In the Mood

Background and Commentary

“In the Mood” became the band’s second Canadian single. “When performed as part of the band’s encore, it still gets the crowd to its feet. The great hook was a little too rough to become a hit, but with a line like ‘Hey, baby, it’s a quarter to eight and I feel I’m in the mood,’ how could you go wrong?”—Bill Banasiewicz, Rush Visions

“The song is sometimes said to be the first song Geddy ever wrote [in 1970] but perhaps it’s more like his first significant song) . . . . It would last long into the band’s live sets.”—Martin Popoff, Contents Under Pressure

It “was probably at least two years old, if not three, when we recorded the first album.”—Alex in Contents Under Pressure

On its writing, “Ged came in and said, ‘I’ve got a good idea for a song’ and played it from beginning to end.”—Alex in Rush Visions

Lyrics

Hey, now, baby
Well, I like your smile
Won’t you come and talk to me
For a little while?

Well, you’re makin’ me crazy
The way you roll them eyes
Won’t you come and sit with me?
I’ll tell you all my lies

Hey, baby, it’s a quarter to eight
I feel I’m in the mood
Hey baby, the hour is late
I feel I’ve got to move

Well, hey, now, baby
Don’t you talk so fast
I’m just tryin’ to make these good times
I’m tryin’ to make it last

Everything’s getting hazy
Now honey, where’d you go?
I just want to find out, baby
Where’d you learn what you know?

Well, hey, now, baby
I said I like your style
You really got me, baby
Way down deep inside

Ooh, you drive me crazy
Baby, you’re the one
I just want to rock and roll you woman
Until the night is gone

Tablature

Excerpted from Fretplay.

Alex’s chord are really power chords. The solo that Alex plays is in the A minor pentatonic from the fifth fret, it’s pretty easy to come up with you own variations. I have mine, but I’m too lazy to fill it in.

Rhythm #1 – the Main Riff[1of4]

…A..A
[–0–0——————————]
[–2–2——————————]
[–2–2————2–5->-4———-]
[–2–2–4—–2-4—-5->-4-2-4-2—-]
[–0–0—-3-4——————–3–]
[————————————]

Rhythm #2 – After Main Riff[2of4]
…C..C..C+ C C..C..C+ C
[–3–3–3–3–3–3–3–3——————]
[–5–5–5–5–5–5–5–5—8->-7———-]
[–5–5–5–5–5–5–5–5—8->-7-5-7-5—-]
[–5–5–7–5–5–5–7–5—————6–]
[–3–3–3–3–3–3–3–3——————]
[——————————————]

Rhythm #3 – More Main Riff[3of4
…D..D..D+.D..D..D..D+ D…A A A+ A A A A+ A
[–5–5–5–5–5–5–5–5—0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0]
[–7–7–7–7–7–7–7–7—2–2–2–2–2–2–2–2]
[–7–7–7–7–7–7–7–7—2–2–2–2–2–2–2–2]
[–7–7–9–7–7–7–9–7—2–2–4–2–2–2–4–2]
[–5–5–5–5–5–5–5–5—0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0]
[————————————————-]

Rhythm #4 – Ending of Main Riff[4of4](also in Chorus)
…/G..G..G..G..F#.F..E.E.E.E
[–/3–3–3–3–2–1——–0-]
[–/3–3–3–3–2–1——0-0-] *Note – The last E chord is played
[–/4–4–4–4–3–2—-1-1-1-] 4 times, but fanned.
[–/5–5–5–5–4–3–2-2-2—]
[–/5–5–5–5–4–3–2-2—–]
[–/3–3–3–3–2–1–0——-]

Chorus #1 – First Part[1of2]
…D..D..A..A..G..G..G..A
[–5–5–5–5–3–3–3–5–5–5–5]
[–7–7–5–5–3–3–3–5–5–5–5]
[–7–7–6–6–4–4–4–6–6–6–6]
[–7–7–7–7–5–5–5–7–7–7–7]
[–5–5–7–7–5–5–5–7–7–7–7]
[——–5–5–3–3–3–5–5–5–5]

For complete tab, go to Fretplay.