Crazy World | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| D | D | Em | Em |
| G | G | D | D (Dadd9) |
Chorus 1
| D | D | Em | Em |
How can I protect you in this crazy world?
| G | G | D | D (Dadd9) |
It’s alright. Yeah, it’s alright.
Verse 1
| D | D | Em | Em |
I have fallen down so many times.
| Em7 | Em7 | D | D |
Don’t know why, don’t know where, don’t care less it’s all the same.
| D | D | Em | Em |
I have travelled through so many towns.
| Em7 | Em7 | D | D (Dadd9) |
Don’t know why, don’t know where, don’t care less it’s all the same.
Chorus 2
How can I protect you in this crazy world?
It’s alright, it’s alright.
Verse 2
| D | D | Em | Em |
Can you hear the sound of nothing, nothing?
| Em7 | Em7 | D |
Nothing’s right, nothing’s wrong, don’t care less it’s all the same.
| D | D | Em | Em (hold) |
Love is blind, love is real, don’t you know that love is what you feel?
| Em7 | Em7 | D | D (Dadd9) |
It’s alright. Yeah, it’s alright.
Chorus 3
How can I protect you in this crazy world?
It’s alright, it’s alright.
Middle 8
| G5 | D | G5 | D |
When the talking’s over, all the crowd has gone.
| D | A G5 | G5 (hold) |
Nothing left I can do, am I ever gonna get through to you?
| D5/F D5/C D5 D5/F | D5 |
It’s alright.
Solo
| D | D | Em | Em |
| G | G | D | D Dadd9 D |
| D | D | Em | Em |
| G | G | D | D Dadd9 D |
It’s alright. This is a crazy world.
Chorus 4 (x3)
How can I protect you in this crazy world?
It’s alright. Yeah, it’s alright.
How can I protect you when all the crowd have gone? Now your party’s over, all this world is wrong
It’s alright, it’s alright.
How can I protect you in this crazy world?
It’s alright. Yeah, it’s alright.
Crazy World Chords: Learn the progressions
In the key of D, Crazy World‘s intro and chorus chords move from I – II – IV – I, like this:
| D (I) | D | Em (II) | Em |
| G (IV) | G | D (I) | D (Dadd9) |
The last chord you see in brackets, a Dadd9, is a chord riff where we play a D chord, a Dadd9 and then a D again.
This is best described using TAB (here’s that part of the lesson: Crazy World – Guitar Lesson with TAB).
On the original recording, there are two guitars but the riff can be incorporated with the strumming so you can play Crazy World on just one acoustic guitar throughout.
The verse chords are very similar to the chorus, but not identical. Instead of chord IV (a G chord) we stay on the II, adding a min7 extension, like this:
| D (I) | D | Em (II) | Em |
| Em7 | Em7 | D (I) | D |
When repeated, we add the chord riff over the last D chord.
In verse 2, we cut one bar of D out and also hold the Em before the strumming starts again on Em7. Use the chords and lyrics above to see this most clearly. The chord chart below does look a bit strange.
The middle 8 moves between IV and I, using only one chord per bar. This is a great songwriting trick to increase the intensity – move between chords twice as fast!
During this section, a new chord is also introduced as we play A (V) – G (IV), hold it and then play F and C over a D5 chord. The F makes that D a minor chord in a Cm-shape, so it is a bit strange to call it a D5/F.
Here’s the full middle 8 section (some people call this a bridge) for Crazy World:
| G5 (IV) | D (I) | G5 | D |
| D | A (V) G5 (IV) | G5 (hold) |
| D5/F D5/C D5 D5/F | D5 |
Here’s a chord chart I made for you.
Crazy World Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Even though this is a simple song, the small changes in, for example, verse 2, make it difficult to write a simple chart.
Still, once you know it, cutting that bar in verse 2 is indicated so even though it looks strange, it will serve as a reminder.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Crazy World Chord Chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: Crazy World iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
However, if you change the key, playing that D chord riff will have to be without the open D string, it won’t sound right.
Aslan is an Irish national treasure!
As I was doing gigs around Europe in my early 20s, I was constantly reminded by the Irish how U2 wasn’t the best band from Ireland.
It took a while but in the end, I realised that what they meant was that Thin Lizzy and Aslan were more credible.
They always knew I would know about Thin Lizzy, perhaps being surprised they were Irish, but Aslan was always the trump card.
“Oh, if you play Crazy World, the Irish will go nuts”, they kept telling me, always with a very serious face, as if they’d revealed a great secret that would change my life.
I have to give them credit, they were 100% right, the Irish did go nuts when I pulled this one out.
It was no surprise to me when I toured with an Irish band called The Script 10 years later and they covered the legendary Aslan tune. My bandmates had that look in their eyes “What tune is this?!?”.
It’s Aslan I told them, as if I had always known. And so the legend about the Irish national treasure kept spreading to a few more people, and I’m guessing, it will continue to do for as long as people love a great tune.
You’ll find the original recording of Crazy World, a live performance at an American TV show as well as that Script cover in the playlist at the top of the page.
Crazy World Chords | Related Pages
Crazy World | Guitar Lesson + TAB
In this guitar lesson, you get TAB for how to play all of Crazy World‘s sections. All arranged to work on one acoustic guitar.
| D | D | Em | Em |
How can I protect you in this crazy world…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- Babylon chords by David Gray
- Little Lion Man chords by Mumford & Sons
- Man On The Moon chords by R.E.M.
- The One I Love chords by R.E.M.
- This Is chords by Aslan
Aslan tunes
Aslan is a rock band from Dublin Ireland that formed in the early ’80s, broke up after the debut album and then reunited to release their signature song.
Their best tunes include This Is, Crazy World, and covers of Angie, Jealous Guy, Maggie May and Wish You Were Here.
Aslan on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Crazy World 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.
