Don’t Wait Too Long | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: D G/B | E7 A7sus4 :||
Verse 1
| D G/B | E7 A7sus4 | D G/B | E7 A7sus4 |
You can cry a million tears, you can wait a million years.
| D G | F#7 Bm7 | E7 A7sus4 | D |
If you think that time will change your ways, don’t wait too long.
Verse 2
When your morning turns to night, who’ll be loving you by candlelight?
If you think that time will change your ways, don’t wait too long.
Bridge 1
| G | F#7 Bm7 | E7 A7 | D |
Maybe I got a lot to learn, time can slip away.
| G | F#7 Bm7 | E7 | A7 |
Sometimes you got to lose it all, before you find your way.
Verse 3
Take a chance, and play your part. Make romance, it might break your heart.
But if you think that time will change your ways, don’t wait too long.
Solo
| D G/B | E7 A7sus4 | D G/B | E7 A7sus4 |
| D G | F#7 Bm7 | E7 A7sus4 | D |
Verse 4
It may rain, it may shine, love will age like fine red wine.
But if you think that time will change your ways, don’t wait too long.
Bridge 2
Maybe you and I got a lot to learn, don’t waste another day.
Maybe you got to lose it all, before you find your way.
Verse 5
Take a chance, play your part. Make romance, it might break your heart.
| D G | F#7 Bm7 | E7 A7sus4 |
But if you think that time will change your ways, don’t wait too long.
Outro
||: D G/B | E7 A7sus4 :||
Don’t wait, don’t wait. Getting older.
Don’t Wait Too Long Chords: Master Madeleine Peyroux’s Swing Progressions
Madeleine Peyroux’s Don’t Wait Too Long is played using jazz comping, based on a steady downward strumming pattern on the beat.
Against this straight beat, you add back strums to shape the swing feel.
Once you’ve got a sense of the swing—meaning how far you stretch the up strum from the on-the-beat strum—you can start experimenting with variations and where to place them. A good trick is to emphasise the off beats more frequently between vocal lines.
The intro chords establish the main theme, following a I – IV/3 – IIx – V progression. In the key of D, this becomes:
||: D (I) G/B (IV/3) | E7 (IIx) A7sus4 (V) :||
Using TAB, you’ll get a better sense of how to play these chords. Here’s a link to that part of the lesson: Don’t Wait Too Long – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Now, let’s focus on the chords. The verse begins just like the intro before introducing a turnaround progression:
||: D (I) G/B (IV/3) | E7 (IIx) A7sus4 (V) :||
| D (I) G (IV) | F#7 (IIIx) Bm7 (VI) |
| E7 (IIx) A7sus4 (V) | D (I) |
In my recording, this progression varies throughout, so I’ve written out the full arrangement for you. You don’t have to play it exactly as I did, but the TAB provides all the details you might want to explore.
The bridge chords in Don’t Wait Too Long, like many songs in this style, begin on IV, creating a sense of movement:
| G (IV) | F#7 (IIIx) Bm7 (VI) |
| E7 (IIx) A7 (V) | D (I) |
| G (IV) | F#7 (IIIx) Bm7 (VI) |
| E7 (IIx) | A7 (V) |
Once you’ve studied my TAB from the video lesson, this simple chord chart is all you’ll need to play Don’t Wait Too Long yourself.
Don’t Wait Too Long Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Don’t Wait Too Long chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Don’t Wait Too Long chord chart iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
How to Solo Over Don’t Wait Too Long Using Modes
When soloing in this style, it’s essential to switch between modes and arpeggios for each chord. To do this effectively, you need to think in chord numbers as you apply arpeggios and modal scales.
For example, you’d use Phrygian Dominant over IIIx and Aeolian over VI.
The bridge section follows the cycle of fourths, moving through IV – IIIx – VI – IIx – V7sus4 – I—an ideal framework for practising modal scales:
| G (Lydian) | F#7 (Phrygian Dom) Bm7 (Aeolian) |
| E7 (Mixolydian) A7 (Mixolydian) | D (Ionian) |
If you don’t know your pentatonic scales, arpeggios, and modes in every position, you’ll struggle to relax enough to solo in a jazz style with confidence.
But once you do, jazz becomes effortless—you’ll start playing around with melodies and chords like a footballer with a ball, constantly discovering new possibilities.
Don’t Wait Too Long Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Don’t Wait Too Long (Madeleine Peyroux) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: