Time, Old and Wise / The Eagles: Hotel California, I Can't Tell You Why, New Kid in Town / If You Leave Me Now, Chicago / Shape of my Heart, Sting / Mr Blue, Michael Franks / Toto stuff .......

And like you said, a lot of Beatles, but also a lot of Stones songs are great fun.

I must have had like 500 I had sought out myself and come together with people that like to (try and) sing (very healing). Wish I had the time to make great medleys with the many great songs, cos I always missed out on 200 of them that we didn't get to, even after 6 hours straight... :)
Was once planning a medley with all lyricless "na-na na_ na___" song bits too, like Hey Jude, etc. so anyone can sing along straight away.

You can find some great "arrangements" & voicings if it is your passion and I find that one of the great joys of searching it all out by yourself. I'm often amazed what songs you can play believably on one guitar that I would never have guessed before I attempted it.

When I'm transcribing a song I usually transpose to a great sounding key where my capo is in 2nd or 3rd position, so I can easily accomodate either way for male/female and someone that kinda knows the song or that I hand the lyrics.

Aaaargh, I'm itching to play 200 songs now... :)
 
Last edited:
Wonderwall...

*ducks and runs*


On a more serious note:
It's no use to learn songs on acoustic that nobody knows the lyrics. Unless you can sing.

So what happens at parties is that you just ask what they want to sing, and you go look up the chords. Good thing we all have personal carry-on internet now.
 
A couple more easy classics some people love IME...

Pink Floyd - Wish You were Here
Van Morrison - Into the Mystic
Rolling Stones - Angie
Rolling Stones - Dead Flowers
Dead - Ripple
 
unknown legend - neil young
hold my hand - hootie atbf
accompany me - bob seger
more than words - extreme
every woman - garth brooks
free fallin - tom petty
highway song - blackfoot
simple man - skynard
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom