Heat Wave | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: Bb Bb6 Bb Bb6 Bb :|| x3
| Bb N.C (Bb C Bb G) |
||: Fm (Gbm) | Gm (Bm) | Cm (Bm) | Cm :||
| Fm (Gbm) | Gm (G) | Ab (A) | Bb |
||: Eb Ab/C Eb Ab/C Eb :|| x3
Verse 1
| Eb N.C (Bb C Bb G) | Fm (Gbm) | Gm (Bm) | Cm (Bm) | Cm |
Whenever I’m with him, (oh, oh, oh, oh) something inside (inside),
| Fm (Gbm) | Gm (Bm) | Cm (Bm) | Cm |
starts to burning (oh, oh, oh, oh), and I’m filled with desire.
Bridge 1
| Fm (Gbm) | Gm (G) | Ab (A) | Bb |
Could it be a devil in me or is this the way love’s supposed to be (ah, ah, ah, ah).
Chorus 1
||: Eb Ab/C Eb Ab/C Eb :|| x7
It’s like a heatwave, burning in my heart (like heat wave).
I can’t keep from cryin’ (heat wave), it’s tearing me apart.
Verse 2
| Eb N.C (Bb C Bb G) | Fm (Gbm) | Gm (Bm) | Cm (Bm) | Cm |
Whenever he calls my name. Soft, slow, sweet and plain,
| Fm (Gbm) | Gm (Bm) | Cm (Bm) | Cm |
right then, right there, I feel that burning flame.
Bridge 2
| Fm (Gbm) | Gm (G) | Ab (A) | Bb |
Has high blood pressure got a hold on me or is this the way love’s supposed to be? (Ah, ah, ah, ah).
Chorus 2
||: Eb Ab/C Eb Ab/C Eb :|| x7
It’s like a heat wave, burning in my heart (like a heat wave).
I can’t keep from crying (heat wave), It’s tearing me apart.
Chorus tag 1
| Eb N.C (Bb C Bb G) | Fm | Gm | Cm | Cm |
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh. Ooh, heat wave.
| Fm | Gm | Cm | Cm |
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh. Ooh, heat wave.
| Fm (Gbm) | Gm (G) | Ab (A) | Bb |
||: Eb Ab/C Eb Ab/C Eb :|| x7
Verse 3
| Eb N.C (Bb C Bb G) | Fm (Gbm) | Gm (Bm) | Cm (Bm) | Cm |
Sometimes I stare in space, tears all over my face.
| Fm (Gbm) | Gm (Bm) | Cm (Bm) | Cm |
I can’t explain it, don’t understand it, I ain’t never felt like this before.
Bridge 3
| Fm (Gbm) | Gm (G) | Ab (A) | Bb |
Now that funny feeling has me amazed, don’t know what to do, my head’s in a haze. (Ah, ah, ah, ah).
Chorus 3
||: Eb Ab/C Eb Ab/C Eb :|| x7
It’s like a heatwave (heat wave), burning in my heart (like heat wave).
I can’t keep from cryin’ (heat wave), it’s tearing me apart.
Chorus tag 2
| Eb N.C (Bb C Bb G) | Fm (Gbm) | Gm (Bm) | Cm (Bm) | Cm |
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah (but it’s all right, girl). Oh, oh. (Go ahead, girl).
| Fm (Gbm) | Gm (Bm) | Cm (Bm) | Cm |
Yeah, yeah. (Well, it’s all right, girl). Oh (Can’t miss it, that’s love, girl).
Bridge 4
| Fm (Gbm) | Gm (G) | Ab (A) | Bb |
I feel it, burning (don’t pass up this chance), right here in my heart (it sounds like a true romance)
Chorus 4
||: Eb Ab/C Eb Ab/C Eb :||
Don’t you know it’s like a heat wave?
Heat Wave’s chords and progressions
The intro is a Bb – Bb6 (chord V) for three bars, played in the same way as we’ll hear during the chorus later on, although then, it’s using different chords!
This is followed by the verse and bridge chords, the verse having sliding chords a semitone below. I’ve indicated this by putting the slid chord in brackets, like this:
||: Fm (Gbm) | Gm (Bm) | Cm (Bm) | Cm :||
Next, we play the bridge progression, very similar to the verse at first, just finished off with a IV – V, like this:
| Fm (Gbm) | Gm (G) | Ab (A) | Bb |
Finally, we play the chorus chords, but only for three bars. Later on, this chorus is played for seven bars.
||: Eb Ab/C Eb Ab/C Eb :|| x3
In a nutshell, Heatwave is this pattern five times.
||: Fm (Gbm) | Gm (Bm) | Cm (Bm) | Cm :||
| Fm (Gbm) | Gm (G) | Ab (A) | Bb |
||: Eb Ab/C Eb Ab/C Eb :|| x7
| Eb N.C (Bb C Bb G) |
Martha and the Vandellas’ first hit!
Also known as (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave, this was Martha and the Vandellas’ first hit.
Written by the main songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland, it peaked at #4 in the charts in 1963 and would come to be listed as #257 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time.
The vocal group would go on to have more hits for Motown in Dancing In The Street, Nowhere To Run, and Jimmy Mack. Dancing In The Street is Motown’s signature song.
In total Martha and her Vandellas released ten studio albums between 1963 and 1972.
Heat Wave is a popular choice for Motown/Soul bands, study the chords and lyrics above carefully to find out how this one was put together so you can play it too.
Also, check Linda Ronstadt’s version for ideas, it is included in the playlist at the top of this page.
Heat Wave chords | Related pages
Intermediate Electric
The intermediate electric tunes will help you with learning the CAGED system all over the fretboard, both for chords and pentatonic scales.
Learn these Motown/Soul classics, and you’ll not just improve dramatically but also gain yourself a repertoire.
Five similar tunes
- Dancing In The Street chords
- It Takes Two chords
- Nowhere To Run chords
- Rescue Me chords
- You Can’t Hurry Love chords
Martha and the Vandellas
Martha met her Vandellas as she was a secretary at Motown’s hit factory where her soon-to-be backing singers sang for Marvin Gaye.
Together they had seven years of hits including Jimmy Mack, Nowhere To Run, and perhaps Motown’s biggest hit of them all, Dancing In The Street.
Martha and The Vandellas on the web
Motown & Soul
You can learn how to play these Motown & Soul tunes, and in doing so, gain yourself a repertoire so you can jam with, or even join a working band.
Study these tunes in-depth and you will map out the fretboard, master the CAGED system, and learn how to design a rhythm guitar part that works in a band.
