Chords + Lyrics | Roxanne
Intro
| Gm | Gm |
| Gm | Dm/F | Ebmaj7 | Dm |
| Cm7 | Fsus4 | Gsus4 | Gsus4 |
Verse 1
| Gm | Dm/F | Ebmaj7 | Dm |
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light.
| Cm7 | Fsus4 | Gsus4 | Gsus4 |
Those days are over, you don’t have to sell your body to the night.
Verse 2
Roxanne, you don’t have to wear that dress tonight,
walk the streets for money, you don’t care if it’s wrong or if it’s right.
Bridge 1
| Cm7 | Fsus4 | Gsus4 | Gsus4 |
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light.
| Cm7 | Fsus4 | Gsus4 | Gsus4 Cm7 |
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light.
Chorus 1
| Bb5 | Bb5 Eb | F5 | F5/E F5 | Gm | Gm Cm7 |
| Bb Bb5 | Bb5 Eb | F5 F5/E | F5/E F5 | Gsus4 | Gsus4 |
||: Roxanne (put on the red light) :|| x4
You don’t have to put on the red light, oh.
Instrumental
||: Gm | Gm/F :||
Verse 3
I loved you since I knew you, I wouldn’t talk down to you.
I have to tell you just how I feel, I won’t share you with another boy.
Verse 4
I know my mind is made up, so put away your makeup.
Told you once I won’t tell you again, it’s a bad way.
Bridge 2
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light,
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light.
Chorus 2
||: Bb5 | Bb5 Eb | F5 | F5/E F5 | Gm | Gm Cm7 :||
||: (Roxanne) put on the red light :|| x4
You don’t have to put on the red light.
||: (Roxanne) put on the red light :|| x4
| Bb5 | Bb5 Eb | F5 | F5/E F5 | Gsus4 |
(Roxanne) put on the red light. You don’t have to put on the red light.
Roxanne | Chords + Lyrics (capo 3)
Intro
| Em | Em |
| Em | Bm/D | Cmaj7 | Bm |
| Am7 | Dsus4 | Esus4 | Esus4 |
Verse 1
| Em | Bm/D | Cmaj7 | Bm |
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light.
| Am7 | Dsus4 | Esus4 | Esus4 |
Those days are over, you don’t have to sell your body to the night.
Verse 2
Roxanne, you don’t have to wear that dress tonight,
walk the streets for money, you don’t care if it’s wrong or if it’s right.
Bridge 1
| Am7 | Dsus4 | Esus4 | Esus4 |
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light.
| Am7 | Dsus4 | Esus4 | Esus4 Am7 |
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light.
Chorus 1
| G5 | G5 C | D5 | D5/C# D5 | Em | Em Am7 |
| G G5 | G5 C | D5 D5/C# | D5/C# D5 | Esus4 | Esus4 |
||: Roxanne (put on the red light) :|| x4
You don’t have to put on the red light, oh.
Instrumental
||: Em | Em/D :||
Verse 3
I loved you since I knew you, I wouldn’t talk down to you.
I have to tell you just how I feel, I won’t share you with another boy.
Verse 4
I know my mind is made up, so put away your makeup.
Told you once I won’t tell you again, it’s a bad way.
Bridge 2
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light,
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light.
Chorus 2
||: G5 | G5 C | D5 | D5/C# D5 | Em | Em Am7 :||
||: (Roxanne) put on the red light :|| x4
You don’t have to put on the red light.
||: (Roxanne) put on the red light :|| x4
| G5 | G5 C | D5 | D5/C# D5 | Esus4 |
(Roxanne) put on the red light. You don’t have to put on the red light.
Roxanne Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Roxanne. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar sharp to 445Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
Let’s go through all the chords found in Roxanne using Roman numerals, with and without a capo on fret 3:
Verse
The verse chords are clearly grounded in the VI chord (Aeolian).
||: Gm (VI) | Dm/F (III/5) | Ebmaj7 (IV) | Dm (III) |
| Cm7 (II) | Fsus4 (V) | Gsus4 (VIsus) | Gsus4 :||
Or with a capo:
||: Em (VI) | Bm/D (III/5) | Cmaj7 (IV) | Bm (III) |
| Am7 (II) | Dsus4 (V) | Esus4 (VIsus) | Esus4 :||
Keep these Roman numerals in mind as you play the progression—it will be helpful when soloing.
Notice how the final sus4 chord feels unresolved, and then resolves when it repeats as the melancholic Gm or Em, depending on if you have a capo or not.
Bridge
The bridge stays on the sus4, building anticipation like this:
| Cm7 (II) | Fsus4 (Vsus4) | Gsus4 (VIsus4) | Gsus4 |
Or with a capo:
| Am7 (II) | Dsus4 (Vsus4) | Esus4 (VIsus4) | Esus4 |
Chorus
Lastly, Roxanne’s chorus chords mainly follow a I – IV – V – VI progression, with passing chords, like this:
||: Bb5 (I) | Bb5 Eb (IV) | F5 (V) | F5 |
| 1. Gm (VI) | Gm Cm7 (II) :||
| 2. Gsus4 | Gsus4 |
Or with a capo:
||: G5 (I) | G5 C (IV) | D5 (V) | D5 |
| 1. Em (VI) | Em Am7 (II) :||
| 2. Esus4 | Esus4 |
In the course, we work through all sections based on the rhythms and notes from the original recording. This includes translating the drums and bass interplay to the guitar.
After this, we play the vocal melody and explore how to think of modes as intervals, learn from the melody, and improvise in a way that complements the song.
Here’s a link to the full lesson series: Roxanne — 8 Guitar Lessons with TAB.
And here’s a couple of chord charts I’ve made for you. They serve as a handy reminder of the chords, which you’ll learn to experiment with after studying Roxanne in depth in the course.
Roxanne Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
I’m pleased with how this chart turned out; it’s easy to read, and all sections are clearly identifiable.
If you’d like to download this chart, here’s a PDF link: Roxanne chord chart PDF | Key of Gm. Here it is in the key of Em: Roxanne chord chart PDF | Key of Em.
This chart was created using iRealPro. Here’s a link to the file: Roxanne iReal Pro.
In the course, we play using a capo, here’s a preview.
Roxanne TAB | Course Preview
My version of Roxanne aims to capture how The Police played it as a band, but on one acoustic guitar.
To achieve this, I broke up the strumming and played lower strings to mimic the bass line from the original recording.
Building on this foundation, I developed four different ways to play the verse. Here’s the TAB for example 1 of how to play Roxanne’s verse chords.
In the course, you’ll get everything you need to play Roxanne, with TAB loops for all sections.
By completing these lessons, you’ll be able to play Roxanne just like I do. But we don’t stop there.
After learning the one acoustic guitar arrangement, we’ll play the vocal melody with great attention to detail, and then improvise over the verse progression (you’ll love that part!).
Roxanne Chords: Continue Learning
Roxanne is fairly easy once you can play the verse. We’ll cover how to play it in just four steps in the course
Start learning with the full lesson series: Roxanne – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy:
