Songwriter Jonathan Coulton dedicates this song to anyone who has served as a code monkey in a software corporation. The song is great stuff but what really struck a chord was when he performed an unplugged version that turned the entire thing into a ballad.
So yeah it struck a chord, so I decided to transcribe bits and pieces of the song into tabs for all your guitar folks to try out. For reference, this is the plugged in version of the song and this is the unplugged version. He also has a YouTube video up for the acoustic version of Code Monkey.
Please scroll to the last part of my transcription to explain the transition when he plays E and slides it up to the 8th and 6th fret. Also note that my chord transition positioning isn’t that great. I suggest listening to the song many times to get the beat. If you don’t, you can learn to play guitar chords here. It’s pretty darn easy if you already play guitar. You can also download the bigger JPEG versions of my transcription. Pardon my ugly handwriting.
P.S. Coulton is also responsible for the closing theme song of Portal titled “Staying Alive” sung by Ellen McLain who is now best known for playing the voice of the GLaDOS computer and the baby voices from the robotic sentry guns.
3 replies on “Code Monkey Unplugged Lyrics Chords and Tabs”
This song has been downloaded, together with its “plugged” version, and favorited, and rated 5 star! Thanks Koya Jayvee!
[…] Winston says that engineering is a creative process. I wholeheartedly agree. I enjoy listening to Winston demystify the stereotype engineer as Jonathan Coulton’s Code Monkey. […]
[…] chords are here. but I have outlined the tablature progression with my ugly handwriting here. I hope you enjoy. It’s really easy to play as most if it is just in E and basic chords with […]