Chords + Lyrics | Kiss
Intro
| E9 N.C | A7 | A7 | A7 | A7 N.C |
Uh!
Verse 1
| A7 | A7 | A7 | A7 |
You don’t have to be beautiful to turn me on.
| A7 | A7 | A7 | A7 |
I just need your body, baby, from dusk ’til dawn.
| D9 | D9 | D9 | D9 |
You don’t need experience to turn me out.
| A7 | A7 | A7 | A7 |
You just leave it all up to me, I’m gonna show you what it’s all about.
| E7 | E7 | D7 | D7 |
You don’t have to be rich to be my girl, you don’t have to be cool to rule my world.
| E7 | E7 | D7 | E9 N.C |
Ain’t no particular sign I’m more compatible with, I just want your extra time and your, kiss.
Instrumental 1
| A7 | A7 | A7 | A7 N.C |
Ah, uh-huh.
Verse 2
You gotta not talk dirty, baby. Mm, and if you wanna impress me (uh, ah, ah).
You can’t be too flirty, mama, I know how to undress me, yeah.
I want to be your fantasy, maybe you could be mine.
You just leave it all up to me, we could have a good time, uh.
You don’t have to be rich to be my girl, you don’t have to be cool to rule my world.
Ain’t no particular sign I’m more compatible with, I just want your extra time and your, kiss.
Instrumental 2
| A7 | A7 | A7 | A7 N.C |
Yes, ah, ah, ah, ah, oh, ah. Ah, I think I wanna dance.
Solo
| A7 | A7 A6 | A7 A6 | A7 A6 | A7 | A7 A6 | A7 A6 | A7 A6 |
Uh, woo! Gotta, gotta, oh. Little Girl Wendy’s Parade.
| D9 | D9 | D9 | D9 | A7 | A7 | A7 | A7 N.C |
Gotta, gotta, gotta.
Verse 3
Women not girls rule my world, I said they rule my world.
Act you age, mama, not your shoe size and maybe we could do the twirl?
You don’t have to watch Dynasty, to have an attitude, uh.
You just leave it up to me, my love will be your food, yeah.
You don’t have to be rich to be my girl, you don’t have to be cool to rule my world.
Ain’t no particular sign I’m more compatible with, I just want your extra time and your, kiss.
Outro
| A7 | A7 | A7 | A7 | (to fade)
Kiss Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Kiss. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, keys, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
Similar to Mustang Sally in both chord structure and popularity on the cover band’s emergency setlist, Prince’s Kiss is a blues-format tune that stretches over 24 bars, rather than the typical 12.
We play this chord progression using dom7 and 9 chords, like this:
| A7 (I) | A7 | A7 | A7 |
| A7 | A7 | A7 | A7 |
| D9 (IV) | D9 | D9 | D9 |
| A7 (I) | A7 | A7 | A7 |
| E7 (V) | E7 | D7 (IV) | D7 |
| E7 (V) | E7 | D7 (IV) | E9 (V) N.C |
Speaking of 9 chords, the intro has a very interesting take on it. It avoids the traditional “James Brown voicing,” but still offers a clear nod to his legendary Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag.
This dom9 chord voicing is also used in the final turnaround of verse 3, which is reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield’s classic Move On Up. I’ve written some TAB to help you play this exactly like the original, find it further down this guitar lesson.
Once you’ve mastered the dom9 voicing, all you need to play Kiss is this chord chart.
Kiss Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Kiss chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Kiss iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Kiss | TAB
We’ll begin with the traditional “James Brown 9 chord” shapes, then explore how Prince altered it for Kiss, using the upper part of an E shape.
These 9 chords look like this in TAB:
For the final turnaround in verse 3, Prince plays the Kiss signature 9 chord as constant 16th notes, echoing the feel of Curtis Mayfield’s Move On Up.
It looks like this in TAB:
One final note: the solo uses a G shape for the A7–A6 movement—can you figure it out?
One of Prince’s biggest hits
Kiss is one of Prince’s most iconic tunes, released in 1986 on his eighth studio album, Parade.
A #1 hit in the U.S., Kiss also charted in the top 10 in 11 other countries, selling almost 2 million copies.
The song was released during the peak of Prince’s career, following smash hits like I Wanna Be Your Lover, I Feel For You, 1999, Little Red Corvette, When Doves Cry, Let’s Go Crazy, Purple Rain, and Raspberry Beret, but before Sign o’ the Times, Alphabet St., and Cream.
The most impressive part about Kiss is its enduring legacy. Decades later, it remains a guaranteed success for any working band. Somehow, it never feels dated—just timeless.
Kiss Chords: Continue Learning
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