Dance Me To The End Of Love | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| Gm | Gm |
||: Cm | Cm | Gm | Gm | D7 | D7 | Gm | Gm :||
La la, la la la la…
Verse 1
| Cm | Cm | Gm | Gm |
Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin.
| Cm | Cm | Gm | Gm |
Dance me through the panic till I’m gathered safely in.
| Cm | Cm | Gm | Gm |
Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove.
| D7 | D7 | Gm | Gm |
Dance me to the end of love.
| D7 | D7 | Gm | Gm |
Dance me to the end of love.
Verse 2
Oh, let me see your beauty when the witnesses are gone.
Let me feel you moving like they do in Babylon.
Show me slowly what I only know the limits of.
Dance me to the end of love.
Dance me to the end of love.
Instrumental 1
||: F | F | Gm | Gm :||
Verse 3
Dance me to the wedding now, dance me on and on.
Dance me very tenderly and dance me very long.
We’re both of us beneath our love, we’re both of us above.
Dance me to the end of love.
Dance me to the end of love.
Verse 4 (one line shorter)
Dance me to the children who are asking to be born.
Dance me through the curtains that our kisses have outworn.
Raise a tent of shelter now, though every thread is torn.
| D7 | D7 | Gm | Gm |
Dance me to the end of love.
Instrumental 2
||: F | F | Gm | Gm :||
| Cm | Cm | Gm | Gm | D7 | D7 | Gm | Gm |
La la, la la la la…
Verse 5 (one line longer)
Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin.
Dance me through the panic till I’m gathered safely in.
Touch me with your naked hand, touch me with your glove.
Dance me to the end of love.
Dance me to the end of love.
Dance me to the end of love.
Dance Me to the End of Love Chords: A Minor Blues Breakdown
This song provides a great opportunity to incorporate bass lines when comping. While the full details are best understood through TAB (more on that later), let’s start with the chord progressions.
The intro (which also serves as the second instrumental section) is essentially a condensed version of the verse. In the key of Gm, we move through II – VI – IIIx – VI, like this:
||: Cm (II) | Cm | Gm (VI) | Gm |
| D7 (IIIx) | D7 | Gm (VI) | Gm :||
The verse follows a pattern of Cm and Gm repeated three times before resolving to D7.
This is essentially a minor blues progression. In standard 12-bar blues, the chords typically start on I, move to IV, then return before a turnaround—like in Texas Flood.
In minor blues, the same pattern applies but using VI and II before the turnaround, as heard in The Thrill Is Gone. Some blues progressions, like Clapton’s version of Rollin’ and Tumblin’, go straight to IV, and that’s exactly what Dance Me to the End of Love does—just in minor.
Here’s the full verse progression, structured like a minor blues with two turnarounds:
||: Cm | Cm | Gm | Gm |
| Cm | Cm | Gm | Gm |
| Cm | Cm | Gm | Gm |
| D7 | D7 | Gm | Gm |
| D7 | D7 | Gm | Gm :||
The instrumental section starts by moving to chord V, like this:
||: F (V) | F | Gm (VI) | Gm :||
Playing Style
To play along with the original recording, strum short, on-the-beat accents on beats 2 and 4.
If you prefer Madeleine Peyroux’s version, simply transpose everything down a whole step to Fm.
Alternating Bass
Regardless of the version, these chords naturally call for a bass line alternating between the root and the 5th—a fundamental jazz and blues comping technique.
This is easiest to grasp through TAB, which illustrates how the bass line and chords interact. You can find that here: Dance Me to the End of Love – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Once you’re comfortable with the alternating bass, a simple chord chart will be all you need. Here’s one I made for you!
Dance Me To The End Of Love Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Dance Me To The End Of Love chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Dance Me To The End Of Love chord chart iReal Pro.
Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key. This makes it easy to go to Madeleine Peyroux”s version (key of Fm) in an instant, should it turn out that’s the version everyone else in the band wants to play.
Dance Me to the End of Love – Inspired by a Greek Dance and the Holocaust
Leonard Cohen’s Dance Me to the End of Love was released in 1984 as a single from the album Various Positions.
The music video powerfully depicts old couples, while the lyrics, though disguised as a love song, are said to be inspired by the Holocaust.
The line “Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin” refers to the fact that while Jews were burned, Nazi officers had string quartets playing.
Musically, the chord progression follows that of the Greek dance Hasapiko. Greece was a significant place for Cohen—he spent time there in the late ’60s when he wrote Bird on the Wire.
The song has been covered by many, but perhaps the most notable interpretation is Madeleine Peyroux’s version on her 2005 album Careless Love.
Dance Me To The End Of Love Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Dance Me To The End Of Love (Leonard Cohen) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: