At Last chords by Etta James

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At Last | Chords + Lyrics

Intro

| 6/8 F | F/A | Bb | Bdim7 |
| F/C | D7b9 | Db7 | C7#5 |

Verse 1

| F | Dm7 | Gm7 | C7 | F | Dm7 |
At last, my love has come along.
| Gm7 | C7#5 | F | Dm7 |
My lonely days are over.
| Gm7 | C7 | F | Dm7 | Db7 | C7 |
And life is like a song. Ooh yeah, yeah.

Verse 2

| F | Dm7 | Gm7 | C7 | F | Dm7 |
At last, the skies above are blue.
| Gm7 | C7#5 | F | Dm7 |
My heart was wrapped up in clover.
| Gm7 | C7 | F | Bb | F |
The night I looked at you.

Bridge

| F | Gm7 | C7 | F |
I found a dream, that I could speak to.
| F | E7 | F7 E7 | Am7 |
A dream that I can call my own.
| Am7 | Dm7 | G | Cmaj7 |
I found a thrill to rest my cheek to.
| C#dim7 | Dm7 | G7 | C7 | C7#5 |
A thrill that I have never known. Ohh yeah, yeah.

Verse 3

| F | Dm7 | Gm7 | C7 | F | Dm7 |
You smile, you smile. Oh and then the spell was cast.
| Gm7 | C7#5 | F | Dm7 |
And here we are in heaven.
| Gm7 | C7 |
For you are mine, at last.

Outro

| F | F/A | Bb | Bdim7 |
| F/C | D7b9 | Db7 | C7#5 |

At Last’s chords and progressions

The beautiful and very well know string intro can actually be played on the guitar, as long as you get the chords right. This is what they are:

| F | F/A | Bb | Bdim7 |
| F/C | D7b9 | Db7 | C7#5 |

When the verse starts, we are in the key of F moving from I – VI – II – V. F – Dm7 – Gm7 – C7.

At the end of the verse, the Gm7 has been tritone substituted to a Db7.

The bridge starts off with a II – V – I in F. Gm7 – C7 – F. Next, a pivot between F and E signals that something is up as this a modal interchange, making the F chord IV, E IIIx, we are in the key of C instead.

Next, we get a II – V – I in this new key. Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7. The C#dim7 that follows sets the same progression up again.

Finally, the C becomes a C7 and we are ready to move back to the key of F.

At Last really is a textbook example of how to write a jazz blues ballad, both in terms of chords and lyrics.

The perfect first dance

As perhaps the perfect first dance at a Wedding, At Last by Etta James is a must for every working musician to not just learn the chords but also learn from this, in essence, perfect song.

The song may have been Etta James’s first single, it may also be the version everyone refer to but she didn’t write it and the song had actually been released 19 years earlier and recorded several times.

In 1942, Glenn Miller even hit the charts and reached the #2 spot with it. But when Etta sang it, the world stopped and At Last, will forever be connected with her.

Since Etta James’ 1960 release, several singers have covered it, including Celine Dion and Beyonce. Christina Aguilera who holds Etta James as her biggest inspiration finishes most of her gigs with the song.

Christina even sang At Last at Etta James’ funeral in 2012, you can find that performance in the playlist above.

At Last chords | Related pages

Five similar tunes

When you can play At Last's chords, try these five tunes from the song book.

Etta James

Jamesetta had a brutal childhood as the daughter of a 14-year-old mother and an unknown father, she was regularly beaten by foster parents and even her choir leader.

After touring with Little Richard in her teens, she signed with Chess Records, releasing her first single, At Last, only 22 years old.

Etta James tunes.

Etta James on the web