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(They Long To Be) Close To You chords by Carpenters

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Close To You | Chords + Lyrics

Intro

||: Cadd9 C :|| x3
| Cadd9 |

Verse 1

| Cadd9 | Bm | Bm7 | Em9 |
Why do birds suddenly appear, every time, you are near?
| Cadd9 | Cadd9 | G5 | G5 |
Just like me, they long to be, close to you.

Verse 2

| Cadd9 | Bm | Bm7 | Em9 |
Why do stars fall down from the sky, every time, you walk by?
| Cadd9 | Cadd9 | G | G7 |
Just like me, they long to be, close to you.

Chorus 1

Verse 3

| Cadd9 | Bm | Bm7 | Em9 |
That is why all the girls in town (girls in town). Follow you (follow you) all around (all around).
| Cadd9 | Cadd9 | G |
Just like me, they long to be, close to you.

Solo – Key change!

| N.C Db/F |
| Dbadd9 | Cm | Cm7 | Fm9 |
| Dbsus2 | Dbsus2 Db5 | Ab | Ab |

Chorus 2

Verse 4

Outro

||: Dbmaj7 | Dbmaj7 | Abmaj7 | Abmaj7 :||
||: Wa-ah, close to you. :||

Close To You Chords: Learn the progressions

(They Long To Be) Close To You was written by Burt Bacharach, so we are in for some clever chordal movement with this one!

Starting with Cadd9 – Bm, the eagle-eyed chord enthusiast can instantly see that we have moved from IV to III since this is the only area where we have a major chord and a minor chord a semitone apart.

This tells us that the key must be G. Here are Close To You’s verse chords, with Roman Numerals.

| Cadd9 (IV) | Bm (III) | Bm7 | Em9 (VI) |
| Cadd9 | Cadd9 |1. G5 (I) | G5 |2. G | G7 |

The second time we resolve to chord I, the tension is increased with a dom7, leading back to chord IV, just like a blues.

As the IV chord is also what starts the chorus, I really feel that G7 was necessary as the verse and chorus chords of Close To You are so similar. Here’s chorus 1’s progression:

Let’s take a look at how you could play this on one acoustic guitar (I’m incorporating the melody which is why I had to call it a Cmaj13, can you see all the intervals?

Following this movement between verse and chorus, harmonically, the only thing that happens is that we move up a semitone, to the key of Ab.

Here’s the new chorus:

Even though the chords are the same, as the key is new, we have to play all of Close To You’s chords in a different way (members get TAB). The same extensions aren’t available when using barre chord shapes.

These are Close To You’s solo and verse 4‘s chords in the new key:

Verse 4 continues moving from Dbsus2 – Absus2 which you simply must have TAB to make it sound like the original arrangement.

The outro repeats that last movement, IV – I, but now with different extensions, like this:

||: Dbmaj7 (IV) | Dbmaj7 | Abmaj7 (I) | Abmaj7 :||

These last chords from Close To You remind me of Empire State Of Mind, maybe it’s just me or did Alicia “get inspired”?

Here’s a link to the complete lesson with TAB for every section: (They Long To Be) Close To You – Guitar Lesson with TAB.

Close To You was Carpenter’s first hit!

(They Long To Be) Close To You was originally written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

Initially released as They Long To Be Close To You with Richard Chamberlain in 1963, the song didn’t do too well, in fact, the B-side Blue Guitar became a hit!

In 1964 Burt arranged the song for Dionne Warwick, this time releasing the song as a B-side to Here I Am.

Again, it didn’t do well in the charts so Burt released his own version in 1968, but this didn’t work either!

In 1970 the Carpenters released their version, now named (They Long To Be) Close To You.

This time it worked and the song even snatched a Grammy in favor of Let It Be by The Beatles and Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel.

Following the success of Close To You, Carpenters went on to sell more albums than any other act in the ’70s.

Close To You Chords | Related Pages

Advanced Acoustic

The advanced acoustic tunes use big chord extensions and sometimes, unique and complex chords that incorporate open strings.

Study these in-depth and you will gain a complete understanding of the guitar fretboard, including how to build any scale, arpeggio, or chord.

Five similar tunes with chords and lyrics

When you can play Close To You's chords, try these five tunes from the song book.

Burt Bacharach tunes

One of the most important composers of the last century, Burt Bacharach‘s tunes have been recorded by over 1000 artists.

Unforgettable hits include Close To You, Walk On By, Arthur’s Theme, That’s What Friends Are For, What The World Needs Now, and I Say A Little Prayer.

Burt Bacharach on the web

Carpenters tunes

Siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter started out in music early on. Richard on the Piano and Karen on Lead Vocals/Drums.

During Carpenters‘ short and troubled career, they became the biggest act of the 70s, topping even The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel at Award ceremonies.

Carpenters on the web

Ballads & First Dances

When you can play Close To You, check out these Ballads.

The perfect first dance or an emotional piece for your next audition, this collection of Ballads & First Dances is great for working on your expression.

Learn tunes from Burt Bacharach, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, Eva Cassidy, Ben Harper, Etta James, Chet Baker, Elvis, Norah Jones, and many more.

About me | Dan Lundholm

Dan Lundholm wrote this guitar lesson about Close To You.

This was a guitar lesson on Close To You chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.

Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.