Chords + Lyrics | Every Breath You Take (Key of A)
Intro
| Aadd9 | Aadd9 | F#madd9 | F#madd9 |
| Dadd9 D | Eadd9 E | Aadd9 | Aadd9 |
Verse 1
| Aadd9 | Aadd9 | F#madd9 | F#madd9 |
Every breath you take, and every move you make.
| Dadd9 D | Eadd9 E | F#madd9 | F#madd9 |
Every bond you break, every step you take, I’ll be watching you.
Verse 2
| Aadd9 | Aadd9 | F#madd9 | F#madd9 |
Every single day, and every word you say.
| Dadd9 D | Eadd9 E | Aadd9 | Aadd9 |
Every game you play, every night you’ll stay, I’ll be watching you.
Bridge 1
| Dadd9 D | Cadd9 C | Aadd9 | Aadd9 |
Oh, can’t you see, you belong to me?
| Badd9 | Badd9 | Eadd9 E | Eadd9 E |
How my poor heart aches, with every step you take.
Verse 3 (as verse 1)
Every move you make, and every vow you break.
Every smile you fake, every claim you stake, I’ll be watching you.
Middle 8
| F (C) | F (B A) |
Since you’ve gone, I’ve been lost without a trace.
| G (D) | G (C B) |
I dream at night, I can only see your face.
| F (C) | F (B A) |
I look around, but it’s you I can’t replace.
| G (D) | G (C B) |
I feel so cold, and I long for your embrace.
| F (C) | F (B A) | Aadd9 | Aadd9 |
I keep crying baby, baby please.
Instrumental
| F#madd9 | F#madd9 | Dadd9 D | Eadd9 E | F#madd9 | F#madd9 |
| Aadd9 | Aadd9 | F#madd9 | F#madd9 |
| Dadd9 D | Eadd9 E | Aadd9 | Aadd9 |
||: Do do do do :||
Bridge 2
Oh, can’t you see, you belong to me?
How my poor heart aches, with every step you take.
Verse 4
| Aadd9 | Aadd9 | F#madd9 | F#madd9 |
Every move you make, and every vow you break.
| Dadd9 D | Eadd9 E | F#madd9 | F#madd9 |
Every smile you fake, every claim you’ll stake, I’ll be watching you.
| Dadd9 D | Eadd9 E | F#madd9 | F#madd9 |
Every move you make, Every step you’ll take, I’ll be watching you.
| F#madd9 | F#madd9 |
I’ll be watching you.
Outro
||: Aadd9 | Aadd9 | F#madd9 | Dadd9 D :||
(Every breath you take, every move you make, every bond you’ll break),
I’ll be watching you (every step you take).
(Every single day, every word you’ll say, every game you play),
I’ll be watching you, (Every night you’ll stay).
(Every move you make, every vow you’ll break day, every smile you’ll fake),
I’ll be watching you (everything you take)
(Every single day, every word you say) Whoo, hoo (every game you play),
I’ll be watching you, (Every night you’ll stay).
(Every breath you take, every move you make, every bond you’ll break),
I’ll be watching you (every step you take).
(Every single day, every word you’ll say, every game you play),
I’ll be watching you, (Every night you’ll stay).
(Every move you make, every vow you’ll break day, every smile you’ll fake),
I’ll be watching you (everything you take)
(Every single day, every word you say, every game you play),
I’ll be watching you, (Every night you’ll stay).
Chords + Lyrics | Every Breath You Take (Key of G)
On the acoustic guitar, it might be easier to play Every Breath You Take in the key of G, use a capo to get back to A if needed.
Here’s the full tune again with chords and lyrics in this key:
Intro
| Gadd9 | Gadd9 | Emadd9 | Emadd9 |
| Cadd9 C | Dadd9 D | Gadd9 | Gadd9 |
Verse 1
| Gadd9 | Gadd9 | Emadd9 | Emadd9 |
Every breath you take, and every move you make.
| Cadd9 C | Dadd9 D | Emadd9 | Emadd9 |
Every bond you break, every step you take, I’ll be watching you.
Verse 2
| Gadd9 | Gadd9 | Emadd9 | Emadd9 |
Every single day, and every word you say.
| Cadd9 C | Dadd9 D | Gadd9 | Gadd9 |
Every game you play, every night you’ll stay, I’ll be watching you.
Bridge 1
| Cadd9 C | Bbadd9 Bb | Gadd9 | Gadd9 |
Oh, can’t you see, you belong to me?
| Aadd9 | Aadd9 | Dadd9 D | Dadd9 D |
How my poor heart aches, with every step you take.
Verse 3 (as verse 1)
Every move you make, and every vow you break.
Every smile you fake, every claim you stake, I’ll be watching you.
Middle 8
| Eb (Bb) | G (A G) |
Since you’ve gone, I’ve been lost without a trace.
| F (C) | F (Bb A) |
I dream at night, I can only see your face.
| Eb (Bb) | G (A G) |
I look around, but it’s you I can’t replace.
| F (C) | F (Bb A) |
I feel so cold, and I long for your embrace.
| Eb (Bb) | G (A G) | Gadd9 | Gadd9 |
I keep crying baby, baby please.
Instrumental
| Emadd9 | Emadd9 | Cadd9 C | Dadd9 D | Emadd9 | Emadd9 |
| Gadd9 | Gadd9 | Emadd9 | Emadd9 |
| Cadd9 C | Dadd9 D | Gadd9 | Gadd9 |
||: Do do do do :||
Bridge 2
Oh, can’t you see, you belong to me?
How my poor heart aches, with every step you take.
Verse 4
| Gadd9 | Gadd9 | Emadd9 | Emadd9 |
Every move you make, and every vow you break.
| Cadd9 C | Dadd9 D | Emadd9 | Emadd9 |
Every smile you fake, every claim you’ll stake, I’ll be watching you.
| Cadd9 C | Dadd9 D | Emadd9 | Emadd9 |
Every move you make, Every step you’ll take, I’ll be watching you.
| Emadd9 | Emadd9 |
I’ll be watching you.
Outro
||: Gadd9 | Gadd9 | Emadd9 | Cadd9 C :||
(Every breath you take, every move you make, every bond you’ll break),
I’ll be watching you (every step you take).
(Every single day, every word you’ll say, every game you play),
I’ll be watching you, (Every night you’ll stay).
(Every move you make, every vow you’ll break day, every smile you’ll fake),
I’ll be watching you (everything you take)
(Every single day, every word you say) Whoo, hoo (every game you play),
I’ll be watching you, (Every night you’ll stay).
(Every breath you take, every move you make, every bond you’ll break),
I’ll be watching you (every step you take).
(Every single day, every word you’ll say, every game you play),
I’ll be watching you, (Every night you’ll stay).
(Every move you make, every vow you’ll break day, every smile you’ll fake),
I’ll be watching you (everything you take)
(Every single day, every word you say, every game you play),
I’ll be watching you, (Every night you’ll stay).
Every Breath You Take Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find 6 backing tracks to use when learning Every Breath You Take. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
When you try playing along with the original recording of Every Breath You Take, you’ll notice it’s not quite in tune. To fix this, use my free tuner and set it to 448 Hz.
You’ll also need to tune down a semitone—or convince the singer to raise or lower the key by a half step—otherwise, your chords won’t sound right.
If the singer isn’t on board, save yourself the hassle and get a Digitech Drop pedal to shift the tuning instantly. Alternatively, dedicate a guitar to Eb tuning and avoid the conversation altogether!
In the backing tracks, I’ve done these jobs for you by first tuning it to 440Hz, then transposing to the keys of G and A, as well as keeping one version in Ab (you have to tune down to Eb).
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
Verse
Let’s assume you’re playing while thinking in the key of A. The intro and verse follow a I – VI – IV – V – VI progression. With the add9 extensions, it looks like this:
| Aadd9 (I) | Aadd9 | F#madd9 (VI) | F#madd9 |
| Dadd9 (IV) D | Eadd9 (V) E | F#madd9 (VI) | F#madd9 |
If you strip away the last two bars and the add9 extensions, this is essentially the same chord progression as Stand by Me.
However, the add9 extensions make it sound entirely different, and to capture the feel of the original, the correct chord shapes are crucial. Since only TAB can fully illustrate this, check out this section of the lesson further down this guitar lesson.
Bridge
The bridge starts on IV, introduces tension with a bIIIx (C), returns to I, then builds more tension with IIx before peaking with the V chord, like this:
| Dadd9 (IV) D | Cadd9 (bIIIx) C | Aadd9 (I) | Aadd9 |
| Badd9 (IIx) | Badd9 | Eadd9 (V) E | Eadd9 E |
A subtle but important shift here is moving from add9 chords back to simple triads, modifying the verse/chorus feel.
Middle 8
The middle 8 is a modal interchange, going from A to C major, as if A were Aeolian rather than Ionian.
From C Ionian, we play chord IV – V on a loop: F – G.
The genius piano notes added are C–B–A for the F chord, and D–C–B for the G chord.
Using intervals, that’s 5th, #4, 3rd for F (Lydian), and 5th, sus4, 3rd for G (Mixolydian).
The stretchy challenge
The biggest challenge in Every Breath You Take is the (very) stretchy chord shapes. To play them comfortably, you’ll need TAB, along with some techniques to make things easier.
The TAB also covers how to incorporate the middle eight piano line on guitar.
Once you’ve mastered the TAB, all you need is a simple chord chart to remind you how to play Every Breath You Take’s chords.
Every Breath You Take Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s two PDF‘s: Every Breath You Take chord chart PDF – Key of A. Every Breath You Take chord chart PDF – Key of G.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Every Breath You Take iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Every Breath You Take | TAB
The most difficult part of playing Every Breath You Take’s chords is stretching your fingers to reach all these notes. The best way to make this manageable is to let go of any note as soon as you’ve played it—don’t hold down anything unnecessary.
Main riff
As a bonus, this will also make the part more staccato. Here’s some TAB demonstrating Every Breath You Take’s main riff:
The outro is a variation on the verse, moving I – VI – IV on a loop, like this: Aadd9 – F#madd9 – Dadd9.
The bridge goes outside the key, like this:
Dadd9 – Cadd9 – Aadd9 – Badd9 – Eadd9.
The Cadd9 is a bIIIx, the Badd9 is a IIx. Adding these chords creates tension compared with the verse, which is incredibly straightforward. This gives Every Breath You Take contrast through tension and release between the two main sections.
Using what you learned from the TAB above, translate the concept to the other sections mentioned.
Middle 8
You can play these lines on the top string if you use C-shaped chords. Below, there’s TAB demonstrating how to incorporate this keyboard line on the guitar.
Notice how the pattern is interrupted in bar 4, beat 2—this has been done to make all the notes easier to play.
When you’ve managed to get this TAB down, including how to play the add9 chords in all sections, try it with the multiple backing tracks and chord charts found further up this guitar lesson.
The most-played song in radio history
As The Police’s biggest hit—and the most-played song in the history of radio—Every Breath You Take is the very definition of a classic.
The band nearly scrapped it, thinking it was far too cheesy—until Andy Summers introduced the now-iconic add9 extensions in the main riff, transforming the song entirely.
To grasp just how massive this hit became, in 2010, it was estimated that Every Breath You Take accounted for nearly one-third of Sting’s entire publishing income.
Considering he had already written Roxanne, Englishman In New York, Fragile, Shape Of My Heart, So Lonely, Message In A Bottle, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, Don’t Stand So Close To Me, and Walking On The Moon, that’s pretty incredible!
Every Breath You Take Chords: Continue Learning
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