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 Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Don’t Know Why. Rather than using stem separation to extract the guitar as I usually do, this backing track with and without piano was created using iReal Pro.
There is also a backing track available in the key of A, without piano, so you cna prcatice playing this tune in a more guitar friendly key, especiallly if you’re planning on playing solo!
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band or on your own.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
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, the same 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#.
Bridge
That second line of the verse is what you find in the bridge, 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, just keep scrolling down this guitar lesson to find it.
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, followed by the original key of Bb.
Don’t Know Why Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
In the beginning of this guitar lesson, 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, 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 these charts, here’s a PDF: Don’t Know Why chord chart PDF (key of A) and Don’t Know Why chord chart PDF (key of Bb).
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 to A or G, or any other key you like.
Don’t Know Why | TAB (key of A)
Let’s work through all sections of Don’t Know Why using TAB in the key of A (capo 1 if you want to be in the original key). Here’s the intro:
Once you’ve gotten your head around this, compare it to the verse. Here’s the TAB:
Now the chords are almost the same—only E7 – A differs from E7sus4. However, to make room for the vocals, we play the chords differently.
The bridge is the same as the end of the verse: VI – IIx – V, but now played over a full bar each, like this:
Start learning these parts before you develop your arrangement, use the backing tracks to guide you. If you use the one in the key of A, you don’t even need a capo!
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
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