Chords + Lyrics | Bye Bye Love
Intro
| A C D | N.C | A C D | N.C |
Chorus 1
| D | A | D | A |
Bye-bye love, bye-bye happiness.
| D | A | A E | A |
Hello loneliness, I think I’m a-gonna cry.
| D | A | D | A |
Bye-bye love, bye-bye sweet caress.
| D | A | A E | A | A E | A |
Hello emptiness, I feel like I could die, bye-bye my love, goodbye.
Verse 1
| A5 N.C | E | E | A |
There goes my baby, with someone new.
| A | E | E | A |
She sure looks happy, I sure am blue.
| A | D | D | E |
She was my baby, ’til he stepped in.
| E | E | E | A | A7 |
Goodbye to romance, that might have been.
Chorus 2
Bye-bye love, bye-bye happiness.
Hello loneliness, I think I’m a-gonna cry.
Bye-bye love, bye-bye sweet caress.
Hello emptiness, I feel like I could die, but bye-bye my love, goodbye
Verse 2
I’m through with romance, I’m through with love.
I’m through with countin’ the stars above.
And here’s the reason that I’m so free.
My lovin’ baby is through with me.
Chorus 3
| D | A | D | A |
Bye-bye love, bye-bye happiness.
| D | A | A E | A A7 |
Hello loneliness, I think I’m a-gonna cry.
| D | A | D | A |
Bye-bye love, bye-bye sweet caress.
| D | A | A E | A | A E | A |
Hello emptiness, I feel like I could die, but bye-bye my love, goodbye
Outro
||: A E | A :|| to fade
||: Bye-bye my love, goodbye :|| to fade
Bye Bye Love Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Bye Bye Love. I’ve used stem-seperation 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.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar to 435Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
Bye Bye Love is a classic “three-chord song” in the key of A, following the I – IV – V progression. The only deviation from this pattern comes in the intro, which introduces the bIIIx chord (a C), making it a four-chord song! Here’s how the intro looks:
| A (I) | C (bIIIx) | D (IV) | N.C |
| A | C | D | N.C |
The intro is the only section The Everly Brothers wrote; the rest of the song was penned by the songwriting duo Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.
Chorus
Once the chorus enters, the song returns to the IV chord with this simple progression:
||: D (IV) | A (I) | D | A |
| D | A | A E (V) | A :||
Verse
For the verse, Bye Bye Love moves to the V chord and returns home to the I chord:
| A5 (I) | N.C | E (V) | E |
| A | E | E | A |
| A | D (IV) | D | E |
| E | E | E | A | A7 |
The A7 at the end of the verse leads nicely into the IV chord, adding a touch of blues. Up until this point, the song uses only triads for the I – IV – V progression.
I’ve created some TAB for a guitar part that combines the original Everly Brothers’ guitar work with a version that works for a single guitarist in a band setting.
Additionally, I’ve included some Chet Atkins, check it out further down this guitar lesson.
Once you’ve learned the TAB, this chord chart will be all you need!
Bye Bye Love Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Bye Bye Love chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Bye Bye Love iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Bye Bye Love | TAB
Lets start by looking at the intro, which moves through A – C – D. The C chord is a bIIIx and the only chord played outside the key of A. Here’s the TAB:
You could potentially call the A chord an A/C#, although slash chords usually need to have a clear low note. This feels more like an inversion, with C# being the lowest note of the A chord.
The little rhythmic displacement—first hitting the A chord on beat 1, then on beat 2—is what makes the riff stand out!
Chorus
Next, let’s move on to a hybrid way of playing the main chorus part, suitable for either acoustic or electric guitar.
In the original recording, one guitar uses a capo (thinking in G), another mainly plays barre chords, and a third guitar (Chet Atkins) plays licks—more on this later.
This means no guitar is actually playing open A, D, and E chords, but if you’re the only guitarist, this is what you should mainly do:
That C-shaped A in bar two is imperative—make sure you play it!
Verse
For the verse, here’s the guitar part I would recommend:
Notice how open strings are used at the end of bars to make it easier to transition to the next chord. Every note matters!
Chet Atkins licks
Finally, let’s look at a few Chet Atkins licks. Here are three for the E chord:
Notice how example 2 uses the major pentatonic scale, while example 3 moves into the major blues scale (mixing the minor 3rd and major 3rd). These are tiny but important differences that make a lick sound more country or more blues—you need to blend them naturally, not stick exclusively to one style.
Here are three licks for the A chord. These are all based on the major pentatonic scale. You could modify them by using the open A string or switching between the major pentatonic and the blues scale:
And here are the D chord licks:
After playing all the TAB examples along with the Backing Tracks, I’m sure you’ll find a way to create a part that works perfectly in a live band setting if you’re the only guitarist!
If you want to incorporate the Chet Atkins licks, you’ll need to make the strumming less intense. To achieve this, make the chord shapes smaller and reduce the number of strums!
Everly Brothers’ first hit
Released in 1957, Bye Bye Love quickly became a chart-topping success. Its influence has resonated across generations, with notable covers by The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel.
Both The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel have cited The Everly Brothers as a major influence on their early careers. Other artists like The Hollies, Gram Parsons, and Emmylou Harris also acknowledge the duo’s impact.
As The Everly Brothers’ debut hit, Bye Bye Love opened the door to a string of successes that solidified the brothers as one of the best-selling duos of all time. Their subsequent hits included Wake Up Little Susie, All I Have To Do Is Dream, and Cathy’s Clown.
Bye Bye Love Chords: Continue Learning
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