Chords + Lyrics | Billie Jean
Intro
||: F#m G#m | A G#m :||
Verse 1
| F#m G#m | A G#m |
She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene.
| F#m G#m | A G#m | Bm |
I said don’t mind, but what do you mean, I am the one,
| Bm | F#m G#m | A G#m | Bm |
who will dance on the floor in the round. She said I am the one,
| Bm | F#m G#m | A G#m |
who will dance on the floor in the round.
Verse 2
| F#m G#m | A G#m |
She told me her name was Billie Jean, as she caused a scene.
| F#m G#m | A G#m | Bm |
Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one.
| Bm | F#m G#m | A G#m |
Who will dance on the floor in the round.
Bridge 1
||: D | F#m :||
People always told me, be careful of what you do.
And don’t go around breaking young girls’ hearts.
And mother always told me, be careful of who you love.
| D | C# |
And be careful of what you do ’cause the lie becomes the truth, hey, hey.
Chorus 1
| F#m G#m | A G#m | F#m G#m | A G#m | B5 |
Billie Jean is not my lover. She’s just a girl who claims that I am the one.
| B5 | F#m G#m | A G#m | Bm | Bm | F#m G#m | A G#m |
But the kid is not my son. She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son.
Verse 3 (as verse 1)
For forty days and forty nights, the law was on her side.
But who can stand when she’s in demand, her schemes and plans.
‘Cause we danced on the floor in the round. So take my strong advice,
just remember to always think twice (do think twice, do think twice, ah-oh).
Verse 4 (as verse 2)
She told my baby we’d danced ’til three, then she looked at me.
Then showed a photo my baby cried his eyes were like mine (oh, no).
‘Cause we danced on the floor in the round, baby.
Bridge 2
People always told me, be careful of what you do.
And don’t go around breaking young girls’ hearts (don’t break no hearts).
She came and stood right by me, just the smell of sweet perfume.
This happened much too soon, she called me to her room.
Chorus 2
| F#m G#m | A G#m | F#m G#m | A G#m | B5 |
Billie Jean is not my lover, she’s just a girl who claims that I am the one.
| B5 | F#m G#m | A G#m |
But the kid is not my son.
| F#m G#m | A G#m | F#m G#m | A G#m | B5 |
Billie Jean is not my lover, she’s just a girl who claims that I am the one.
| B5 | F#m G#m | A G#m | B5 |
But the kid is not my son. She says I am the one,
| B5 | F#m G#m | A G#m |
but the kid is not my son.
Instrumental
||: F#m G#m | A G#m :|| x4
| Bm | Bm | F#m G#m | A G#m |
She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son.
Chorus 3
Billie Jean is not my lover. She’s just a girl who claims that I am the one.
But the kid is not my son. She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son.
Outro
||: F#m G#m | A G#m :||
You know what you did (she says he is my son).
Breaking my heart babe, she says I am the one.
||: Billie Jean is not my lover :|| x6
Billie Jean Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning December, 1963 (Oh What A Night!). I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, horns, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
I’ve also tuned the backing track as the original was sharp. Should you want to play to the original recording, you must tune your guitar to 451Hz, my free tuner can do this for you.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
Centred around F#m, Billie Jean initially draws from the Dorian mode—F#m being chord II in E major. This becomes clear through the F#m–G#m–A loop, the only position in a diatonic scale where two minor chords sit a tone apart, followed by a minor–major pair a semitone apart. This confirms the use of F# Dorian.
The introduction of Bm later in the verse disrupts this modal framework. It could be a borrowed chord from F# Aeolian (as a modal interchange), or possibly a rare example of a Vm chord. Such a usage is highly unusual in pop, with few notable exceptions—(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman being one.
Bridge
In the bridge, things get more ambiguous. We alternate between D and F#m before building over C#. If we interpret D as IV of F# Aeolian and C# as IIIx (a major mediant), it creates a very specific colour that pulls strongly back to F#m.
This kind of harmonic movement, while common individually, is rarely combined in one track—demonstrating sophisticated modal interchange at work.
Pop music thrives on progressions that feel familiar. The trick, as Billie Jean shows, is how you move between them. For more insight into recognising these shifts, check out my Top 10 Chord Progressions.
If you’re more interested in playing than theorising, head down this guitar lesson to the section displaying TAB.
Once the TAB is under your fingers, all you’ll need is a chord chart (below) and backing tracks (above) to get performance-ready.
Billie Jean Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
The chord chart fits neatly on a single page—though it’s a tight squeeze. To manage space, the second chorus uses a repeat sign. It’s a practical compromise for live use.
Want to download it?
→ Billie Jean chord chart PDF
Prefer a dynamic version you can transpose?
→ Billie Jean iReal Pro
This chart was built using iReal Pro, a powerful app that lets you adjust the key and layout instantly—ideal for live musicians and students alike.
Billie Jean | TAB
Let’s go through all sections of Billie Jean using TAB, starting with the intro – a bass line that looks like this:
This is an F# minor pentatonic riff, played as the chords move II – III – IV – III. I think you should double this part – hopefully, the bass player won’t mind!
Next, we start playing chords, which also feature in the verse. Here’s idea 1:
A Bm chord is added using the same rhythm as the previous chords. I included a slide-in on the A chord to spice things up.
Here’s idea 2. After learning both, feel free to blend them – and maybe even explore other areas of the neck to play Billie Jean‘s chords in.
Let’s move on to the bridge. For the verse, I adapted the strings part for guitar – but in the bridge, I had to invent a part. Here’s what I came up with:
Here’s Billie Jean’s chorus in TAB. It’s similar to the verse, but with different chord shapes and a new approach to playing over Bm. In the chords and lyrics at the top of this guitar lesson, some of the Bm chords are written as B5 – looking at the TAB, can you see why?
Finally, let’s look at that awesome Steve Lukather guitar lick.
When you can play all this TAB, try putting it together as you play using the backing tracks and chord chart above.
Moonwalking
As perhaps Michael Jackson’s most iconic track, Billie Jean became the soundtrack to one of pop history’s most unforgettable moments.
During his performance at Motown’s 25th anniversary on 16 May 1983, Michael introduced the world to the moonwalk—a move that electrified 47 million U.S. viewers and reshaped the language of modern dance.
Ironically, the moonwalk had been broadcast a year earlier on Top of the Pops by Shalamar’s Jeffrey Daniel. But Jackson’s execution, timing, and global reach made it legendary.
That performance didn’t just showcase a new dance step—it marked the instant when the King of Pop became a cultural phenomenon beyond compare.
Billie Jean Chords: Continue Learning
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