It Must Be Love | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: Am | Amadd9/E :||
Verse 1
| Am | Amadd9/E | Am | Amadd9/E | G | Gsus4 | G | G G# |
I never thought I’d miss you, half as much as I do.
| Am | Amadd9/E | Am | Amadd9/E | G | Gsus4 | G | C D |
And I never thought I’d feel this way, the way I feel, about you.
Bridge 1
| Em | Am | Dm7 | E |
As soon as I wake up, every night, every day.
| Am | Am7 | Am6 | D7 (D E F# G A B) |
I know that it’s you I need, to take the blues away
Chorus 1
| G | Bm C | C D |
It must be love, love, love.
| G | Bm C | C D |
It must be love, love, love.
| C C/D | C/E | 2/4 C/E |
Nothing more, nothing less, love is the best.
Verse 2
| Am | Amadd9/E | Am | Amadd9/E | G | Gsus4 | G | Gsus4 |
How can it be that we can, say so much without words?
| Am | Amadd9/E | Am | Amadd9/E | G | Gsus4 | G | Gsus4 C D |
Bless you and bless me, bless the bees, and the birds.
Bridge 2
| Em | Am | Dm7 | E |
I’ve got to be near you, every night, every day.
| Am | Am7 | Am6 | D7 (D E F# G A B) |
I couldn’t be happy, any other way.
Chorus 2
| G | Bm C | C D |
It must be love, love, love.
| G | Bm C | C D |
It must be love, love, love.
| C C/D | C/E | 2/4 C/E |
Nothing more, nothing less, love is the best.
Solo
| Am | Amadd9/E | Am | Amadd9/E | G | Gsus4 | G | Gsus4 |
| Am | Amadd9/E | Am | Amadd9/E | G | Gsus4 | G | Gsus4 C D |
Bridge 3
| Em | Am | Dm7 | E |
As soon as I wake up, every night, every day.
| Am | Am7 | Am6 | D7 (D E F# G A B) |
I know that it’s you I need, to take the blues away.
Chorus 3
| G | Bm C | C D |
It must be love, love, love.
| G | Bm C | C |
It must be love, love, love.
| C C/D | C/E | 2/4 C/E |
Nothing more, nothing less, love is the best.
Chorus 4
| G | Bm C | C D |
It must be love, love, love.
| G | Bm C | C |
It must be love, love, love.
| G | Bm C | C D |
It must be love, love, love.
| G | Bm C | C D |
It must be love, love, love.
| C C/D | C/E | C/E | C/E |
Nothing more, nothing less, love is the best.
It Must Be Love Chords: Learn the progressions
Madness’ It Must Be Love’s chords are not as complicated as you may have feared, it’s the rhythm that is more challenging, more on that later, let’s start with the chords.
The intro is the same as the beginning of the verse and solo, moving from an Am to an Amadd9/E.
Once the verse starts we soon move to G, which is then extended to a Gsus4. Following this, all sorts of stuff happens.
The first time we go to a G#, this never happens again. Going to the first bridge, we play C – D. This too never happens again, later it’s Gsus4 – C – D.
The C – D tells us it must be chords IV – V, making the G chord I and the previous Am chord II.
In verse 2 and the solo, we go first to a Gsus4, then end in the same way as verse 1. Here are It Must Be Love’s verse 2/solo chords in full:
| Am | Amadd9/E | Am | Amadd9/E | G | Gsus4 | G | Gsus4 |
| Am | Amadd9/E | Am | Amadd9/E | G | Gsus4 | G | Gsus4 C D |
The bridge starts with a modal interchange: Em – Am – Dm7. This is not in the key of G anymore, this is the key of C.
After these first three chords, we then go to an E, instead of Em, using Roman numerals, that’s a IIIx, if we’re in C, a VIx if in G, like this:
| Em | Am | Dm7 | E |
The second half of the bridge uses a similar idea to Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’s chords. I’ve written this as Am – Am7 – Am6 but it could also have been Am – Am/G – Am/F#. We are for this progression back in the key of G again.
| Am | Am7 | Am6 | D7 (D E F# G A B) |
The final bar is two sets of quarter note triplets going up the D Mixolydian scale, the D7 is chord V.
The chorus moves I – III – IV – V, like this:
| G | Bm C | C D |
| G | Bm C | C |
| C C/D | C/E | 2/4 C/E |
What’s unique about It Must Be Love’s chords is not the order, it’s the rhythm which they are played with.
Here are rhythm slashes to explain this in the clearest way possible:
Bar 1 and 2 use a great variation in the rhythm, from straight to triplets. The last beat of bar 2 has a C chord, most people miss this detail.
Those final C chords with different bass notes are played using half-note triplets, this is extremely unusual!
It Must Be Love Chords | Related Pages
Five similar tunes with chords and lyrics
- I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ chords by Scissor Sisters
- Our House chords by Madness
- Parklife chords by Blur
- Starman chords by David Bowie
- Town Called Malice chords by The Jam
Madness tunes
Madness was alongside The Specials, pioneers, and leaders of the two-tone movement in the U.K.
Their best-known tunes include One Step Beyond, My Girl, Baggy Trousers, It Must Be Love, House Of Fun, and Our House.
Madness on the web
Reggae & Ska
Originating from Jamaica as Reggae & Ska, these musical styles were largely made popular once records started to appear in the U.K.
Learn tunes from Bob Marley, Madness, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Afroman, 10cc, Men At Work, The Police, and many more.
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about It Must Be Love chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
