Chords + Lyrics | Lady Marmalade
Intro
| Gm7 | C9 | Gm7 | C9 | Gm7 | C9 |
Hey Sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister.
| Gm7 | C9 N.C |
Hey Sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister.
Verse 1
| Gm7 | C9 |
He met Marmalade down in old New Orleans.
| Gm7 | C9 |
Struttin’ her stuff on the street.
| Cm7 | Dm7 |
She said: ‘Hello, hey Joe, you wanna give it a go? Mmm, mmm.
Bridge 1
| Gm7 | C9 | Gm7 | C9 |
Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya Da Da. Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya here.
| Gm7 | C9 | C9 N.C | Gm (pent riff) | Gm (pent riff) |
Mocha-choca-lata Ya Ya. Creole Lady Marmalade.
Chorus 1
| Gm7 | C9 |
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?
| Gm7 | C9 |
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?
Verse 2
(Hey Sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister) He sat in her boudoir while she freshened up.
(Hey Sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister) The boy drank all her magnolia wine.
On the black satin sheets where he started to freak.
Bridge 2
Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya Da Da. Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya here.
Mocha-choca-lata Ya Ya. Creole Lady Marmalade.
Chorus 2
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?
Instrumental
| Gm F/A Ebmaj7 Dm7 | Gm7 | Ebmaj7 | Ebmaj7 |
| Gm7 | Gm7 | Ebmaj7 | Ebmaj7 | D7 | D7 |
Hey, hey, hey.
Verse 3
Touching her skin feelin’ silky smooth.
The color of cafe au lait.
Made the savage beast inside roar until it cried, more, more, more.
Verse 4
Now he’s back home doing 9 to 5.
Living his grey flannel life.
But when he turns off to sleep, old memories creep. More, more, more.
Bridge 3
Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya Da Da. Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya here.
Mocha-choca-lata Ya Ya. Creole Lady Marmalade.
Chorus 3
| Gm7 | C9 |
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?
| Gm7 | C9 |
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?
| Gm7 | C9 |
Voulez-vous couchez avec moi, ce soir?
| C9 N.C | Gm (pent riff) | Gm (pent riff) |
Creole Lady Marmalade
Breakdown Chorus
||: Gm7 N.C C9 | N.C :|| x4
||: Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi? :|| x4
Outro
||: Gm7 | C9 :|| to fade
Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya Da Da. Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya here.
Mocha-choca-lata Ya Ya. Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya here.
Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya Da Da.
Lady Marmalade Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Lady Marmalade. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, horns, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar to 439Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
The chords in Labelle’s classic Lady Marmalade revolve around a modal interchange between a II – V progression and a minor blues movement (VI – II – III), both in the key of Gm.
The II – V progression—Gm7 – C9—dominates most of the song. This is the same classic dance progression found in Good Times, I Wish, and Le Freak, among many others. I’ve even ranked it #4 on my Top 10 chord progressions list.
The second movement—Cm7 – Dm7—appears at the end of the verse. These chords function as II – III from the Aeolian key of Gm, shifting the tonal centre from Dorian to Aeolian and in doing so, introducing tension.
Instrumental
The instrumental section also follows an Aeolian progression, treating Gm as chord VI:
| Gm (VI) F/A (I/3) Ebmaj7 (IV) Dm7 (III) | Gm7 | Ebmaj7 | Ebmaj7 |
| Gm7 | Gm7 | Ebmaj7 | Ebmaj7 | D7 (IIIx) | D7 |
Guitar Arrangement & TAB
I’ve put together TAB designed for playing this classic in a band setting. In it, we:
- Lock in with the bassline
- Explore chord inversions
- Integrate licks into the rhythm part
- Play the horn line during the instrumental section
You can check out the full TAB further down this guitar lesson.
Once you’ve worked through the TAB, use the chord chart to bring these ideas to life at the gig!
Lady Marmalade Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Lady Marmalade chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Lady Marmalade iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Lady Marmalade | TAB
Let’s use TAB to decipher how to best play Lady Marmalade. The chords mostly move between Gm7 and C9, a II – V.
Here’s an idea where the bass line is combined with the chords. The bass uses the G minor pentatonic.
The bass line is played using the Em shape. The first C9 is a C shape, the second a G shape – this should really be called a Csus2.
For the Cm7, we use an Em shape, then move down to an Am shape for the Dm7.
Here’s another way to play it:
Now we’re using the Dm shape for the bass line. I’ve also added some slides, each time slightly different to keep things varied.
Over the C9, I play licks – the first from the original guitar part, the second from the keyboard line. The final two chords use ascending Am shapes.
Here’s a third idea, now including the bridge:
I start low with Em and C shapes, then move up to a Cm shape and G shape. The Cm7 and Dm7 are again played using Em shapes.
As the bridge enters, I stay in position but vary the rhythm. The last two bars include that descending riff – play this in as many positions and areas as you can.
Let’s look at the instrumental section. Here’s idea 1:
In this example, I use strings 1–3 for the chords, then play the melody. If you have a sax player or ambitious keys player on the gig, you may want to stick to the chords only.
Here’s idea 2, without the melody:
Now the chords are voiced on strings 2–4, and I avoid the melody entirely.
Play along with the original recording and try out all these ideas. Once confident, start creating your own variations.
Lady Marmalade Chords: Continue Learning
Step-by-step Guitar Courses
Master guitar by studying real tunes. Build your skills with video lessons, eBooks and practice routines that connect theory with the music you love!
Explore SpyTunes step-by-step Guitar Courses.
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
