Chords + Lyrics | I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
Intro
||: F#5 N.C E5 :|| x8
||: F# Minor Pentatonic climb (E5) :|| x8
||: C#5 B5 | A5 F#5 :|| x4
Verse 1
||: C#5 B5 | A5 F#5 :||
Stop making the eyes at me, I’ll stop making the eyes at you.
What it is that surprises me, is that I don’t really want you to.
And your shoulders are frozen (cold as the night). Oh, but you’re an explosion (you’re dynamite).
Your name isn’t Rio, but I don’t care for sand. And lighting the fuse might result in a bang, b-b-bang-oh.
Chorus 1
| F#5 | F#5 | A5 |
I bet that you look good on the dance floor,
| A5 | E5 | E5 | F#5 | F#5 |
I don’t know if you’re looking for romance or, I don’t know what you’re looking for.
| F#5 | F#5 | A5 |
I said, I bet that you look good on the dance floor,
| A5 | E5 | E5 | C#5 | C#5 |
dancing to electro-pop like a robot from 1984. Well, from 1984.
Instrumental 1
||: C#m Bm | A F#m :|| x4
Verse 2
I wish you’d stop ignoring me, because you’re sending me to despair.
Without a sound, yeah, you’re calling me and I don’t think it’s very fair.
That your shoulders are frozen (cold as the night). Oh, but you’re an explosion (you’re dynamite).
Your name isn’t Rio, but I don’t care for sand. And lighting the fuse might result in a bang, b-b-bang-oh.
Chorus 2
I bet that you look good on the dance floor,
I don’t know if you’re looking for romance or, I don’t know what you’re looking for.
I said, I bet that you look good on the dance floor,
dancing to electro-pop like a robot from 1984. Well, from 1984.
Middle 8
| A5 | A5 | E5 | E5 | F#5 | F#5 |
Oh, there ain’t no love, no Montagues or Capulets.
| F#5 | F#5 | A5 | A5 | E5 | E5 |
Just banging tunes and DJ sets and, dirty dance floors and dreams of naughtiness.
Instrumental 2
||: F#5 N.C E5 :|| x8
||: F#5 (E5) :|| x8
Chorus 3
| N.C | N.C | A5 |
Well, I bet that you look good on the dance floor,
| A5 | E5 | E5 | F#5 | F#5 |
I don’t know if you’re looking for romance or. I don’t know what you’re looking for.
| F#5 | F#5 | A5 |
I said, I bet that you look good on the dance floor,
| A5 | E5 | E5 | C#5 | C#5 | F#5 |
Dancing to electro-pop like a robot from 1984. I said, from 1984.
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
The intro features a climbing F# minor pentatonic scale, foreshadowing what’s to come, as all of I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’s chords are rooted in this scale: 1 – m3 – 4 – 5 – b7 (F# – A – B – C# – E).
With this in mind, let’s break down each section.
Verse
The verse follows a descending chord progression: III – II – I – VI. By using power chords (5 chords)—which omit the 3rd—the song achieves an indie/punk/garage-rock feel, like this:
||: C#5 B5 | A5 F#5 :||
Chorus
The chorus moves in the opposite direction at first, starting with a VI – I progression—essentially a reversed minor fall.
It then dips below the key centre, creating this movement: F#5 – A5 – E5. The sequence repeats, adding a C#5 at the end:
| F#5 (VI) | F#5 | A5 (I) |
| A5 | E5 (V) | E5 | F#5 | F#5 |
| F#5 | F#5 | A5 |
| A5 | E5 | E5 | C#5 | C#5 |
Instrumental
The instrumental section mirrors the verse progression but introduces triads instead of power chords:
||: C#m (III) Bm (II) | A (I) F#m (VI) :||
This subtle shift opens the arrangement up, making the return to tight power chords with vocals feel even more impactful. A clever songwriting and production trick from the Sheffield-born lads!
Below, there’s TAB for how to play all sections, including the small subtleties between the intro solo, the verse, and this instrumental section.
Middle 8
The last section has a new progression as it moves I – V – VI – I – V, but stays on each chord for a long time, like this:
| A5 | A5 | E5 | E5 | F#5 | F#5 |
| F#5 | F#5 | A5 | A5 | E5 | E5 |
Here’s a chord chart.
I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
You can download my chord chart for I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor as a PDF or in iReal Pro format:
- I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor chord chart PDF
- I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor iReal Pro
The iReal Pro version allows you to change the key and adjust the layout to suit your preference.
I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor | TAB
Let’s go through all sections using TAB. I’ve had to make lots of little adjustments to make it work on one guitar and keep it fun for you to play this for many years to come. This is one of those tunes that always works!
Intro
Straight out of the gate, I’ve had to arrange this. There is lots of chaos on the recording with overlapping parts.
To keep it varied, I’m changing the length of the rest, then going down to E5 at the end like one of the guitars does.
Next, we must play the ascending guitar scale riff, which is just an F# minor pentatonic in an Am shape.
This leads to some bends, which I like playing on string 2, then moving back down into the Am shape for the triplets.
Next up, there’s a guitar solo. I think you should either give this solo to the sax player in your band so it sounds like you’re arranging it differently, or, if you play it, come up with your own solo here—maybe improvise it! Use the F#m pentatonic.
Intro solo (rhythm guitar)
Should someone else take the solo, play this for the rhythm:
Notice how tight that was. When you play the verse, change it just a little bit.
Verse
Move between these two ways of playing the same progression:
Instrumental
After the chorus, before the verse returns, it’s a good idea to open up and play triads, like this:
Once you can play all three versions, feel free to blend them in an organic way.
Chorus
It’s easy to get too excited once the chorus hits, but it’s probably best to play it in a disciplined way so you can properly hear the vocal, maybe like this:
Middle 8
Finally, the middle 8 or bridge section recycles previous chords, just staying on them longer.
I’ve stuck with discipline here. Notice the kooky A chord in bar 9—it’s not a power chord anymore as we play the 3rd.
The F#5 to E riff is a re-intro with some more wild rhythms over the F#5.
When you can play all this TAB, put it together using the backing track and its chord chart above.
Arctic Monkeys’ breakthrough single
“Don’t believe the hype!”—a phrase as iconic as the album it introduced—was uttered by Alex Turner in 2005, just before the band performed what would become their biggest song.
This live recording, played in front of a small TV-style audience, became the official music video for their debut single. Riding its success, Arctic Monkeys released their highly anticipated debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, in 2006.
More than just a first single, I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor propelled the band to fame overnight. Released in 2005, it debuted at #1—a remarkable feat considering it arrived before the album.
On NME’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, it ranked #7. While Arctic Monkeys have had other hits, few have ever matched the impact of their debut.
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor Chords: Continue Learning
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