Everyone needs a song in their repertoire that will appeal to the young, the old, the impeccably cool and the terminally unhip alike. Knowing The Animals’ primal, mesmerising version of this traditional classic is just the thing to maintain your credibility when someone forces a guitar into your hands and says ‘gissa song’. Douglas Noble gives you all you need to know, including lyrics, and with no nasty repeat signs…

One man’s personal tragedy becomes a modern acoustic classic – if proof be needed of the healing nature of music, this Eric Clapton milestone is surely one of the world’s great examples. Douglas Noble gets to grips with the dots and numbers so that you can remind your kith and kin – and any total strangers who may hear you strumming’n’picking away – just how beautiful this tune really is…