Chords + Lyrics | I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing
Intro
| Bm7 A/C# | E |
||: Bm7 A/C# | E (F# E D C# D E) :||
| Bm7 A/C# | E (D C# B A) |
Verse 1
| D A/C# | Bm7 |
I could stay awake, just to hear you breathing.
| G D6/F# | Em |
Watch you smile while you are sleeping, while you’re far away and dreaming.
| D A/C# | Bm7 |
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender.
| G D6/F# | Em |
I could stay lost in this moment forever.
| F#m G | A7sus4 |
Every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure.
Chorus 1
| D A/C# | Em7 |
Don’t want to close my eyes, I don’t want to fall asleep.
| G A |
‘Cause I’d miss you baby, and I don’t want to miss a thing.
| D A/C# | Em7 |
‘Cause even when I dream of you, the sweetest dream will never do.
| G A | D A/C# | Bm7 B7sus4 |
I’d still miss you baby, and I don’t want to miss a thing.
Verse 2 (shorter)
| D A/C# | Bm7 |
Lying close to you, feeling your heart beating.
| G D6/F# | Em |
And I’m wondering what you’re dreaming, wondering if it’s me you’re seeing.
| D A/C# | Bm7 |
Then I kiss your eyes and thank God we’re together.
| F#m G | A7sus4 |
And I just want to stay with you in this moment forever, forever and ever, ah!
Chorus 2
Don’t want to close my eyes, I don’t want to fall asleep.
‘Cause I’d miss you baby, and I don’t want to miss a thing.
‘Cause even when I dream of you, the sweetest dream will never do.
| G A | 2/4 D |
I’d still miss you baby, and I don’t want to miss a thing.
Middle 8
|4/4 C | G |
I don’t want to miss one smile, and I don’t want to miss one kiss.
| Bb | F |
And I just want to be with you, right here with you, just like this.
| C | G |
And I just want to hold you close, I feel your heart so close to mine.
| Dm7 | A | A |
And just stay here in this moment, for all the rest of time, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Chorus 3
| D A/C# | Em7 |
Don’t want to close my eyes, I don’t want to fall asleep.
| G A |
‘Cause I’d miss you baby, and I don’t want to miss a thing.
| D A/C# | Em7 |
‘Cause even when I dream of you, the sweetest dream will never do.
| G A |
I’d still miss you baby, and I don’t want to miss a thing.
| D A/C# | Em7 |
I don’t want to close my eyes, I don’t want to fall asleep.
| G A |
‘Cause I’d miss you baby, and I don’t want to miss a thing
| Bm7 A/C# | Em7 |
‘Cause even when I dream of you, the sweetest dream will never do.
| G A |
I’d still miss you baby, and I don’t want to miss a thing.
| D A/C# | Em7 |
I don’t want to close my eyes, I don’t want to fall asleep, yeah.
| G A |
And I don’t want to miss a thing.
Outro
||: D A/C# | Em7 | G A :|| to fade
Ah, ah…
I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing Chords: A Breakdown of the Harmonic Structure
Let’s explore all the progressions we find in I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.
Verse
The verse chords of are based on two descending chord progressions.
The first is a classic “minor fall.” We go from I – VI, but via the V chord with its 3rd in the bass, like this:
| D (I) A/C# (V/3) | Bm7 (VI) |
Next, we find the same idea, but now from IV – II, via the I chord with its 3rd in the bass, like this:
| G (IV) D6/F# (I/3) | Em (II) |
Loop these two ideas, and you have I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing‘s verse chords.
Chorus
For the chorus, we blend the two ideas by going to II instead of VI, then use IV – V to get back, like this:
| D (I) A/C# (V/3) | Em7 (II) | G (IV) A (V) |
I’ve designed some TAB describing how you could play this masterpiece on just one acoustic guitar.
After checking this out, you’ll understand how this is constructed and will be able to create a guitar part no matter the line-up. Here’s a link to that part of this lesson: I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Having studied the TAB, this chord chart may be all you need to remember I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing‘s chords.

I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing TAB | Course Preview
You get complete TAB for I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing in the course, all arranged to work on just one acoustic guitar—a big job, considering the size of the orchestra on the original recording.
As a preview, here’s the first line of the verse.

Originally written for Celine Dion
Written by eccentric songwriter Diane Warren but performed by rockers Aerosmith for the film Armageddon (which starred Steven Tyler’s daughter, Liv), I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing became a worldwide smash hit.
Reaching the #1 spot in ten countries, this power ballad sold nearly 10 million copies worldwide.
It may have the biggest orchestra known to man, but surprisingly, it works just as well on a single acoustic guitar. That’s often the case with a perfectly crafted song!
Funnily enough, this massive hit wasn’t even intended for Aerosmith—or any rock band. Diane Warren originally wrote it for Celine Dion!
I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing (Aerosmith) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: