Baby Love | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| Dm | Bb | G | C N.C | N.C |
Ooh-oh-oh.
Verse 1
| C | C7/Bb | A7 | Dm |
Baby love, my baby love, I need you, oh how I need you.
| Dm | C | F | C |
But all you do is treat me bad, break my heart and leave me sad.
| F | C | F C/E | Dm7 G |
Tell me, what did I do wrong? To make you stay away so long.
Verse 2
| C | C7/Bb | A7 | Dm |
‘Cause baby love, my baby love, been missing ya, miss kissing ya.
| Dm | C | F | C |
Instead of breaking up, let’s do some kissing and making up.
| F | C | F C/E | Dm7 G |
Don’t throw our love away. In my arms why don’t you stay?
Solo
| C | C7/Bb | A7 | Dm |
Need ya, need ya, (baby love, oh-oh baby love).
| Dm | C | F | C |
| F | C | F C/E | Dm7 G |
Verse 3
| C | C7/Bb | A7 | Dm |
(Baby love), my baby love, why must we separate, my love?
| Dm | C | F | C |
All of my whole life through. I never loved no one but you.
| F | C | F C/E | Dm7 G | Db | Db |
Why you do me like you do? I get this need. Oh, oh.
Verse 4 (key change)
| Db | Db7/B | Bb7 | Ebm |
Need to hold you, once again, my love. Feel your warm embrace, my love.
| Ebm | Db | Gb | Db |
Don’t throw our love away, please don’t do me this way.
| Gb | Db | Gb Db/F | Ebm7 Ab |
Not happy like I used to be, loneliness has got the best of me.
Verse 5
| Db | Db7/B | Bb7 | Ebm |
My love, my baby love, I need you, oh how I need you.
| Ebm | Db | Gb | Db |
Why you do me like you do? After I’ve been true to you.
| Gb | Db | Gb Db/F | Ebm7 Ab |
So deep in love with you, baby, baby (baby).
Outro
| Db | Db7/B | Bb7 | Ebm |
‘Til it’s hurtin’ me, ’til it’s hurtin’ me, baby love
| Ebm | Db | Gb | Db |
||: Don’t throw our love away (don’t throw our love away. :||
Baby Love Chords: Learn the progressions
The way Baby Love’s chords move during the intro makes the listener unsure of what the key centre is.
Starting with Dm Bb G, stopping on a C, we can be either in the key of F, with the G being the IIx chord. Or we can be in the key of C, with the Bb being a bVIIx chord.
As the verse starts, and we move C – C7/Bb – A7 – Dm, we are none the wiser, although now it does start to smell like F is the key, with A7 being the IIIx chord.
During the middle of the verse, this all settles down as we are moving between Dm, C, and F. VI – V – I in the key of F.
Ironically, during this part of the verse, the lyrics for Baby Love are the most uncertain with phrases like, “all you do is treat me bad”, “breaking up”, “break my heart”, “I never loved no one but you”, and “don’t throw our love away”.
It’s details like this that make a great song, you must somehow have contrast, even if it is only speaking to the subconscious.
After two and a half verses we get a solo, then another verse followed by a key change, up a semitone.
Baby Love was Motown’s first #1
Written by Holland-Dozier-Holland, performed by The Supremes, and backed by house band The Funk Brothers, Baby Love was released in 1964. It quickly reached #1 in the U.K., and the U.S., making it The Supremes and Motown’s first #1 record.
This made Berry Gordy focus all his attention on the group as what happened next was a very busy schedule for what was to become the most successful American vocal group of all time.
Baby Love is featured on The Supremes’ second album, where one more #1 is to be found in Where Did Our Love Go?
Following this album, the band would release a Beatles covers album (also in 1964).
The following year they released a country and western album, a Sam Cooke tribute, as well as one entitled More Hits By The Supremes. This album ironically contained only one hit in Stop! In The Name Of Love.
Before 1965 had ended, they managed to also squeeze in a Xmas album. In total, The Supremes recorded six albums in just two years!
Baby Love Chords | Related Pages
Intermediate Electric
The intermediate electric tunes will help you with learning the CAGED system all over the fretboard, both for chords and pentatonic scales.
Learn these Motown/Soul classics, and you’ll not just improve dramatically but also gain yourself a repertoire.
Five similar tunes with chords and lyrics
- Be My Baby chords by The Ronettes
- How Sweet It Is chords by Marvin Gaye
- Jimmy Mack chords by Martha and the Vandellas
- My Girl chords by The Temptations
- My Guy chords by Mary Wells
The Funk Brothers tunes
Motown’s house band, The Funk Brothers was the most successful group of studio musicians of all time.
Their contributions can be heard on Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Dancing In The Street, I Heard It Through The Grapevine, My Girl, and My Guy.
The Funk Brothers on the web
Holland-Dozier-Holland tunes
Motown’s main songwriting team, Holland-Dozier-Holland are responsible for some of the biggest tunes of all time.
Their hit parade includes classics such as Can I Get A Witness, Jimmy mackReach Out, I’ll Be There, You Can’t Hurry Love, and Band Of Gold.
Holland-Dozier-Holland on the web
The Supremes tunes
The Supremes are the most successful American vocal group of all time, at their peak, they were as big as The Beatles.
Led by Diana Ross, they had #1’s with Where Did Our Love Go, Baby Love, Stop! In the Name of Love, You Can’t Hurry Love, and You Keep Me Hangin’ On.
The Supremes on the web
Motown & Soul
Motown & Soul is the best place to start if you want to get better at playing the electric guitar. The harmony is simple and there is room for improvisation.
Learn tunes by The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, and many more.
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Baby Love chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
