Chords + Lyrics | Can’t Help Falling In Love (capo 2)
Intro
| 6/8 C | G | C | C |
Verse 1
| C | Em | Am | Am/G |
Wise men say.
| F | C/E | G/D | G |
Only fools rush in.
| F | G7 | Am | F Dm/E |
But I can’t help,
| C/G | G | C | C |
falling in love with you.
Verse 2
Shall I stay.
Would it be a sin?
If I can’t help,
falling in love with you?
Chorus 1
| Em | B7 | Em | B7 |
Like a river flows, surely to the sea.
| Em | B7 | Em | A7 | Dm | G7 |
Darling, so it goes. Some things are meant to be.
Verse 3
Take my hand.
Take my whole life, too.
For I can’t help,
falling in love with you.
Chorus 2
Like a river flows, surely to the sea.
Darling, so it goes. Some things are meant to be.
Verse 4
Take my hand.
Take my whole life, too.
For I can’t help,
falling in love with you.
| F | G7 | Am | F Dm/E |
For I can’t help,
| C/G | G | C |
falling in love with you.
Can’t Help Falling In Love Chords: A Deep Dive into the Harmonic Structure
Originally played on the piano, Can’t Help Falling in Love requires some adjustments to work smoothly on the guitar.
I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of transcribing and adapting it—let me walk you through the main concept.
First, place a capo on the 2nd fret and think in the key of C. Secondly, some of the movements in the verse need to be shifted down an octave to flow better on the guitar.
Verse
The verse starts by moving from I to III, then up a fourth to VI, like this:
| C (I) | Em (III) | Am (VI) | Am/G (VI/b7) |
That Am/G introduces a descending movement toward IV, but instead of using III – II, we pass through the bass notes of the 3rd and 5th from I and V, like this:
| F (IV) | C/E (I/3) | G/D (V/5) | G (V) |
The second half of the verse begins on IV and ascends to V – VI before resolving with IV and an unusual Dm/E chord—essentially II with its 9th in the bass:
| F (IV) | G7 (V) | Am (VI) | F (IV) Dm/E (II/9) |
The final line is the simplest—it’s just I and V, like this:
| C/G (I/5) | G (V) | C (I) | C |
Chorus
The chorus chords almost feel like a bridge. There’s also a modal interchange and a key change here. We need to think in the key of Em, with these chords:
||: Em (VI) | B7 (IIIx) :|| x3
Next, we encounter what feels like two II – V progressions—the first in the key of D (Em – A7), the second in the key of C (Dm – G7), like this:
| Em (VI or II) | A7 (IIx or V) | (key of Em or D)
| Dm (II) | G7 (V) | (key of C)
Overall, we transition from the verse (key of C) to the chorus (key of Em), then to the end of the chorus (key of D), before resolving in the final two bars (key of C).
As great as the chords for Can’t Help Falling in Love are, what excites me most is how by adapting the piano part for the guitar, we create an unfamiliar but compelling pattern. To fully capture this, you’ll need TAB.
Here’s a link to that part of the lesson: Can’t Help Falling in Love – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Once you’re comfortable with the TAB and its unusual pattern, a simple chord chart will be all you need. Here’s one I made for you.
Can’t Help Falling In Love Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Can’t Help Falling In Love chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Can’t Help Falling In Love iReal Pro.
Using the app, you can change the key but doing this will alter the chord shape and you won’t sound like that piano part anymore. Although, maybe that will be a good thing. The only way to find out is to try it!
Can’t Help Falling In Love TAB | Course Preview
In the course, you get plenty of TAB to guide you through learning how to play Can’t Help Falling In Love.
As a preview, here’s the intro.
Elvis’s most popular song!
According to Spotify’s streaming numbers, Can’t Help Falling in Love ranks as Elvis’s most popular tune.
This is somewhat surprising, as it only places at #8 on his list of top 50 best-selling hits. Perhaps this is due to its release as a double A-side with Rock-A-Hula Baby—a song you may not be familiar with (or maybe I should just speak for myself!).
Regardless, Can’t Help Falling in Love remains one of Elvis’s most iconic songs, often closing his concerts.
Over the years, it has been covered by countless artists, but my favourite is a live version by Jacob Collier—be sure to check it out in the playlist above!
Can’t Help Falling In Love Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Can’t Help Falling In Love (Elvis) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: