Can’t Take My Eyes off You | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: F#/E | Am6/E | Emaj9 | Emaj9 :||
Verse 1
| E | E | Emaj7 | Emaj7 |
You’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off of you.
| E7 | E7 | A | A |
You’d be like Heaven to touch, I wanna hold you so much.
| Am6 | Am6 | E | E |
At long last, love has arrived, and I thank God I’m alive.
| F#/E | Am6/E | Emaj9 | Emaj9 |
You’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off of you.
Verse 2
Pardon the way that I stare, there’s nothin’ else to compare
The sight of you leaves me weak, there are no words left to speak.
But if you feel like I feel, please let me know that it’s real.
You’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off of you.
Instrumental 1
| F#m | B9 | E6 | E6 |
| F#m | B9 | E6 | C#7#9 | C#7#9 |
Chorus 1
| F#m7 | B11 | G#m7 | C#m7 |
I love you, Baby, and if it’s quite alright I need you, baby, to warm the lonely night.
| F#m7 | B11 | Emaj7 | C#7 |
I love you, Baby, trust in me when I say. Oh pretty,
| F#m7 | B11 | G#m7 | C#m7 |
Baby, don’t bring me down, I pray, oh, pretty Baby, now that I’ve found you, stay.
| F#m7 | F#m7 | D9 | D9 |
And let me love you, baby, let me love you.
Verse 3
| G | G | Gmaj7 | Gmaj7 |
You’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off of you.
| G7 | G7 | C | C |
You’d be like Heaven to touch, I wanna hold you so much.
| Cm6 | Cm6 | G | G |
At long last, love has arrived, and I thank God I’m alive.
| A/G | Cm6/G | G | G |
You’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off you.
Instrumental 2
| F#m | B9 | E6 | C#7#9 | C#7#9 |
I love you,
Chorus 2
| F#m7 | B11 | G#m7 | C#m7 |
Baby, and if it’s quite alright I need you, baby, to warm the lonely night. I love you,
| F#m7 | B11 | Emaj7 | C#7 |
Baby, trust in me when I say. Oh pretty,
| F#m7 | B11 | G#m7 | C#m7 |
Baby, don’t bring me down, I pray, oh, pretty Baby, now that I’ve found you, stay, oh, pretty,
| F#m7 | B11 | Emaj7 | C#7 | to fade
Baby, trust in me when I say. Oh, pretty…
Can’t Take My Eyes off You Chords: Learn the progressions
What we have in Can’t Take My Eyes off You is a chordal masterpiece.
The intro which is also the end of the verse uses slash chords, including an Am6/E, which is so unusual I don’t think I”ve ever seen it before.
Using Roman Numerals, that intro is:
||: F#/E (I/9) | Am6/E (IVm/5) | Emaj9 (I) | Emaj9 :||
The extension maj9 is what you get if you add all the notes of the horn melody together. I’ve designed some TAB for how to play this on one guitar, here’s a link: Can’t Take My Eyes Off You – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
The verse has a similar concept to Kiss Me, with its descending static I chord. There’s a IV – IVm in there as well before we hear the intro progression again.
| E (I) | E | Emaj7 | Emaj7 |
| E7 | E7 | A (IV) | A |
| Am6 (IVm) | Am6 | E | E |
| F#/E (I/9) | Am6/E (IVm/5) | Emaj9 |
Can’t Take My Eyes off You’s instrumental section, which appears before the chorus, is the one where the audience usually sings the horn line – Very rare! These are the chords:
| F#m (II) | B9 (V) | E6 (I) | E6 |
| F#m | B9 | E6 | C#7#9 (VIalt) | C#7#9 |
The chorus is similar to the instrumental section but not identical, we do start with a II – V but then vary it, like this:
||: F#m7 (II) | B11 (V) | G#m7 (III) | C#m7 (VI) |
|1. F#m7 | B11 | Emaj7 | C#7 (VIx) :||
|2. F#m7 | F#m7 | D9 | D9 |
That final D9 sets up the next verse which modulates up a minor third, in itself very rare, but that’s not all. As we go back to the instrumental section and final chorus, we modulate back to the original key, amazing stuff.
Here are verse 3‘s chords, they are the same as before, just in the key of G.
| G | G | Gmaj7 | Gmaj7 |
| G7 | G7 | C | C |
| Cm6 | Cm6 | G | G |
| A/G | Cm6/G | G | G |
Designing the TAB for all sections of Can’t Take My Eyes Off You took me ages to work out but it was worth it, I want to record this with a singer and make step-by-step lessons.
Until then, you have to do with the TAB and this chord chart.
Can’t Take My Eyes off You Chord Chart | PDF + IReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Can’t Take My Eyes off You Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Can’t Take My Eyes off You iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Can’t Take My Eyes off You was Franki Valli’s biggest hit!
The sensational Can’t Take My Eyes off You was penned by record producer Robert Stanley Crewe and Bob Gaudi, who also sang backing vocals for Franki Valli’s band, The Four Seasons.
Can’t Take My Eyes off You was released just under the name Franki Valli and must be seen as his biggest hit, with only December 1963 (Oh What A Night!) coming close.
As one of the most recognized songs in the history of popular music, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this must be a simple song when it comes to the chords.
But take a look at the chords and lyrics above and you get a serious lesson in complex harmony hit writing!
I can only think of one other song with this many chords and strange arrangement that has had an equal, worldwide reach, Over The Rainbow, and that’s the best song in the world.
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You Chords | Related Pages
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You | Guitar Lesson + TAB
In this guitar lesson, you get TAB for all sections of Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, all arranged for one acoustic guitar.
| E | E | Emaj7 | Emaj7 |
You’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off of you…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night!) chords by Franki Valli
- I Say A Little Prayer chords by Aretha Franklin
- Son Of A Preacher Man chords by Dusty Springfield
- You’re All I Need To Get By chords by Marvin Gaye
- Young Hearts Run Free chords by Candy Staton
Franki Valli and the Four Seasons tunes
The hugely successful musical Jersey Boys is based on the tunes by Franki Valli and the Four Seasons.
Hits include Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Silence Is Golden, Working My Way Back, December, 63 (Oh What a Night!), and Can’t Take My Eyes off You.
Franki Valli and the Four Seasons on the web
Fugees tunes
Hip Hop trio Fugees formed in the ’90s. After releasing a credible debut album, they dropped The Score in 1996 and became world-famous.
Their best tunes include Killing Me Softly, Ready Or Not, Fu-Gee-La, Nappy Heads, and No Woman, No Cry.
Fugees on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Can’t Take My Eyes off You 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 practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
