Just the Two of Us | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Ebm7 Ab7 | Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 :|| x4
Verse 1
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Ebm7 Ab7 |
I see the crystal raindrops fall and the beauty of it all,
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 |
is when the sun comes shining through.
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Ebm7 Ab7 |
To make those rainbows in my mind when I think of you sometime,
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 |
and I wanna spend some time with you.
Chorus 1
||: Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Em7 Ebm7 Ab7 | Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 :||
Just the two of us, we can make it if we try. Just the two of us (just the two of us).
Just the two of us, building castles in the sky. Just the two of us, you and I.
Verse 2
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Ebm7 Ab7 |
We look for love, no time for tears wasted water’s all that is,
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 |
and it don’t make no flowers grow.
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Ebm7 Ab7 |
Good things might come to those who wait, not for those who wait too late,
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 |
we gotta go for all we know.
Chorus 2
||: Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Em7 Ebm7 Ab7 | Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 :||
Just the two of us, we can make it if we try. Just the two of us (just the two of us).
Just the two of us, building them castles in the sky. Just the two of us, you and I.
Instrumental 1
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Bmaj7 Bb7 | Amaj7 G#7sus4 | Dbmaj7 F#6 |
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Bmaj7 Bb7 | Amaj7 G#7sus4 | Dbmaj7 F#6 |2/4 F#6 |4/4
Chorus tag/solo
||: Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 N.C | Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 N.C :|| x4
||: (Just the two of us. We can make it, just the two of us) :|| x4
||: Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Ebm7 Ab7 | Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 :|| x4
||: (Just the two of us. We can make it, just the two of us) :||
Solo
||: Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Ebm7 Ab7 | Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 :|| x8
Instrumental 2
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Bmaj7 Bb7 | Amaj7 G#7sus4 | Dbmaj7 F#6 |
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Bmaj7 Bb7 | Amaj7 G#7sus4 | Dbmaj7 F#6 |2/4 F#6 |4/4
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Ebm7 Ab7 | Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 |
Verse 3
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Ebm7 Ab7 |
I hear the crystal raindrops fall on the window down the hall
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 |
And it becomes the morning dew.
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Ebm7 Ab7 |
And darling when the morning comes and I see the morning sun
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 |
I wanna be the one with you.
Chorus 4
||: Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Em7 Ebm7 Ab7 | Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 :||
Just the two of us, we can make it if we try, just the two of us, listen (just the two of us)
Just the two of us, building the castles we don’t hide. Just the two of us, you and I.
(Just the two of us) Yeah, just the two of us.
(we can make it, just the two of us) Let’s get it together baby, yeah.
(Just the two of us) Just the two of us (We can make it, just the two of us).
Outro
||: Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Em7 Ebm7 Ab7 | Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 :||
||: (Just the two of us, we can make it, just the two of us) :||
Just The Two Of Us’ chords and progressions
The chordal masterpiece Just The Two Of Us by Bill Withers and Grover Washington Jr. is built around a modal interchange centered around Dbmaj7. This chord could be seen as either chord IV (Lydian) or chord I (Ionian).
Dbmaj7 (IV) – C7 (IIIx) – Fm7 (VI) makes complete sense. It’s the same concept as I Shot The Sheriff‘s verse. We start on chord IV, and feel at home when we hit chord VI.
What makes it a modal interchange (the play on Lydian and Ionian) is that every other time, to get us back to Dbmaj7, we put in a quick II – V, as if Dbmaj7 was chord I, like this:
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Ebm7 Ab7 |
During the chorus, this concept sees one more chromatic chord inserted in an Em7, like this:
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Em7 Ebm7 Ab7 |
The only other chords we find in Just The Two Of Us are during the instrumental section. Here we go full-on jazz as we further embrace the chromatic concept:
| Dbmaj7 C7 | Bmaj7 Bb7 | Amaj7 G#7sus4 | Dbmaj7 F#6 |
To use Roman Numerals to describe this movement wouldn’t be very helpful so let’s not go there, instead focus on how it’s a chromatic movement that once we reach G# or Ab, we can go back to Dbmaj7 again.
Music theory types could argue all day about what to call these chords, perhaps they should all be b, not #, even the Bmaj7, should probably be a Cbmaj7.
And what about that final chord? Is it an F#6, or a C#m/F#?
There was a time when I used to focus on such trivial matters. These days, I prefer to just use what is easiest and instead look at things like; what is that sax melody?
However, don’t let this stop you from further investigating Just The Two Of Us chords.
Just The Two Of Us chords | Related pages
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Bill Withers
Bill Withers was an American singer-songwriter who performed and recorded from the late 60s until the mid-80s.
Some of his best-known songs include Ain’t No Sunshine, Use Me, Lovely Day, Lean on Me, Grandma’s Hands, and Just The Two Of Us.
Bill Withers on the web
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