Chords + Lyrics | Don’t Know Why
Intro
| Bbmaj7 Bb7 | Ebmaj7 D(#5) | Gm7 C7 | F7sus4 |
Verse 1
| Bbmaj7 Bb7 | Ebmaj7 D(#5) |
I waited ’til I saw the sun.
| Gm7 C7 | F7sus4 Bb |
I don’t know why I didn’t come.
| Bbmaj7 Bb7 | Ebmaj7 D(#5) |
I left you by the house of fun.
| Gm7 C7 | F7sus4 Bb |
I don’t know why I didn’t come.
| Gm7 C7 | F7sus4 Bb |
I, don’t know why I didn’t come.
Verse 2
| Bbmaj7 Bb7 | Ebmaj7 D(#5) |
When I saw the break of day.
| Gm7 C7 | F7sus4 Bb |
I wished that I could fly away.
| Bbmaj7 Bb7 | Ebmaj7 D(#5) |
‘Stead of kneeling in the sand.
| Gm7 C7 | F7sus4 Bb |
Catching teardrops in my hand.
Bridge 1
| Gm7 | C7 | F7 | F7 |
My heart is drenched in wine.
| Gm7 | C7 | F F/Eb | Bb/D F7/C |
But you’ll be on my mind, forever.
Verse 3 (same as verse 2)
Out across the endless sea.
I would die in ecstasy.
But I’ll be a bag of bones.
Driving down the road alone.
Bridge 2
My heart is drenched in wine.
But you’ll be on my mind, forever.
Solo
||: Bbmaj7 Bb7 | Ebmaj7 D(#5) |
| Gm7 C7 | F7sus4 :||
Verse 4 (same as verse 1)
Something has to make you run.
I don’t know why I didn’t come.
I, feel as empty as a drum.
I don’t know why I didn’t come.
I, don’t know why I didn’t come.
| Gm7 C7 | F7sus4 Bb | Bb |
I don’t know why I didn’t come.
Don’t Know Why | Chords + Lyrics (capo 1)
Intro
| Amaj7 A7 | Dmaj7 C#(#5) | F#m7 B7 | E7sus4 |
Verse 1
| Amaj7 A7 | Dmaj7 C#(#5) |
I waited ’til I saw the sun.
| F#m7 B7 | E7sus4 A |
I don’t know why I didn’t come.
| Amaj7 A7 | Dmaj7 C#(#5) |
I left you by the house of fun.
| F#m7 B7 | E7sus4 A |
I don’t know why I didn’t come.
| F#m7 B7 | E7sus4 A |
I, don’t know why I didn’t come.
Verse 2
| Amaj7 A7 | Dmaj7 C#(#5) |
When I saw the break of day.
| F#m7 B7 | E7sus4 A |
I wished that I could fly away.
| Amaj7 A7 | Dmaj7 C#(#5) |
‘Stead of kneeling in the sand.
| F#m7 B7 | E7sus4 A |
Catching teardrops in my hand.
Bridge 1
| F#m7 | B7 | E7 | E7 |
My heart is drenched in wine.
| F#m7 | B7 | E E/D | A/C# E7/B |
But you’ll be on my mind, forever.
Verse 3 (same as verse 2)
Out across the endless sea.
I would die in ecstasy.
But I’ll be a bag of bones.
Driving down the road alone.
Bridge 2
My heart is drenched in wine.
But you’ll be on my mind, forever.
Solo
||: Amaj7 A7 | Dmaj7 C#(#5) |
| F#m7 B7 | E7sus4 A :||
Verse 4 (same as verse 1)
Something has to make you run.
I don’t know why I didn’t come.
I, feel as empty as a drum.
I don’t know why I didn’t come.
I, don’t know why I didn’t come.
| F#m7 B7 | E7sus4 A | A |
I don’t know why I didn’t come.
Don’t Know Why | Chords + Lyrics (capo 3)
Intro
| Gmaj7 G7 | Cmaj7 B(#5) | Em7 A7 | D7sus4 |
Verse 1
| Gmaj7 G7 | Cmaj7 B(#5) |
I waited ’til I saw the sun.
| Em7 A7 | D7sus4 G |
I don’t know why I didn’t come.
| Gmaj7 G7 | Cmaj7 B(#5) |
I left you by the house of fun.
| Em7 A7 | D7sus4 G |
I don’t know why I didn’t come.
| Em7 A7 | D7sus4 G |
I, don’t know why I didn’t come.
