I Heard It Through The Grapevine | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: Ebm7 (Ebm Gb6) | Ebm7 (Ebm Gb6 Fm7) :|| x5
Verse 1
| Ebm | Ebm | Bb Ab | Ab6 Ab |
I bet you’re wonderin’ how I knew, ’bout your plans to make me blue.
| Ebm | Ebm | Bb Ab | Ab7 |
With some other guy, you knew before, between the two of us guys you know I loved you more.
Bridge 1
| Cm | Ab5 |
It took me by surprise I must say (took me by surprise I must say).
| Ebm | Ab |
When I found out yesterday (when I found out yesterday).
Chorus 1
| Ebm | Ebm Ebm7 | Ab7 | Ab Ab7 |
Don’t you know that I heard it through the grapevine, not much longer would you be mine.
| Ebm | Ebm Ebm7 | Ab7 | Ab Ab7 |
Oh I heard it through the grapevine, oh I’m just about to lose my mind.
Chorus tag 1
| Ebm7 (Ebm Gb6) | Ebm7 (Ebm Gb6 Fm7) | Ebm7 (Ebm Gb6) | Ebm7 (Ebm Gb6 Fm7) |
Honey, honey bell (I heard it through the grapevine not much longer would you be my baby).
Verse 2
I know a man ain’t supposed to cry, but these tears I can’t hold inside.
Losin’ you would end my life you see, ’cause you mean that much to me.
Bridge 2
You could have told me yourself (you could have told, me yourself).
That you loved someone else (that you loved, someone else).
Chorus 2
Instead, I heard it through the grapevine, not much longer would you be mine.
Oh, I heard it through the grapevine, and I’m just about to lose my mind.
Chorus tag 2
Honey, honey bell (I heard it through the grapevine not much longer would you be my baby).
Instrumental
||: Ebm7 (Ebm Gb6) | Ebm7 (Ebm Gb6 Fm7) :||
Verse 3
People say: Believe half of what you see, son, and none of what you hear.
But I can’t help but be confused, if it’s true please tell me, dear.
Bridge 3
Do you plan to let me go (do you plan to let me go).
For the other guy, you loved before? (For the other guy you loved before?)
Chorus 3
Don’t you know I heard it through the grapevine, not much longer would you be mine.
Baby, I heard it through the grapevine, oh, just about to lose my mind. Honey, honey heh.
Outro (as chorus tag)
||: Ebm7 (Ebm Gb6) | Ebm7 (Ebm Gb6 Fm7) :||
(I heard it through the grapevine, not much longer would you be my baby yeah yeah yeah yeah).
Honey, honey I know that you let me go.
(I heard it through the grapevine, not much longer would you be my baby yeah yeah yeah yeah).
Said I hear it through the grapevine, Oh oh, I heard it through the grapevine.
(I heard it through the grapevine, not much longer would you be my baby).
I Heard It Through The Grapevine Chords: Unlock the Genius Progressions
During I Heard It Through The Grapevine‘s verse, the Ebm feels like the home chord of a blues.
Sure, the order and length of the chords are different from a standard blues, but the overall feel is there.
Here’s the chord progression for the verse:
| Ebm (Im) | Ebm | Bb (V) Ab (IV) | Ab6 Ab |
| Ebm | Ebm | Bb Ab | Ab7 |
However, if you compare the feeling of these chords to Ain’t No Sunshine or The Thrill Is Gone, you’ll notice that they feel very different. The reason for this is that those two tunes are at home around chord VI, Aeolian.
In the case of I Heard It Through The Grapevine, it’s as if we’re playing a major blues, but chord I is minor.
There is also the feeling of a II – V (Ebm – Ab), making us feel as if we’re playing in Dorian, and that Bb is just a passing chord.
I’d go as far as arguing that this is the main feeling of the chord progression, but you’d need to play lots of tunes with the II – V movement to agree with this. For example Good Times, I Wish and Mad World.
The bridge is the genius section of this tune. Now we go to a Cm, which, had the Ebm been chord I, would have made complete sense as Eb – Cm is the I – VI, a minor fall.
This change from Ebm to an imagined Eb creates an uplifting feel (minor to major), but also sad as going to chord VI is the ultimate sad movement, completely genius!
I genuinely mean this; To go from Ebm to Cm in this way is my favorite chord progression movement of all time.
The chorus chords are Ebm7 – Ab7, clearly the II – V progression, further adding fuel to the fire of my previous claim that it’s the II – V with Bb as a passing chord, not a blues in Eb or Ebm where the home chord is I or VI.
Anyway, here’s a chord chord. Check those intro chords out!
I Heard It Through The Grapevine Backing Track | Chord Chart (PDF + iReal Pro)
There’s a backing track at the top of this page. I made this by recording a band live in the studio. Use it and the chord chart to prepare yourself for playing this classic with a band.
I Heard It Through The Grapevine is a great example of how if you’ve done your homework, the chord chart can serve as a great reminder. Let’s look at that intro.
It’s Ebm7 – Gb6, Not Ebm – G. Try it and you’ll see how the notes go from Db – Eb inside those two chords compared to Eb – Db if you use Ebm – Gb.
Following this, I’m just outlining the different sections, not trying to explain the exact order, just follow the singer or (God forbid) memorise the arrangement!
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: I Heard It Through The Grapevine chord chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: I Heard It Through The Grapevine chord chart iReal Pro.
You can change the key using this and the iRealPro app, should the singer in your band request this last minute, which in the case of I Heard It Through The Grapevine is more common than not!
Below you find me playing the tune live with the band from beginning to end, followed by a course preview.
I Heard It Through The Grapevine TAB | Course Preview
In the course, we practise I Heard It Through The Grapevine‘s three chords of the verse in lots of different ways, all over the neck.
We do this so you can improvise your rhythm part, making it more fun to play it for decades to come.
You can try a preview of this as you play along with me, here’s the TAB for example 1 from the course.
In the complete lesson, we look at four more examples like this, all with play-along TAB loops.
By being this thorough, we lay a foundation upon which you’ll be able to improvise your rhythm parts and licks, rather than memorize them.
Take this approach to play the guitar and you’ll be adjusting your parts to the band you’re playing with, rather than just playing your one memorized part (a great idea when playing in a Rock band to achieve power, not so much in a Soul band).
Make this a habit and you’ll also get great at writing parts for original songs as you’re always exploring the neck and therefore used to finding new ideas.
You should learn to play I Heard It Through The Grapevine because it’s “a standard” for the working Soul guitarist, but also to experience soloing over these awesome changes.
In the course, we dive deep into all that this classic offers, including live band loops to practice with.
In step 8, you’ll play the complete song with the band.
Here’s a link to the 8 step-by-step guitar lessons: I Heard It Through The Grapevine – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Barrett came up with I Heard It Through The Grapevine‘s lyrics from overhearing people in the street!
I Heard It Through The Grapevine is a single by Marvin Gaye from 1968 although it had already been a hit for Gladys Knight & The Pips in 1966. The Miracles (Smokey Robinson) also released a version before Marvin.
Still, when Marvin dropped his version as the third single from the album In The Groove (1968), he made it his own and this is the one all bands refer to when it’s called on stage last minute for sure.
One more version deserves a mention, the one by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Written by Barrett Strong and producer Norman Whitfield, it has become known as one of Motown’s signature songs.
The tune started with Barrett overhearing people use the expression “hearing it through the grapevine” as he was walking around the streets of Chicago. He thought that expression must have a song in it, so he teamed up with Norman and the rest is music history.
The lyrics are genuinely great and the chord progression (as discussed above) is genius. All that’s missing to complete the picture then is a great band (Funk Brothers) and a genuine vocal performance
In the playlist above, after my version, you’ll find the “original”, a backing track for you to play along with, as well as an isolated Marvin Gaye vocal.
Make sure you listen to the video of Marvin without the band, it is truly mindblowing.
I Heard It Through The Grapevine Chords: Continue Learning
When playing I Heard It Through The Grapevine, we get a great chance to vary our guitar parts in subtle ways.
For the instrumental section, we improvise by finding different chord shapes and adding licks using the minor pentatonic.
Start learning with the full lesson series: I Heard It Through The Grapevine – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy:
- Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
- Ain’t No Sunshine
- Jimmy Mack
- Son Of A Preacher Man
- Take Me To The River