Let’s be clear on this from the outset: this is definitely someone’s favourite song, but I can’t say that I care for it much, although the bassline does have some surprising touches that make it more enjoyable to perform.
In fact, there are lots of people who like this song. ‘Kiss Me’ was a huge hit for Sixpence None the Richer, and remains by far their biggest commercial success, reaching number 2 on the Billboard chart and appearing on the soundtracks to teen hits She’s All That and Dawson’s Creek.
This showed up on a recent set list for a wedding gig that I was covering for someone else (a few emails back and forth, shake hands in the car park on the day and then try to make the audience believe that you’ve been playing together for years…). I’d never gigged it before and never really want to play it again, but I wanted to give it my full attention; this is the challenge for a working musician – taking music that you feel indifferent about and making the listener believe that it’s your favourite thing in the whole world.
Sixpence None the Richer – ‘Kiss Me’ bass transcription PDF
As this was made specifically for a one-off gig I haven’t fully notated all the variations, but there’s more than enough detail in there for you to put in an authentic performance on the bandstand.
The most enjoyable aspect of the bassline for me is the repeated figure that appears during the link sections (bars 22-25 is the first appearance) and adapts to neatly outline the chromatic movement within the chords (Eb to Ebmaj7 to Eb7), which is proof that a little understanding of chord tones other than the root can go a long way.