Verse 2
| Gmaj7 G7 | Cmaj7 B(#5) |
When I saw the break of day.
| Em7 A7 | D7sus4 G |
I wished that I could fly away.
| Gmaj7 G7 | Cmaj7 B(#5) |
‘Stead of kneeling in the sand.
| Em7 A7 | D7sus4 G |
Catching teardrops in my hand.
Bridge 1
| Em7 | A7 | D7 | D7 |
My heart is drenched in wine.
| Em7 | A7 | D D/C | G/B D7/A |
But you’ll be on my mind, forever.
Verse 3 (same as verse 2)
Out across the endless sea.
I would die in ecstasy.
But I’ll be a bag of bones.
Driving down the road alone.
Bridge 2
My heart is drenched in wine.
But you’ll be on my mind, forever.
Solo
||: Gmaj7 G7 | Cmaj7 B(#5) |
| Em7 A7 | D7sus4 G :||
Verse 4 (same as verse 1)
Something has to make you run.
I don’t know why I didn’t come.
I, feel as empty as a drum.
I don’t know why I didn’t come.
I, don’t know why I didn’t come.
| Em7 A7 | D7sus4 G | G |
I don’t know why I didn’t come.
Don’t Know Why Chords: Understand the Progressions and Voice Leading
The chords for Don’t Know Why are relatively easy if compared with most Jazz standards, if we think of them as if in the key of A, the intro goes:
| Amaj7 A7 | Dmaj7 C#(#5) | F#m7 B7 | E7sus4 |
The first chord is home, chord I, which by moving to dom7 pulls us towards chord IV and makes it all sound jazz/blues instantly. The Dmaj7 (chord IV) is followed by C#(#5) (IIIx) which takes us to F#m (VI) – B7 (IIx) – E7sus4 (V).
Most of this opening chord progression uses the movement of “up a 4th”.
The standout voice leading here is the first two bars which move: maj7 – b7 – 3rd – 3rd, a chromatic line of G# – G – F# – F. This chromatic movement continues during the second half although it doesn’t feel as obvious.
Verse
As the verse starts, this progression is slightly altered. We go back to the I chord early, rather than holding the V for a full bar.
During the second half of the verse, the chromatic line feels more prominent as it uses the b7 of the F#m7, the 3rd of the B7, the b7 or the E7, and the 3rd of the A: E – D# – D – C#.
Chorus
That second line of the verse is what you find in the chorus, just drawn out more. It does feel a bit like a II- V – I because of its shape but really, it’s a VI – IIx – V, clever stuff!
There’s TAB available for this, here’s a link to that part of the lesson: Don’t Know Why – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Once you have this under your belt, a simple chord chart is all you need. Here’s one I made for you using the key of A.
Don’t Know Why Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Above, I wrote Don’t Know Why’s chords in three keys for you. The original in Bb, in A (capo fret 1) and G (capo fret 3).
My favorite is the key of A which you get TAB for in that part of the lesson. I believe most guitar arrangements are done in G.
My top tip is to try all keys as this will teach you more about the song.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Don’t Know Why chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Don’t Know Why iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Don’t Know Why TAB | Course Preview
In the course, we explore detailed TAB for how to best play Don’t Know Why on a single guitar, supporting a singer.
As a preview, here’s one way you could play the intro in the key of A.
Written by Norah Jones’ guitarist
Don’t Know Why was an instant success. Released in 2002 as the lead single from Norah Jones‘ debut album Come Away With Me, it propelled her to super-stardom overnight.
The tune would become Norah’s best charting single and collect three Grammy Awards for Best Female Vocal, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year.
Don’t Know Why will forever be connected with Norah even though it wasn’t written by her, but by Jesse Harris who also played guitar on the album. Jesse had released it three years earlier on Jesse Harris & the Ferdinandos (1999).
He had a further four songs on Norah’s debut and has since gone on to work with Madeleine Peyroux and Melody Gardot.
But let’s focus on Norah Jones as it was her voice the world bought into. Apart from being a great singer, performer, and pianist, as well as looking fantastic, Norah had another trump card up her sleeve that made people sit up and take notice.
As the daughter of The Beatles’ musical mentor, Ravi Shankar, she gave the press something to write about and the general public something to discuss.
The debate on whether Norah Jones’s music was jazz enough to be released on the record label Blue Note added further fuel to the fire.
Personally, I think the fact that she, prior to her success spent time playing piano in restaurants, crafting her style by digesting a jazz standard repertoire is much more interesting.
Perhaps that’s what you should be doing as well before you launch yourself into the world as an artist. I find it difficult to think of a better place to start than with Don’t Know Why‘s chords!
Don’t Know Why Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Don’t Know Why (Norah Jones) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy:
