Chords + Lyrics | For Once In My Life
Intro
||: F :|| x6
Verse 1
| F Faug | F6 D7b9/F# |
For once in my life, I have someone who needs me,
| Gm Gmmaj7 | Gm7 Gmmaj7 |
someone I’ve needed so long.
| Gm Gmmaj7 | Gm7 C7 |
For once, unafraid, I can go where life leads me,
| F Caug | F |
somehow I know I’ll be strong.
| F | Faug | Bbmaj7 | Bb6 |
For once I can touch what my heart used to dream of, long before I knew.
| Am7 | Dm |
Ooh, someone warm like you,
| Gm7 Am7 | Bbmaj7 C (C6) |
would make my dreams come true. Yeah, yeah, yeah (for once in my life).
Verse 2
| F Faug | F6 F#dim7 |
For once in my life, I won’t let sorrow hurt me,
| Gm9 | C13 |
not like it’s hurt me before (not like it’s hurt me before).
| Gm Gmmaj7 | Gm7 C7 |
For once, I have something I know won’t desert me,
| Fmaj7 F6 | Cm7 F7 |
I’m not alone anymore (I’m not alone anymore).
| F | Faug | Bbmaj7 | G7 |
For once I can say, “This is mine, you can’t take it”, as long as I know I have love, I can make it.
| F/C Dm7 | Gm C11 |
For once in my life, I have someone who needs me.
| F Eb Ab | Db C9 |
(Someone who needs me) Hey, hey, hey, hey, yeah.
| Gb E A | D Db9 |
(Someone who needs me) Oh, I’m in love, baby.
Solo (Key change)
| Gb Gbaug | Gb6 Eb7 |
| Abm Abmmaj7 | Abm7 Abmmaj7 |
| Abm Abmmaj7 | Abm7 Db9 |
| Gb Dbaug | Gb |
| Gb | Gbaug | Bmaj7 | B6 |
| Bbm7 | Ebm7 |
| Abm7 Bbm11 | Bmaj7 Bbm7 A Abm7 Db6/9 |
Verse 3
| Gb Gbaug | Gb6 Gdim7 |
For once in my life (For once in my life), I won’t let sorrow hurt me,
| Abm9 | Db13 |
not like it’s hurt me before (not like it’s hurt me before).
| Abm Abmmaj7 | Abm7 Db9 |
For once, I have something I know won’t desert me,
| Gbmaj7 Gb6 | Dbm7 Gb7 |
I’m not alone anymore (I’m not alone anymore).
| Gb | Gbaug | Bmaj7 | Ab7 |
For once I can say, “This is mine, you can’t take it”, as long as I know I have love, I can make it.
| Gb/Db Ebm7 | Abm7 Db7 |
For once in my life, I have someone who needs me.
Outro
||: Gb E A | D Db9 :||
(Someone who needs me) Oh, for once in my life.
(Someone who needs me) Yeah, somebody that needs me.
(Someone who needs me) Oh, baby, for once in my life.
For Once in My Life Chords: Understanding the Complexities of the Classic Tune
Explaining the chords of For Once in My Life by Stevie Wonder could easily turn into a university dissertation—and if you start analysing Sinatra’s version too, you might need to phone a keyboard player for a second opinion…
The chromatic ascending movement in the opening line—F – Faug – F6 – D7b9—is later varied with an F#dim7 at the end. But is this essentially the same idea?
Next, we move into a Latin-style progression: Gm – Gm(maj7) – Gm7 – Gm(maj7) – Gm – Gm(maj7) – Gm7 – C7.
There’s far too much going on to summarise in just a few sentences! You’ll find TAB for every section here: For Once in My Life – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Once you can play it as shown in the TAB (and yes, there’s quite a bit of it…), the two-page chord chart below will finally make perfect sense!
When it comes to For Once in My Life’s chords, you’ll need to learn to play it first—then start to understand what you’re doing!
For Once in My Life Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
You can download my chord chart above as a PDF, or as two separate iReal Pro files, since the app doesn’t support two-page charts.
My chord chart above is available for download as a PDF, or as two separate files in the iReal Pro format. Unfortunately, iReal Pro doesn’t support two-page charts…
- For Once in My Life chord chart PDF, page 1
- For Once in My Life chord chart PDF, page 2
- For Once in My Life iReal Pro, page 1
- For Once in My Life iReal Pro, page 2
For Once In My Life TAB | Course Preview
I really do give you TAB for every bar of this entire tune — because Stevie keeps changing the chords!
It’s by far the most difficult tune I’ve ever played. If anyone tells you otherwise, they’re not getting the chords right!
Here’s a preview: the intro, which is by far the simplest part of this masterpiece.
A Benchmark Song for Musicians
If Master Blaster and Sir Duke are essential milestones in a musician’s education, then For Once in My Life is the final dissertation.
I once played a gig with a keyboard player who hadn’t touched this song in years—if ever. He was an exceptional reader and a master of jazz improvisation. When we reached the solo, which modulates from F to Gb, he read the entire thing flawlessly.
No sight-reading course alone can prepare you for that. It takes decades of gigging, reading, improvising, and truly becoming one with your instrument before you can pull off something like that.
This (very) long journey starts with simply being able to play For Once in My Life’s chords from beginning to end. You must also understand the chord progression as Roman numerals, then play it live—many, many times.
After that, you need to find ways to voice the chords across the neck, learn the solo exactly as Stevie plays it, and maybe, twenty years from now, you’ll be able to do what the best keyboard player I’ve ever met did.
If only I could remember his name…
For Once In My Life Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: For Once In My Life (Stevie Wonder) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy:
