Echo Beach | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: N.C | N.C :|| x4 keys
||: Am9 | D5 Cmaj7 | Am9 | D5 C :|| x4 riff
||: Am | G | Em | F G :||
Verse 1
||: Am | D C | Am | D E5 :||
I know it’s out of fashion, and a trifle uncool.
But I can’t help it, I’m a romantic fool.
It’s a habit of mine, to watch the sun go down.
On Echo Beach, I watch the sun go down.
Chorus 1
| G | D5 |
From nine to five, I have to spend my time at work.
| G | D5 |
My job is very boring, I’m an office clerk.
| Am | Em |
The only thing that helps me pass the time away.
| Am | Em |
Is knowing I’ll be back at Echo Beach someday.
Instrumental 1
| F | G5 | Am | G |
| Em | F G5 | Am | G |
| Em | F G5 | Am | Am (drum fill) |
| Am9 | D5 Cmaj7 | Am9 | D5 C |
Verse 2
On a silent summer evening, the sky’s alive with lights.
A building in the distance, surrealistic sight.
On Echo Beach, waves make the only sound.
On Echo Beach, there’s not a soul around.
Chorus 2
From nine to five, I have to spend my time at work.
My job is very boring, I’m an office clerk.
The only thing that helps me pass the time away.
Is knowing I’ll be back at Echo Beach someday.
Instrumental 2
||: F | G5 | Bb | C :||
Solo
||: Am | G | Em | F G :||
Outro
||: Am | G | Em | F G :||
||: Echo Beach, far away in time :|| x16 to fade
Echo Beach Chords: Unlocking the Intricate Progressions
There’s more going on in Echo Beach than you might first suspect—the chords are more intricate than they seem!
The intro riff, which later returns at the end of the instrumental section, features a few extensions:
- The Am chord includes the m3rd, 9, and b7, making it Am9.
- The D chord lacks a 3rd, so it’s a D5.
- The C chord appears as Cmaj7 the first time and as a regular C the second time.
These chords could belong to either the key of C or the key of G—more on this later.
Played as a riff, this section is best explained using TAB. Here’s a link to that part of the lesson: Echo Beach – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
After playing Echo Beach‘s intro riff four times, the song moves into the next chord sequence, which also appears in the solo and outro. The progression follows:
||: Am (VI) | G (V) | Em (III) | F (IV) G (V) :||
This is in the key of C, leading into the verse. Here, Am still feels like the home chord, but the surrounding chords shift, now drawn from the key of G:
||: Am (II) | D (V) C (IV) | Am (II) | D (V) E5 (VI) :||
Switching Am between Aeolian and Dorian is a common songwriting trick. Notice that the E5 doesn’t work well if played as E, is somewhat passable as Em, but sounds best as E5.
Echo Beach – Chorus and Instrumental Chords
The chorus follows a simpler progression, moving between G – D and Am – Em. Remaining in the key of G, this follows a I – V, II – VI pattern:
| G (I) | D (V) | Am (II) | Em (VI) |
For the instrumental section, the song shifts back to the key of C, marked by the F (IV) chord—one that sets the two keys apart. The progression is:
| F (IV) | G5 (V) | Am (VI) | G (V) |
||: Em (III) | F (IV) G5 (V) | Am (VI) |1 G (V) :|| 2 Am (drum fill) |
| Am9 | D5 Cmaj7 | Am9 | D5 C | (intro riff)
It’s particularly clever how the intro riff at the end could fit into either G or C—especially after spending time in C, before shifting back to G for the next verse.
There’s one more key change in Echo Beach, appearing in the second instrumental section:
||: F | G5 | Bb | C :||
Here, the G5 cleverly disguises the shift to a new key. At first, the familiar F – G suggests we’re still in C, but then Bb – C reveals a IV – V movement in the key of F.
Once you’ve studied the TAB, absorbed this chord analysis, and played along with the original recording, this chord chart will be a great reference for the gig!
Echo Beach Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Echo Beach Chord Chart PDF.
This was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Echo Beach iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Echo Beach Was Martha and the Muffins’ Only Hit!
Released in 1980, Echo Beach was Martha and the Muffins’ only major hit. It reached #5 in their native Canada, selling 75,000 copies, and #10 in the U.K., where it sold 250,000 copies.
The song won the Juno Award for Single of the Year in Canada, where the band had other popular songs—though Echo Beach remained their only international success.
Written by band member Mark Gane, the song was inspired by his experience working a dull job checking wallpaper prints, as well as the Ultravox track Hiroshima Mon Amour.
The late ’70s and early ’80s saw an interesting musical connection between Commonwealth countries like Canada, the U.K., and Australia. Bands such as Katrina & The Waves, The Police, and Men at Work helped define what became known as New Wave.
Post-millennium, artists like MGMT, Empire of the Sun, Florence + The Machine, and Franz Ferdinand have drawn inspiration from this era. One common songwriting trick among these bands is using simple chords from neighbouring keys—something Echo Beach demonstrates brilliantly.
Echo Beach Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Echo Beach (Martha and the Muffins) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: