Don’t Look Back In Anger | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| C | F/C C/F | C | F Fsus2 C/E |
Verse 1
||: C G | Am E | F G | C A5 G5 :||
Slip inside the eye of your mind, don’t you know you might find, a better place to play.
You said that you’d never been, but all the things that you’ve seen, slowly fade away.
Bridge 1
||: F Fm | C Csus2 :||
So I start a revolution from my bed.
‘Cause you said the brains I had went to my head.
Step outside, summertime’s in bloom.
| G | G6/G# |
Stand up beside the fireplace, take that look from off your face
| Am G | F (E F E F E F E) | G | G |
You ain’t ever gonna burn my heart out.
Chorus 1
| C G7 | Am E | F G | C A5 G5 |
And so Sally can wait, she knows it’s too late, as we’re walking on by.
| C G7 | Am E | F G |
Her soul slides away, but don’t look back in anger, I heard you say.
Instrumental (as verse)
| C G | Am E | F G | C A5 G5 |
Verse 2
Take me to the place where you go, where nobody knows, if it’s night or day.
But please don’t put your life in the hands, of a rock and roll band, who’ll throw it all away.
Bridge 2
I’m gonna start a revolution from my bed.
‘Cause you said the brains I had went to my head.
Step outside ’cause summertime’s in bloom.
Stand up beside the fireplace, take that look from off your face.
‘Cause you ain’t ever gonna burn my heart out.
Chorus 2
||: C G | Am E | F G | C A5 G5 :||
And so Sally can wait, she knows it’s too late, as she’s walking on by.
My soul slides away, but don’t look back in anger, I heard you say.
Solo (as bridge)
||: F Fm | C Csus2 :|| x3
| G | G6/G# | Am G |
| F (E F E F E F E) | G | N.C |
Chorus 3 (same as chorus 2)
So Sally can wait, she knows it’s too late, as we’re walking on by.
Her soul slides away, but don’t look back in anger, I heard you say.
Chorus 4 (half)
| C G | Am E | F G | C A5 G5 |
So Sally can wait, she knows it’s too late, as she’s walking on by.
Outro
| C G | Am | F | Fm | Fm |
My soul slides away, but don’t look back in anger. Don’t look back in anger.
| C G | Am E | F G | C |
I heard you say. At least not today.
Don’t Look Back In Anger Chords: Understanding the Progressions
The chords are almost perfectly diatonic to the key of C and seemingly simple as they can mostly be played using open-position chords.
However, strumming them well on just one acoustic guitar does present several problems, you could easily overdo it and end up sounding annoying.
As I was transcribing Don’t Look Back In Anger, I found several ways to make it sound nice.
As this is best described using TAB, there’s a separate lesson available here: Don’t Look Back In Anger – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Adjusted to work on just one guitar, I had to make some modifications to what you see above using chords and lyrics. For example, the intro is a combination of the piano and guitar parts from the original recording.
Once you’ve checked the TAB, reading Don’t Look Back In Anger‘s intro chords will make complete sense as they outline the intervals.
| C | F/C C/F | C | F Fsus2 C/E |
As you listen to the original recording, you may realise this intro is stolen from John Lennon‘s Imagine!
As the verse starts, we settle in on the groove and play these chords:
||: C (I) G (V) | Am (VI) E (IIIx) |
| F (IV) G (V) | C (I) A5 (VI) G5 (V) :||
The last part of that verse reminds me of David Bowie’s Starman but maybe that’s because I’m now looking out for things Noel has stolen, it’s not even the same chords…
Don’t Look Back In Anger Chords: Exploring the Bridge and Key Variations (Continued)
For the bridge, we play this chord progression on repeat:
||: F (IV) Fm (IVm) | C (I) Csus2 :||
That IV chord major to minor is a classic, the Beatles used it in Something, for example, I don’t know why I keep thinking of other songs when I hear Oasis…
One extremely original chord you find in Don’t Look Back In Anger is the G6/G# – which is not stolen! These are the remaining bridge chords.
| G (V) | G6/G# |
| Am (VI) G | F (IV) (E F E F E F E) | G | G |
Should you want to play along with the original recording, you may find that you’re guitar is not in tune, that’s because the original recording is very sharp.
Using my online tuner, you can change the pitch and tune around 452hz, instead of the standard 440.
Here’s a chord chart I made for you, use this or the chords and lyrics above as you play along with Oasis.
Don’t Look Back In Anger Backing Tracks | Chord Chart (PDF + iReal Pro)
At the top of this page, you find two backing tracks I made. Using AI, I removed the chords. On the second track in the playlist,t I left the vocals in. Personally, I prefer playing to this one.
I also tuned it down so you don’t have to change your tuning, just use a normal tuner and you can practise along with Oasis, just with you playing the chords.
Should you want to download the chord chart you see above and in the video, here’s a PDF: Don’t Look Back In Anger chord chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: Don’t Look Back In Anger chord chart iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
However, if you change the key, it won’t sound like the original, you need those open-position chords!
Don’t Look Back In Anger was Oasis’s biggest hit!
As Oasis’ 2nd most widely known song (after Wonderwall), Don’t Look Back In Anger was off their incredibly successful second album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?
Released in 1995, it would come to define the Brit-pop era and spark a fan rivalry between Oasis and Blur, comparable to that of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in the ’60s.
It would also take Oasis from a celebrated U.K. indie band to worldwide recognition.
Even though Wonderwall is a more well-known song, Don’t Look Back In Anger charted higher at #1, with Wonderwall reaching #2.
Both songs contributed to the 22 million sales the album achieved.
Don’t Look Back In Anger Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Don’t Look Back In Anger (Oasis) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: