bump
I thought this was an interesting thread, and deserves another chance.
One of my favorite songs and I think most closely resembles the orgininal version is the Beatles “Here Come’s the Sun”.
However, I probably get more compliments for Eric Johnsons “Cliffs of Dover” than anything else. I dont play it nearly as well as Eric(naturally),but I’ve got the main riff down as well most of the more ‘familiar’ parts of the song and the rest I can just play with my own style.
Either “Eyes of the World” or “Black Peter”.
Neither very well, but, there you go.
Yea Larry Carlton does all the guitar work on Royal Scam. IMO he is the best guitarist who can’t write for shite. Also check him out on Donald Fagen’s The Nightfly. Low-key but oh so tasteful.
Interesting concept.
Given the testamonials above, I don’t know if I should call my guitar playing “lacking” or “interpretive.” I don’t play any song “exactly” as the original or more popular versions. I’ll leave that to the people who actually took music lessons and know things like that the heck a I-IV-V progression is. All I play I’ve learned by listening to the song over and over and approximating it to my best abilities. After many years of this (I’ve been noodling over half of my life) I’ve become able to hear a song and give a good guess as to what chords are in it. If it starts in a G and has a D, it’s probably gonna have an A or a C (and a Bmin for fun). The rest is listening for notes in the song.
That said, I’ve been told that my “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is touching, and others have told me that my Appalachian Blues stylings on such numbers as “Railroad Bill” and “Mr. Railroad Man” are impressive.
As to the song I play the most and therefore am probably most natural with, it’s gotta be “Puff the Magic Dragon.” You can thank my son for that. 
Whiskey in the Jar.