Get the BACKING TRACK for this song and many more at:
http://www.midi-tab.com


Tab explanation:
everything's basically straight-forward except for a few things...
"t" above the tab means tap that note with your picking hand
"sl" above the tab means slide to that fret with your tapping finger
"nh" means it's natural harmonics until the end of the "..."

                               Summer Nights
                                by Van Halen
                               tab by Paul D.
                         pdmytrewycz@music.transy.edu

(For the sake of accuracy, I have tabbed this song as it would ACTUALLY be
played.  With the capo on the 3rd fret, your open notes are technically
all gonna be 3's in tab.  So until I indicate that you are to remove
the capo, all 3's mean that you leave the string open and let the capo do
the rest.  :)  For example, the first chord here is SUPPOSED to look like
a standard "G" shape, but the tab looks funny because the 3rd fret is
really your "open".  Is that confusing enough?...)

w/fingers:
||---------5-------3---|---------------------|---------5-------3---|-------
||-6-------6-----6---6-|-6-------6p5---3-----|-6-------6-----6---6-|-------
||-3-----3-5---5-------|-3-----3-5-------5---|-3-----3-5---5-------|-------
||-3---3-----3---------|-3---3---5---5-----5-|-3---3-----3---------|-------
||---------------------|-5-5-----3-----------|---------------------|-------
||-6-6-----------------|---------------------|-6-6-----------------|-------

----------------------------------------------------------
Get the FREE BACKING TRACK for this song and many more at:
http://www.midi-tab.com
----------------------------------------------------------

----------------------|---------5-------3---|---------------||
6-------6p5---3-------|-6-------6-----6---6-|-6---------5---||
3-----3-5---------5---|-3-----3-5---5-------|-3-------3-5---||
3---3---5---5---5---5-|-3---3-----3---------|-3-----3---5---||
5-5-----3-------------|---------------------|-5---5-----3---||
----------------------|-6-6-----------------|-6-6-----------||

w/pick:
----------------|-----------------------------|-------------------|--------
6-6-6-6-6-6-----|-6-6-6---5-5-----------------|---6-6-6---6-6-----|--------
3-3-3-3-5-5-----|-3-3-3---5-5-----------------|---3-3-3---5-5-----|--------
3-3-3-3-3-3---x\|-3-3-3---5-5---3-7p5p3-------|---3-3-3---3-3---x\|--------
----------3---x\|-5-5-5---3-3-----------7p5p3-|-----------------x\|--------
6-6-6-6-------x\|-----------------------------|-6-6-6-6---------x\|--------


--------------------------------|---------------------|
6-6-6---5-5---------------------|---6-6-6-6-6-6-------|
3-3-3---5-5---------------------|---3-3-3-3-5-5-------|
3-3-3---5-5-----------8---------|---3-3-3-3-3-3---x\x\|
5-5-5---3-3---3h5h6h7---7p6p5p3-|-------------3---x\x\|
--------------------------------|-6-6-6-6-6-------x\x\|

                *         [nh w/bar]
-------------------2~~~-|-----------||
6-6-6---5-5--------3----|-----------||
3-3-3---5-5------2-2----|--5--/---7-||  at * return to standard
3-3-3---5-5------2-0----|--5--/---7-||  position (remove capo)
5-5-5---3-3------0------|-----------||
------------------------|-----------||

When you're back in standard, you're ready to begin the main part of the
song, which has the following chord progression with a few variations:
G D G/B A
And it's played like so...
  G     D       G/B   A
|-3-3-3-------|-3-3-3---------------------|---3-3-3-----|
|-3-3-3-3-3---|-3-3-3-2-2-----------------|---3-3-3-3-3-|
|-0-0-0-2-2---|-0-0-0-2-2-----------------|---0-0-0-2-2-|
|-0-0-0-0-0---|-0-0-0-2-2---0-4p2p0-------|---0-0-0-0-0-|
|-------0-0---|-2-2-2-0-0-----------4p2p0-|---------0-0-|
|-3-3-3-------|---------------------------|-3-3-3-3-----|

