How Sweet It Is | Chords + Lyrics (Marvin Gaye)
Chorus 1
| F | Dm7 G7 | C C6 | C (C7) |
How sweet it is to be loved by you, yes baby, oh, oh, oh, oh.
| F | Dm7 G7 | C C6 | C Dm7 |
How sweet it is to be loved by you. Oh, baby.
Verse 1
||: C | Am Am7 | G7 | F :||
I needed the shelter of someone’s arms and there you were.
I needed someone to understand my ups and downs and there you were.
Bridge 1
||: C | F | C | F :||
With sweet love and devotion, deeply touching my emotions.
I wanna to stop (stop) and thank you baby. I wanna to stop (stop) and thank you baby.
Chorus 2
| F | Dm7 G7 | C C6 | C (C7) |
Hey now, how sweet it is to be loved by you, oh baby.
| F | Dm7 G7 | C C6 | C Dm7 |
How sweet it is to be loved by you, yes it is.
Verse 2
||: C | Am Am7 | G7 | F :||
I close my eyes at night, and wonder what would I be without you in my life.
Everything was just a bore, everything I did seems I’ve done there before.
Bridge 2
||: C | F | C | F :||
But you brightened up for my days, With a love so sweet in so many ways.
I wanna to stop (stop) and thank you baby. I’d wanna to stop (stop) and thank you baby.
Chorus 3
| F | Dm7 G7 | C C6 | C (C7) |
Hey, hey, how sweet it is to be loved by you, oh yes it is, baby.
| F | Dm7 G7 | C C6 | C Dm7 |
How sweet it is to be loved by you, yes it is baby.
Solo
| C | Am Am7 | G7 | F |
Bridge 3
||: C | F | C | F :||
You were better to me than I’ve been to myself. For me there’s you and and nobody else.
Stop (stop) and thank you baby. I wanna to stop (stop) and thank you baby.
Chorus 4
| F | Dm7 G7 | C C6 | C (C7) |
Oh, oh, how sweet it is to be loved by you, tell the truth baby.
| F | Dm7 G7 | C C6 | C (C7) |
How sweet it is to be loved by you, well it’s like sugar in my soul.
| F | Dm7 G7 | C C6 | C (C7) |
How sweet it is to be loved by you, oh yes it is baby.
How Sweet It Is | Chords + Lyrics (James Taylor)
Chorus 1
| C | Am7 D7 | G (C/G) | G G7 G6 G |
How sweet it is to be loved by you.
| C | Am7 D7 | G (C/G) | G Am7 |
How sweet it is to be loved by you.
Verse 1
||: G | Em7 | D7 | C7 C :||
I needed the shelter of someone’s arms and there you were.
I needed someone to understand my ups and downs and there you were.
Bridge 1
| G | C7 C | Em7 | C (C7) |
With sweet love and devotion, deeply touching my emotion.
| G | C | G N.C | N.C (G F E D) |
I want to stop and thank you, baby. I wanna stop and thank you baby, yes I do.
Chorus 2
| C | Am7 D7 | G (C/G) | G G7 G6 G |
How sweet it is to be loved by you, feels so fine.
| C | Am7 D7 | G (C/G) | G Am7 |
How sweet it is to be loved by you.
Verse 2
||: G | Em7 | D7 | C7 C :||
I close my eyes at night, wondering where would I be without you in my life.
Everything I did was just a bore, everywhere I went it seems I’d been there before.
Bridge 2
| G | C7 C | Em7 | C (C7) |
But you brighten up for me all of my days, with a love so sweet in so many ways.
| G | C | G N.C | N.C (G F E D) |
I wanna stop and thank you, baby. I just wanna stop and thank you baby, oh yes.
Chorus 3
| C | Am7 D7 | G (C/G) | G G7 G6 G |
How sweet it is to be loved by you, it’s just like sugar sometimes.
| C | Am7 D7 | G (C/G) | G Am7 |
How sweet it is to be loved by you.
Solo
||: G | Em7 | D7 | C7 C :||
Woah, yeah.
Bridge 3
| G | C7 C | Em7 | C (C7) |
You were better to me than I was to myself. For me, there’s you and there ain’t nobody else.
| G | C | G N.C | N.C (G F E D) |
I wanna stop and thank you, baby. I just wanna stop and thank you baby, oh yes.
Chorus 4
||: C | Am7 D7 | G (C/G) | G G7 G6 G :||
How sweet it is to be loved by you.
How sweet it is to be loved by you, oh now.
How sweet it is to be loved by you, It’s like jelly, baby, oh yeah.
How sweet it is to be loved by you, just like honey to the bee baby.
How sweet it is to be loved by you.
How sweet it is to be loved by you.
How Sweet It Is’ chords and progressions
Let’s go through each section and compare the two versions, starting with the chorus of the original Marvin Gay version of How Sweet It Is chords.
| F | Dm7 G7 | C C6 | C (C7) |
| F | Dm7 G7 | C C6 | C Dm7 |
Starting on chord IV we stay in the key of C, only adding a C7 to pull us back to chord IV.
Here’s James Taylor‘s version, now in the key of G.
| C | Am7 D7 | G (C/G) | G G7 G6 G |
| C | Am7 D7 | G (C/G) | G Am7 |
Instead of a 6 chord in bar three, we get a slash chord, extremely similar. In bar four we continue down from dom7 to 6.
Here’s the verse, starting with Marvin:
||: C | Am Am7 | G7 | F :||
Taylor’s is very similar, he just likes the extensions more.
||: G | Em7 | D7 | C7 C :||
Next, let’s look at the bridge, this is when James changes it up. First, Marvin, who just goes between I – IV, like this:
||: C | F | C | F :||
James reharmonizes this, adds extensions, and stops.
| G | C7 C | Em7 | C (C7) |
| G | C | G N.C | N.C (G F E D) |
Clearly, the bridge is the greatest difference, and the reason why you need to make sure what version you’re all playing. It’s not just the key that is different.
Finally, the solo is twice as long in James Taylor’s version, another possible hurdle where you as a band could sound confused if the singer goes early.
How Sweet It Is – The perfect first dance
A perfect wedding song, we find with How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) by Marvin Gaye, although if this is the first dance, do make sure the band is referring to the same version or you’ll all start in different keys!
Released in 1964, Marvin’s version reached #3 and was up til then his most successful tune. Written and produced by Motown’s main songwriting team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, and played by The Funk Brothers, this is another Motown classic you simply must know.
In 1975, James Taylor revamped the tune by changing the key, adding stops, and lengthening the solo. His version would become even more well-known, and usually when you’re on a gig and this song is called, it is Taylor’s version they mean.
As a super pro, you should know both versions so do study how they differ by studying the chords and lyrics above, starting with the original.
How Sweet It Is 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
- Build Me Up Buttercup chords
- I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) chords
- Isn’t She Lovely chords
- It Takes Two chords
- Valerie chords
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye helped shape the Motown sound as a drummer, session singer, writer, lead singer, and producer in the 60s and 70s.
Marvin’s hits include I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Can I Get A Witness, and politically fueled What’s Going On.
Marvin Gaye on the web
James Taylor
James Taylor got his first break when he was signed by The Beatles record label Apple to release his debut album.
Tunes include Fire and Rain, Sweet Baby James, You’ve Got A Friend, and How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You).
James Taylor 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.
