Billie Jean | Chords + Lyrics
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.
| D | F#m |
And don’t go around breaking young girls’ hearts.
| D | F#m |
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 | B5 | B5 | 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
| F#m G#m | A G#m |
For forty days and forty nights, the law was on her side.
| F#m G#m | A G#m | Bm |
But who can stand when she’s in demand, her schemes and plans.
| Bm | F#m G#m | A G#m | Bm |
‘Cause we danced on the floor in the round. So take my strong advice,
| Bm | F#m G#m | A G#m |
just remember to always think twice (do think twice, do think twice, ah-oh).
Verse 4
| F#m G#m | A G#m |
She told my baby we’d danced ’til three, then she looked at me.
| F#m G#m | A G#m | Bm |
Then showed a photo my baby cried his eyes were like mine (oh, no).
| Bm | F#m G#m | A G#m |
‘Cause we danced on the floor in the round, baby.
Bridge 2
| D | F#m |
People always told me, be careful of what you do.
| D | F#m |
And don’t go around breaking young girls’ hearts (don’t break no hearts).
| D | F#m |
She came and stood right by me, just the smell of sweet perfume.
| D | C# |
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
Chorus 3
| B5 | B5 | F#m G#m | A G#m |
She says I am the one, 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. She says I am the one.
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’s chords and progressions
Being at home in F#m, Billie Jean is initially in Dorian as this is definitely chord II. We can say this for certain as only in one place in the diatonic key do we find two minor chords a tone apart.
We can also say this as in only one place do we find a minor chord and a major chord, a semitone apart. Since Billie Jean goes F#m – G#m – A, there is no doubt – it has to be F# Dorian.
When the Bm chord appears later down the verse, this throws a spanner in the works as it’s either a modal interchange from F# Dorian to F# Aeolian or a temporary Vm, very unusual. You’d have to go as far as (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman to find one of those!
For the bridge, do we start on chord bVIIx, or have we temporarily gone to F# Aeolian again, making that D chord IV?
The bridge pivots between D and F#m before it lastly goes to a C#, in F# Aeolian, this is a IIIx.
This C# pulls more strongly back to F#m. I call this a IIIx, traditionalists call the chord a mediant major.
In many hits, we use chord progression loops like this. They’re all super common if seen in isolation, but as Billie Jean has demonstrated, they don’t always belong to the same key/mode.
What you’ve seen here in Billie Jean is what is called a modal interchange. In order to make a modal interchange work in a pop song, each progression needs to be common or it starts to sound like jazz.
My top 10 chord progression list is a great place to start, should you want to get better at recognizing these movements.
Billie Jean and Moonwalking
As one of, if not the, most recognizable Michael Jackson tunes we have the legendary Billie Jean.
This is the song Michael introduced the moonwalk to during the 25th anniversary of Motown on May 16th, 1983, a moment that is said to have changed modern dance history.
This is funny, considering the move had been done on Top Of The Pops only a year earlier by Shalamar‘s dancer Jeffrey Daniel as they showcased their hit A Night To Remember. Perhaps because the show wasn’t televised in the U.S., the effect was so big.
The live TV show was watched by 47 million Americans, collectively having their minds blown.
Michael has had a lot of great moments during his incomparable career, however, this must surely have been the night when the King Of Pop went from super famous to immortal.
Billie Jean chords | Related pages
Five similar tunes
- A Night To Remember chords
- Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough chords
- Get Lucky chords
- Rock With You chords
- Thriller chords
Michael Jackson
The King of Pop became world-famous before he was even a teenager as he signed to Motown with his brothers as The Jackson 5.
After many hits, Michael Jackson embarked on a crazy solo career that would see him become as big as Elvis and The Beatles.
Michael Jackson on the web
Dance, Disco & Funk