                                                             w/bar
3-3-3-------------------------|---3-3-3-----------|-3-3-3------------------
3-3-3-2-2---------------------|---3-3-3-3-3-------|-3-3-3-2--2~~~----------
0-0-0-2-2---------------------|---0-0-0-2-2-------|-0-0-0-2--2~~~----------
0-0-0-2-2-----------5---------|---0-0-0-0-0-------|-0-0-0-2--2~~~----------
2-2-2-0-0---0h2h3h4---4p3p2p0-|---------0-0-------|-2-2-2-0--0~~~----------
------------------------------|-3-3-3-3-------x\--|------------------------


||----------------------|-----------------------------|
||----------------------|-----------------------------|
||*-2-------------------|-2---------------------------|
||*-0-4---x-2-4---------|-0-4-------------------------|
||----2-----0-2---0h2p0-|---2-----------------x-4p2p0-|
||----------------------|-------0h2p0-3p0-4-5---------|

                                   <---[2x]
--------------------|--------------------||--------------------------|
--------------------|--------------------||-7/9\7/9\7---9---10---7/9-|
2-------------------|-2-----------------*||-------------9---9----7/9-|
0-4---x-2-4---------|-0-4---------------*||-7/9\7/9\7---9---9----7/9-|
--2-----0-2---0h2p0-|---2----------------||-------------7---7----5/7-|
--------------------|-------0h2p0-3/4p0--||--------------------------|


-----------------------|------------------------------|
7/9\7/9\7---10---9---7-|-7/9\7/9\7---9---10---7---9\--|
------------9----9---7-|-------------9---9----7---9\--|
7/9\7/9\7---9----9---7-|-7/9\7/9\7---9---9----7---9\--|
------------7----7---5-|-------------7---7----5---7\--|
-----------------------|------------------------------|


---------------------------------|---------------------|
-----12\11------10-----7-----6\5-|---------------------|
---------------------------------|-2-------------------|
0h12----11-0h10----0h7---0h6--(5)|-0-4---x-2-4---------|
---------------------------------|---2-----0-2---0h2p0-|
---------------------------------|---------------------|


------------------|---------------|
------------------|-3-----3-3-----|
2-----------------|-2-----2-2-----|
0-4---------------|-0-----0-0-----|
--2---------------|---------------|
------0h2p0-3/4p0-|---0~------2~--|

                     t      t      t      t sl  t
----------------------------------------------------||
3-3-----3-3-3---------------------------------------||
2-2-----2-2-2---------------------------------------||
0-0-----0-0-----------------------------------------||
------------2~--0h4-12p0h4-12p0h4-12p0h4-12/14\12p7-||
----3~----------------------------------------------||

Then it's back to the G D G/B A progression again for the chorus.
Then comes the solo for which Eddie locks his Trans-Trem 1 step DOWN!
(i.e. DON'T ASK! I'm not gonna tune my guitar 1 step down just to figure it
out.)  Then, after the solo, Eddie brings the Trans-Trem back up to the
FIRST position (1 1/2 steps up) and plays the little beginning part again.
And then again back to standard for another chorus bit ("Ahhhh, summer
nights...").

For the outro, I think it's just that main chord progression with something
like this over it...
(let ring)
   nh.................   nh......
||---------------------|------------------|-------------||
||-------12----------7-|-----7------5-----|----12-----7-||
||----12-----------7---|---7----------6---|-12------7---||
||-12---------12-7-----|-7-------7------7-|/12-----/7---||
||---------------------|------------------|-------------||
||---------------------|------------------|-------------||

After that, I'm not sure, it starts to fade out and it's tough to hear.
I guess you could just flub it from there...

Good luck!
Questions/Comments/CONSTRUCTIVE criticism welcome (by email)...
Flames intelligently rebuked if not ignored altogether...
Until Later, Paul D.