1234 | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: D5 D/C# | B5 G5 :||
Verse 1
||: D5 D5/C# | B5 G5 :||
One, two, three, four, tell me that you love me more.
Sleepless long nights, that is what my youth was for.
Bridge 1
||: D5 A5/E | B5 G5 :||
Old teenage hopes are alive at your door.
Left you with nothing but they want some more.
Chorus 1
| A5 | G5 |
Oh-oh-oh, you’re changing your heart.
| A5 | G5 |
Oh-oh-oh, You know who you are.
Verse 2
Sweetheart, bitter heart now I can’t tell you apart.
Cozy and cold, put the horse before the cart.
Bridge 2
Those teenage hopes who have tears in their eyes.
Too scared to own up to one little lie.
Chorus 2
Oh-oh-oh, you’re changing your heart.
Oh-oh-oh, you know who you are.
Verse 3 (breakdown)
One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, or ten.
Money can’t buy you back the love that you had then.
Instrumental 1
||: D5 D5/C# | B5 G5 :||
Verse 4
One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, or ten.
Money can’t buy you back the love that you had then.
Instrumental 2
||: D5 D5/C# | B5 G5 :||
Chorus 3
| A5 | G5 | A5 | G5
Oh-oh-oh, you’re changing your heart. Oh-oh-oh, you know who you are.
| A5 | G5 | A5 | G5 | G5 |
Oh-oh-oh, you’re changing your heart. Oh-oh-oh, you know who you are.
| D5 A5/E | B5 G5 | D5 A5/E | B5 G5 |
Who you are, a-are. Oh-oh
Instrumental 3
||: D5 A5/E | B5 G5 :|| x6
Outro
||: D5 A5/E | B5 G5 | D5 A5/E | B5 G5 :||
Oh-oh, those teenage boys, they’re breaking your heart.
Those teenage boys, they’re breaking your heart.
End
||: D5 D5/C# | B5 G5 :||
1234 Chords: Explore the Power of Drop D Tuning and Simple Progressions
When I play 1234 on one acoustic, it’s played in a drop D tuning, which means you lower the 6th string from an E to a D. Because of this, all chord shapes using this string will need modifying.
You can use a free online tuner to achieve drop D tuning.
In the case of the parts I play for 1234‘s chords, this only affects the G chord; let’s take a look at how.
To play an open G, you fret the 5th fret on the 6th string instead of the 3rd fret, leave the 2nd string open for a G chord, or fret the 3rd fret for a G5.
To play an E-shaped G5, barre fret 5 on strings 6-4.
Do this and you create a thick-sounding chord that works well with both D5 and D5/C# for the verse, as well as D5 and A5/E for the bridge.
Now that you know how to play a G chord in drop D tuning in two ways, let’s look at 1234’s chord progressions.
These are the chords for 1234‘s intro/verse/outro sections.
| D5 (I) D5/C# (I/7) | B5 (VI) G5 (IV) |
In Roman numerals, this is I – I/7 – VI – IV, a simple progression that gives the track a descending feel. I find it interesting how we can hear this movement, even though all chords are power chords.
The B5 should be minor; all others are major chords. Tablature (TAB) for how I play this as in the video lesson is available here: 1234 – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
1234 Chords: Simplifying the Bridge and Chorus for Maximum Impact
1234‘s bridge chords are almost identical, only changing one chord, like this:
| D5 (I) A5/E (V) | B5 (VI) G (V) |
Using Roman numerals, we can see how this is a variation on what I list at #3 on my top 10 chord progressions list – The safe bet for modern hits! Only the 5th in the bass differs.
Compare 1234‘s bridge with “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz.
1234‘s chorus chords are even simpler, only going between chords V and IV, like this:
| A5 (V) | G5 (IV) |
Together, these three progressions create a loop that drives the tune forward. I have to give credit to Feist here; most songwriters would have kept writing more parts, potentially ruining the appeal of the simplicity.
The single-line variation at 1:04 doesn’t sound strange since the chord progression is by now so ingrained in us; only referring to its descending pattern is enough.
This is a great trick when creating a breakdown section. When you properly go for it in the last chorus, the effect is more dramatic since the difference in dynamics is more extreme.
Whenever you arrange a song for just one acoustic guitar, you may want to apply tricks like this, even if the tune doesn’t originally use them.
After you have studied my TAB and video lesson in depth, a simple chord chart is all you need; here’s one I made for you.
1234 Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
The chord chart is extremely simple, only displaying the three sections, and then outlining the order of the sections below it.
I did this because the arrangement is unusual and would have made the chart look very cluttered had I attempted to use segno and repeat signs.
There is no perfect way to write a chord chart; different tunes have different solutions.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: 1234 Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro; here’s a link to that file: 1234 iReal Pro. Using this and the iReal Pro app, you can change the key and experiment with displaying the structure in different ways.
An iPod ad sync with 1234 launched Feist’s career!
As the daughter of an abstract expressionist university lecturer, Feist’s artistic path was laid out with interests in dance, painting, film, and music. All these elements come together in the music video for 1234.
The video was shot in a single take, giving the choreographed dance a fantastic depth, and turning the sweeping camera motion into a great experience to watch. Ironically, the “making of” video is cut like a traditional music video.
Director Patrick Daughters and choreographer Noémie Lafrance played a huge part in the success of this genius video.
Combined with Feist’s great arrangement and songwriting (co-written with Sally Seltmann), 1234 became one of the big songs in 2007 and reached a worldwide audience.
Nominated for 4 Grammy Awards and reaching #17 on Rolling Stone’s “Greatest Songs of 2007”, the tune did stick in everybody’s mind.
In retrospect, the sound of the recording might be seen as representative of the sound of 2007. Retro without any fear of using instruments that a few years earlier might have seemed uncool.
Feist might not have brought back the banjo, but she certainly did make it fit in a hit.
The success of 1234 is largely linked to the song being featured in the Apple iPod nano ad. Before the worldwide reach of the ad, 1234 had moderate success with 2,000 singles per week; the week after the ad came out, sales rose to 19,000.
Feist could, on the back of such a synchronisation, launch her career on a different level.
In 2009, Feist said that she was taking a short break before the next album would be recorded. With over a million copies sold of The Reminder, critics eagerly awaited the follow-up. iPod Nano ad or not, everyone gave Feist’s follow-up a listen.
In 2011, she released Metals, and in 2017 we saw Pleasure hit the shelves. The single One Evening from Metals did reasonably well; however, for most, Feist is still synonymous with her tune 1234.
1234 Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: 1234 (Feist) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: