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I Say A Little Prayer chords by Aretha Franklin

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I Say A Little Prayer | Chords + Lyrics

Intro

| F#m | Bm7 | Bm7 |2/4 E7 (Esus4 E Esus2) |4/4 Amaj7 | Dmaj7 | C#7 |
(Say a little prayer for you)

Verse 1

| F#m | Bm7 | Bm7 |2/4 E7 |4/4 Amaj7 |
The moment I wake up. Before I put on my makeup (makeup),
| Dmaj7 | C#7 |
I say a little (prayer for you).
| F#m | Bm7 | Bm7 |2/4 E7 |4/4 Amaj7 | Dmaj7 | C#7 |
And while combing my hair, now. And wondering what dress to wear now (wear now),
| Dmaj7 | C#7 |
I say a little (prayer for you).

Chorus 1

Verse 2

| F#m | Bm7 | Bm7 |2/4 E7 |4/4 Amaj7 |
I run for the bus, dear. But while riding I think of us, dear (us, dear),
| Dmaj7 | C#7 |
I say a little (prayer for you).
| F#m | Bm7 | Bm7 |2/4 E7 |4/4 Amaj7 |
And at work, I just take time. And all through my coffee break time (break time),
| Dmaj7 | C#7 |
I say a little (prayer for you).

Chorus 2

Chorus 3

Bridge

Chorus 4

Outro

| F#m7 | Bm7 | Bm7 | E7 | E7 | Amaj7 | Amaj7 E/A | Amaj7 | Amaj7 E/A |
My darling believe me (believe me) for me there is no one other than you, please love me too.
||: Amaj7 | Amaj7 E/A :||
This is my prayer (answer my prayer, baby) answer my prayer now, baby (answer my prayer, baby).
This is my prayer (answer my prayer) answer me right now, baby (answer my prayer, baby).
Say you love me too (answer my prayer, baby) this is my prayer, baby (answer my prayer, baby).
I’m in love with you (answer my prayer, baby).

I Say A Little Prayer’s chords and progressions

Burt Bacharach‘s I Say A Little Prayer was most famously performed by Aretha Franklin, but Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston, and Leanne La Havas have all put their mark on this timeless classic too.

However, should you be called upon to play this chordal masterpiece, it is Aretha’s version that everyone will assume we are talking about, so let’s stick with that version. You could always work out how the others have changed it later on.

Before you do so, it would be a good idea to learn how to play I Say A Little Prayer in the key of G as well, at least in my experience, that is the key most singers feel comfortable in.

For the sake of being able to play along with the original, here are all sections in the original key of A, starting with the intro, which goes like this:

| F#m | Bm7 | Bm7 |2/4 E7 (Esus4 E Esus2) |4/4 Amaj7 | Dmaj7 | C#7 |

The F#m is not an F#m7, or F#m9, although you could change it to any of those!

For the 2/4 bar of E, you could add the intervals indicated, 4 – 3 – 2, taking you to an A chord. I’ve extended it to Amaj7, it just feels more appropriate, some say it should just be a plain A.

The same goes for Dmaj7, some say it should be just a D chord. At least, the C#7, everyone seems to agree on.

The verse is pretty much the same, perhaps experiment with using all those extensions added or taken away.

The chorus is a feast in chords! What’s going on here is the same line is varied at the end, like this:

That may be a few too many chords to fit in on the guitar, perhaps it should be down to the keyboard player to play all these chords.

However, if they are, you should know how to fit in around them, so you still have to know what all these chords are. The final line of the chorus is even more complex:

| D D6 Dadd#11 | C#7 C#m7 C#7 | C#7 (G# F# F D) |

That D chord’s extensions could be incorporated into a lick, focusing on the intervals 5 – 6 #4 (same as #11). This should lead nicely into C#7, which has a very quick minor to major change.

Again, look at these chord extensions as intervals you could turn into chord licks.

Lastly, the bridge. this is similar to the verse at first.

| F#m7 | Bm7 | Bm7 | E7 | E7 ||: Amaj7 | Amaj7 E/A :||

The F#m is now an F#m7, again, try 9 as well! The E7 is not a 2/4 bar anymore. The Amaj7 and E/A could be seen as an Amaj9, experiment with chord licks incorporating these extensions.

If you can do all this in an improvised way, you’ll enjoy playing I Say A Little Prayer’s chords for many years to come.

As a professional guitarist, you will play weddings, and I Say A Little Prayer may be the ultimate wedding song so spend plenty of time on this one!

I Say A Little Prayer chords | Related pages

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The advanced acoustic tunes use big chord extensions and sometimes, unique and complex chords that incorporate open strings.

Study these in-depth and you will gain a complete understanding of the guitar fretboard, including how to build any scale, arpeggio, or chord.

Five similar tunes with chords and lyrics

When you can play I Say A Little Prayer's chords, try these five tunes from the song book.

Burt Bacharach

One of the most important composers of the last century, Burt Bacharach‘s tunes have been recorded by over 1000 artists.

Unforgettable hits include Close To You, Walk On By, Arthur’s Theme, That’s What Friends Are For, What The World Needs Now, and I Say A Little Prayer.

Burt Bacharach on the web

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin – The Queen of Soul, is considered by most critics and peers the greatest singer of all time.

Born in Detroit and looking for a record deal, Aretha seemed like the perfect match for Berry Gordy’s label Motown. However, Aretha’s father had other ideas.

Aretha Franklin 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.