Chords + Lyrics | Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)
Intro
| Fmadd4 | Bbmadd9 | C7b9 C7#5 | Fm |
Verse 1
| Fm Fmmaj7 | Fm7 Fm6 |
I was five and he was six we rode on horses made of sticks.
| Eb | C7 |
He wore black and I wore white, he would always win the fight.
Chorus 1
| Fm | Fm |
Bang bang, he shot me down, bang bang, I hit the ground.
| Eb | C7 |
Bang bang, that awful sound. Bang bang, my baby shot me down.
Instrumental 1
| Fmadd4 | Bbmadd9 | C7b9 C7#5 | Fm |
Verse 2
Seasons came and changed the time, when I grew up, I called him mine.
He would always laugh and say, “Remember when we used to play?”.
Chorus 2
Bang bang, I shot you down, bang bang, you hit the ground.
Bang bang, that awful sound. Bang bang, I used to shoot you down.
Instrumental 2
| Fmadd4 | Bbmadd9 | C7b9 C7#5 |
Bridge
| Fm | Eb |
Music played and people sang. Just for me, the church bells rang.
Instrumental 3
| Db/F Dbadd9/F | C7 C7b9 C7#9 C7b9 C7 | Fm |
Verse 3
Now he’s gone, I don’t know why. And ’til this day, sometimes I cry.
He didn’t even say goodbye, he didn’t take the time, to lie.
Chorus 3
Bang bang, he shot me down, bang bang, I hit the ground.
Bang bang, that awful sound. Bang bang, my baby shot me down.
Outro
| Fmadd4 | Bbmadd9 | C7b9 C7#5 | Fm |
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find a preview of the backing tracks we use when playing Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down). I’ve used AI 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 Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) with a singer.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar to 439Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
The chords above, when paired with the lyrics, may seem complicated, but they’re designed to help you remember the riff, as each chord indicates the intervals to play.
Before using these chords as a reference, it’s important to have the correct TAB. Here’s a link to that part of the lesson: Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Verse
The verse and chorus chords are quite similar, with only slight variations. In the verse, we have a descending root – maj7 – b7 – 6, represented like this with Roman numerals:
| Fm (II) Fmmaj7 | Fm7 Fm6 | | Eb (I) | C7 (VIx) |
Chorus
The chorus follows the same II – I – VIx progression but without the extensions, like this:
| Fm | Fm | | Eb | C7 |
The bridge lasts for just two bars before a new instrumental section appears:
| Fm | Eb | | Db/F (bVIIx) Dbadd9/F | C7 C7b9 C7#9 C7b9 C7 | Fm |
The bVIIx (backdoor dominant) creates plenty of tension, heightened by the C7 with both b9 and #9 extensions.
Once you’ve studied the meaning of these chords and memorised the TAB, this chord chart will serve as a useful reference at the gig. If you can visualise the intervals, everything will fall into place!
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) | TAB Preview
In the TAB lesson, we cover all sections of Bang Bang using TAB, arranged for solo guitar.
As a preview, here’s the iconic intro.
A perfect example of minimalism
Nancy Sinatra’s iconic Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) is a minimalist masterpiece, built around a single guitar with plenty of tremolo and a simple chord progression. The lyrics poignantly tell the story of early love.
The use of free time and emotive vocals makes it an excellent example to reference when discussing songs that are too complicated or recorded to a click.
Notice the subtle variation between the first and second choruses, specifically the second line:
Bang bang, that awful sound. Bang bang, my baby shot me down.
Bang bang, that awful sound. Bang bang, I used to shoot you down.
This small tweak is all that’s needed to deepen the narrative.
To further demonstrate the power of simplicity, play both Nancy’s and Cher’s original versions (see the playlist above). Sometimes, less really is more.
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full Backing Tracks + TAB lesson here: Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) (Nancy Sinatra) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy:
