High and Dry | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| N.C | N.C E/G# |
||: E/G# F#7sus4 E/G# |
| Asus2 | E5 | E5 E/G# :||
Verse 1
| F#m11 | Asus2 | E | E |
Two jumps in a week, I bet you think that’s pretty clever, don’t you, boy?
| F#m11 | Asus2 | E (Esus4) | E (Esus4) |
Flying on your motorcycle, watching all the ground beneath you drop.
| F#m11 | Asus2 | E | E |
You’d kill yourself for recognition. Kill yourself to never, ever stop.
| F#m11 | Asus2 | E (Esus4) | E |
You broke another mirror, you’re turning into something you are not.
Chorus 1
| F#m11 | Asus2 | E | E |
Don’t leave me high. Don’t leave me dry.
| F#m11 | Asus2 (hold) | E | E E/G# |
Don’t leave me high. Don’t leave me dry.
Instrumental 1
| E/G# F#7sus4 E/G# | Asus2 | E5 | E5 |
Verse 2
||: F#m11 | Asus2 | E | E :||
Drying up in conversation, you will be the one who cannot talk.
All your insides fall to pieces, you just sit there wishing you could still make love.
They’re the ones who’ll hate you when you think you’ve got the world all sussed out.
They’re the ones who’ll spit at you, you will be the one screaming out.
Chorus 2
||: F#m11 | Asus2 | E | E :||
Don’t leave me high. Don’t leave me dry.
Don’t leave me high. Don’t leave me dry.
Solo
||: F#m11 | Asus2 | E | E :||
Verse 3 (breakdown, chords as verse 2)
Oh, it’s the best thing that you’ve ever had, the best thing that you’ve ever, ever had.
It’s the best thing that you’ve ever had, the best thing you have had is gone away.
Outro
||: F#m11 | Asus2 | E | E :||
So don’t leave me high. Don’t leave me dry.
Don’t leave me high. Don’t leave me dry.
Don’t leave me high.
| F#m11 | Asus2 (hold) | E | E |
Don’t leave me high. Don’t leave me dry.
High and Dry Chords: Exploring the Progressions and Extensions
Just like Radiohead’s first hit, Creep, High and Dry uses just a few chords on a loop, changing the extensions to vary the arrangement.
What’s more, there are two guitars overlapping, creating that iconic intro part.
There’s TAB for both parts, should you have a friend at hand to play High and Dry with. On your own, you should probably choose the lower of the two parts.
I guess if you’re using a loop pedal, you could record the second part and play the first as part of your performance.
Either way, you need TAB in order to get it right, here’s a link to that part of the lesson: High and Dry – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
The chords for the intro are, using Roman numerals I/3 – II – I/3 – IV – I – I/3. Most of the I chords have their 3rd in the bass. Notice how the tension is released only when we’re in bar 3.
||: E/G# (I/3) F#7sus4 (II) E/G# | Asus2 (IV) | E5 (I) | E5 E/G# :||
For the verse and chorus, we can play a part that works really well on just one guitar (check the TAB). Now the Roman numerals are II – IV – I, so very similar, just without that I/3 chord and with different extensions, like this:
||: F#m11 (II) | Asus2 (IV) | E (I) | E :||
Once you have the parts down, you only need a chord chart reminding you of High and Dry‘s chords and the general structure. Here’s one I made for you.
High and Dry Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Do compare the chords and lyrics with the chord chart. You’ll notice how all variations happen in the first part of the song, from there on it’s the same chords until the end.
After the instrumental section, all we do is play the same chords, hence the coda sign in the chord chart—just a repeat sign.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: High and Dry chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: High and Dry chord chart iReal Pro.
Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key although if you do that, you’ll change the chord shapes and it won’t sound like High and Dry‘s chords anymore…
High and Dry could have been on the same album as Creep!
From the album The Bends (1995), we find one of Radiohead’s most radio-friendly tunes. It was actually recorded already during the Pablo Honey (1993) sessions (where we find Creep) but held back for their second album.
These are two of the band’s most radio-friendly tunes, and in my opinion, they are the reason for their success.
Radiohead may be known for not caring about hits (which is ironic considering the band’s name!) but without these two tunes, who would know about them?
As an aspiring guitar player, you should study what Radiohead did in great depth on both of these hits.
High and Dry Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: High and Dry (Radiohead) Guitar Lesson with TAB,
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: