This classic 1978 song by Warren Zevon is both fun and really easy to get into playing. The chords and song structure are super simple, so that helps to make it accessible for most players.
The interesting thing you'll note as you try to play along with this song is that the guitar part is all over the place - as in he varies his chords and riffs constantly. This sounds great, but makes it so you'll have an odd experience trying to play what he's playing.
Most players will find it far more comfortable to listen closely to the piano part. This part repeats pretty much the same for the whole song. Also you may notice a simple little ornament he sticks onto the chords; it's very cool so feel free to try to hear and play it, but you can simply play the normal chords and it'll sound fine.
The Band: In addition to Mr. Zevon on vocals and piano, this band includes Mick Fleetwood on drums and John McVie on bass . . . as in . . . the founding members of Fleetwood Mac. No wonder the groove is so good! Filling out the band is Waddy Wachtel on guitar, a very prolific session player from that era.
Who Is This For?
Anyone who listens or plays and wants to know this song better. Particularly for chordal players: guitar, ukulele, or piano. The level is pretty easy: know basic major chords, keep time, have enough brain waves left to change your playing when you choose to.
Learning/Playing Strategies
Chords: you can use basic open position chords, they work fine. That will make it sound kind of ‘strummy’. To get a punchier rock kind of sound, you can use power chords. To sound more like the original, use bar chords. There are a couple of little riffs and fills that Wachtel uses consistently; they are worth figuring out, and I'll probably do a tutorial on those at some point in the future.
Strum Patterns: easiest is to simply strum every other beat; on 1 and on 3. Notice that that means you strum the G chord twice. If you want to make that G measure way better, use the Charleston rhythm pattern.
You can make it even more lively by stealing some of the rhythms from the piano part. It involves just adding “the And” of beat 1.
Song Structure: you'll notice that in the lead sheet above I did not write out the whole song. That would have been lame. Why? The thing is only two bars long! Play those two bars four times (pro tip, that equals 8 bars!), and that makes one whole verse. Or one chorus. Or the intro. Or the guitar solo.
It's about as simple as a song can get. This makes it a great song for you to practice memorization!
Below are Rhythm Backing Tracks for you to play along with.
These enable your success in playing along b/c it's just drums, so you can focus on your rhythm and fitting in with The Rhythm without having to worry about the chord changes or vocals or anything.
It's a great way to practice, in particular because you can work through it at three different tempos.
The whole song for you to play along.
But ALSO: the video shows the chords, the song sections, and the lyrics
which will aid you greatly in learning, playing, memorizing.
Ah-hoooo!
INTRO [8 bars]
VERSE 1 [each line of text is 2 bars]
I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand
Walking through the streets of SoHo in the rain
He was looking for the place called Lee Ho Fook's
Gonna get a big dish of beef chow mein
CHORUS 1 [each line of text is 2 bars]
Ah-hoo, werewolves of London
Ah-hoo
Ah-hoo, werewolves of London
Ah-hoo
VERSE 2
You hear him howlin' around your kitchen door
You better not let him in
Little old lady got mutilated late last night
Werewolves of London again
CHORUS 2
GUITAR SOLO [8 bars]
VERSE 3
He's the hairy-handed gent who ran amok in Kent
Lately he's been overheard in Mayfair
You better stay away from him, he'll rip your lungs out, Jim
Huh, I'd like to meet his tailor
CHORUS 3
VERSE 4 +
Well, I saw Lon Chaney walkin' with the Queen
Doin' the werewolves of London
I saw Lon Chaney Jr. walkin' with the Queen, uh
Doin' the werewolves of London
I saw a werewolf drinkin' a piña colada at Trader Vic's
And his hair was perfect [+4 extra bars]
CHORUS 4/OUTRO FADE OUT [It repeats, but fades before another 8 bars]
KNOW THIS: you are a member of the band when you play chords. Now usually we pay attention mainly to the singer and the lyrics - usually. However now . . . . . and this is fantastic to understand . . . . you ignore the singer! You ignore the lyrics.
YOUR JOB: is to play backup for the singer, you lay down the groove for him to expound upon the mythical beasts of England's capital.
What does that mean?
It means that you count. Always. Like a fiend. Maybe like a werewolf.
Below is a video of some work that Jen and I did on this. She plays ukulele and what she demonstrates works for any chordal instrument. We went from zero, not knowing the song, all the way to her improvising strums that sounded great with the original recording.
It was a fun process and she did really well.
Watch!
BLOG/FORUM
PLEASE join the conversation.
I mean it!
This SLS for Werewolves of London focuses mainly on the rhythms you can use to strum along. We also go over chord changes and song structure.
Please Question/Comment on these topics or anything else you want to know/share about this song.
THANKS FOR SHARING