Babylon Chords | David Gray Guitar Lesson


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Babylon | Chords + Lyrics (capo 1)


Intro

||: Dmaj9/F# | G :||

Verse 1

||: Dmaj9/F# | G :||
Friday night I’m going nowhere, all the lights are changing green to red.
Turning over TV stations, situations running through my head.
Looking back through time, you know it’s clear that I’ve been blind, I’ve been a fool.
| Dmaj9/F# | G | Dmaj9/F# | G | Em Emadd9 | Emadd9 |
To open up my heart to all that jealousy, that bitterness, that ridicule.

Verse 2

||: Dmaj9/F# | G :||
Saturday I’m running wild and all the lights are changing, red to green.
Moving through the crowd I’m pushing chemicals all rushing in my bloodstream.
Only wish that you were here, you know I’m seeing it so clear, I’ve been afraid.
To show you how I really feel, admit to some of those bad mistakes I’ve made.

Chorus 1

| D | A | Em | F#m |
If you want it, come and get it, crying out loud.
| D | A | Em | G |
The love that I was, giving you was, never in doubt.
| D | A | Em | A |
Let go of your heart, let go of your head and feel it now.
| D | A | Em | A | A |
Let go of your heart, let go of your head and feel it now.
||: Dmaj9/F# | G :|| x4
Babylon, Babylon, Babylon.

Verse 3 (as verse 2)

Sunday all the lights of London, shining sky is fading red to blue.
I’m kicking through the Autumn leaves and wondering where it is you might be going to.
Turning back for home, you know I’m feeling so alone, I can’t believe.
Climbing on the stair, I turn around to see you smiling there, in front of me.

Chorus 2

And if you want it, come and get it, crying out loud.
The love that I was, giving you was, never in doubt.
Let go of your heart, let go of your head and feel it now.
| D | A | Em | A13 |
Let go of your heart, let go of your head and feel it now.
| D | A | Em | A13 |
Let go of your heart, let go of your head and feel it now.
| D | A | Em | A | A |
Let go of your heart, let go of your head and feel it now.
||: Dmaj9/F# | G :|| x5
Babylon, Babylon, Babylon, Babylon, Babylon, why?

Outro

| Dmaj9/F# | Dmaj9/F# | D/F# | Dmaj7 |



Babylon Chords: Learn the progressions


Above, you saw the chords and lyrics for Babylon by David Gray. While they are correct, the uniqueness of the chords means they don’t fully capture how to play the song accurately.

With a capo on fret 1, the intro and verse revolve around a loop between Dmaj9/F# and G. However, to truly capture the original sound, you’ll need the TAB (see further down this page).

The chorus, in contrast, follows more familiar open-position chords, with only slight variations in bar 4:

| D (I) | A (V) | Em (II) | F#m (III) |
| D | A | Em | G (IV) |
| D | A | Em | A (V) |
| D | A | Em | A | A |

This contrast between a harmonically unique verse and a conventionally structured chorus is a clever songwriting technique. It subtly guides the listener from intrigue to familiarity, creating a natural sense of resolution.

Once you’ve mastered the verse’s picking pattern, a simple chord chart is all you need as a reminder—here’s one I made for you.


Babylon chord chart.


Babylon Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro


The Emadd9 you see at the end isn’t what David Gray plays—I added it in my version. In the original, he simply holds an Em chord.

Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Babylon Chord Chart PDF.

This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: Babylon iRealPro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key—and perhaps swap Emadd9 back to Em!

In the course, we explore TAB and use play-along loops to study Babylon in greater depth, particularly that distinctive intro/verse—a preview is below.


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Babylon TAB | Course Preview


As discussed above, it’s that intro/verse chord lick that you can’t simply read as a chord name to get it right.

You need the exact TAB, and what’s more, you’ll probably need to slowly build towards playing this chord riff correctly, as it’s fretted in a very unusual way.

In the course, we’ll work towards playing the chord riff using play-along loops and TAB, and then explore variations, because, when played on just one guitar, it occasionally needs fattening up.

Here’s one of the ways I’ll show members how to play the verse (out of six examples).

Babylon chords and TAB. Chord riff, example 3.

In the course, we methodically go through how to play each section of the arrangement, combined with modified chromatic exercises to improve your hammer-on and pull-off technique, as these are very prominent in Babylon.

Following this, we’ll build a second guitar part so you, me, and the singer can play the tune together.

You can see the result of this in the playlist at the top of this page as I play the complete song as guitar 2 as well.

Here’s a link to the 8 step-by-step guitar lessons: Babylon – Guitar Lessons with TAB.



Babylon was a bedroom recording!

When I first heard Babylon, I thought it had an interesting production; it felt fresh for a singer-songwriter, and I assumed that the artist must have had a producer who helped make his songs radio-friendly.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Babylon was recorded after David Gray had been through the music industry and came out the other end disappointed.

What happened was that he gave it one more shot, recording the entire album (White Ladder, 1998) in his bedroom, using Protools and the help of his drummer, Craig McClune.

The whole album feels genuine, and there are many other tracks worth checking out beyond Babylon. I remember not being able to put it down for months.

Following the release of White Ladder, David shot to fame, and the music industry came crawling back. Unfortunately, he never managed to write songs of the same calibre again.

I’m not sure what this proves, but in my experience, most artists go through a period when all their best work emerges. For David, that was captured in his bedroom in the late ’90s.

If you have a strange sense that the main chord riff of Babylon feels somewhat familiar, check out Ventura Highway by America. I’m certain David was “inspired” by it.

He may have done this consciously or unconsciously. The serious songwriter goes to work every day, rewriting songs. Paul McCartney and Paul Simon have admitted to this many times.

It is only the idealist beginner who believes in divine inspiration!



Babylon Chords | Related Pages


Babylon | 8 Step-by-step Guitar Lessons

Babylon 8 step-by-step guitar lessons with TAB.

Babylon by David Grey has a very tricky verse lick that uses hammer-ons and pull-offs. To stand a chance of playing this, we must first practice some exercises.

Once you can do this, we learn the song step by step, including a unique 2nd guitar part so we can perform it together.


Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics

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


David Gray tunes

David Gray wrote Babylon.

David Gray is an English singer-songwriter. After many years of struggling with unsuccessful releases on different labels, he ended up recording the album White Ladder in his bedroom.

Since the release of White Ladder, David has toured the world.


David Gray on the web

Listen to David Gray on Spotify.


About me | Dan Lundholm

Dan Lundholm wrote this guitar lesson on Babylon's chords.

This was a guitar lesson about Babylon chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.

Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not by practising scales or studying theory in isolation.


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