Lean On Me | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| C Dm Em | F Em Dm | C Dm Em | Em Dm |
| C Dm Em | F Em Dm | C Dm Em | G C |
Hmm… hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm. Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm. Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm
Verse 1 (same as intro)
| C Dm Em | F Em Dm | C Dm Em | Em Dm Gsus4 |
Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow.
| C Dm Em | F Em Dm | C Dm Em | G C |
But if we are wise, we know that there’s, always tomorrow.
Chorus 1 (same as verse)
Lean on me, when you’re not strong and I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on.
For it won’t be long, ’til I’m gonna need, somebody to lean on.
Verse 2
Please swallow your pride, if I have things, you need to borrow.
| C Dm Em | F Em Dm | C Dm Em | G C (G A) |
For no one can fill, those of your needs, that you won’t let show.
Bridge 1
| C N.C (G A) | C5 N.C (G A) | C5 N.C (G A) | C5 N.C (G A) |
You just call on me brother when you need a hand, we all need somebody to lean on.
| C5 N.C (G A) | C5 N.C (G A) | C5 N.C (E F F# G) | G C |
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand, we all need somebody to lean on.
Chorus 2
Lean on me, when you’re not strong and I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on.
For it won’t be long, ’til I’m gonna need, somebody to lean on.
Bridge 2
You just call on me brother when you need a hand, we all need somebody to lean on.
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand, we all need somebody to lean on.
Verse 3 (as verse 1)
If there is a load, you have to bear, that you can’t carry.
I’m right up the road, I’ll share your load, if you just call me.
Outro
||: Dm C | Dm C :||
Call me, if you need a friend (Call me) Call me yeah a-ha.
(Call me) If you need a friend (Call me) If you ever need a friend.
(Call me) Call me. (Call me) Call me.
(Call me) Call me. (Call me) Call me.
(Call me) If you need a friend (Call me) Call me.
(Call me) Call me. (Call me) Call me.
(Call me) Call me. (Call me).
Lean On Me Chords: Learn the progressions
The super simple, but compelling chord progression of Lean On Me by Bill Withers is in the key of C and breaks no harmonic rules.
We move up the scale, like this:
C (I) – Dm (II) – Em (III) – F (IV).
And then back down again:
F (IV) – Em (III) – Dm (II) – C (I).
Instead of simply repeating this pattern, we next stop at Em, then play a II – V, like this:
C (I) – Dm (II) – Em (III) – Dm (II) – Gsus4 (V).
The second half of the progression starts in the same way but ends differently as we go to a G, like this:
C (I) – Dm (II) – Em (III) – G (V) – C (I).
This is what makes up both the verse and chorus chords. The full 8 bars of Lean On Me’s chords look like this:
| C Dm Em | F Em Dm | C Dm Em | Em Dm Gsus4 |
| C Dm Em | F Em Dm | C Dm Em G | G C |
The only other part is the bridge, which is mainly without chords, just a bass leading to C, or maybe even C5, like this:
||: C5 N.C (G A) :||
The final two bars of the bridge have a longer bass line and end at chord V before we resolve to chord I, like this:
| C (I) N.C (E F F# G) | G (V) C (I) |
That’s all there is to the chords of Lean On Me. Simplicity is the name of the game, it makes it sound like a hymn, a traditional song, something that has been around forever. Well, it certainly will be!
As we play along with the original recording, we’ll soon discover that this is all done in A shapes on the guitar. Even though this sounds right when playing along with Bill, it won’t work as one acoustic guitar part.
To get to the bottom of this, you need TAB, here’s a link to that part of the lesson: Lean On Me – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
When you know exactly how to play Lean On Me’s chords (study that TAB!) a simple chord chart is all you need to bring to the gig, here’s one I made for you.
Lean On Me Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Lean On Me Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Lean On Me iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Lean On Me is a Gospel standard!
Released in 1972 as the lead single from Bill Withers‘ second album, Still Bill, Lean On Me quickly became a standard.
By now, Withers was already well known having released Ain’t No Sunshine a year earlier.
Lean On Me went to #1 in the U.S. and the U.K., selling over 2.5 million copies combined. Ranked in the top 10 as song of the year and #208 on Rolling Stones Greatest 500 Songs of All Time, this is a proper classic.
Covered by many artists since, it is one of only nine songs that have reached #1 by two different artists, the 1987 dance version by Club Nouveau being the 2nd one.
Other notable versions include Michael Bolton, Seal, Beverley Knight, and The Glee Cast which are with a listen.
Perhaps most impressively is the enormous amount of Gospel Choirs that have this as a standard in their weekly repertoire.
Check out all these versions in the playlist at the top of this page.
Lean On Me Chords | Related Pages
Lean On Me | Guitar Lesson + TAB
In this guitar lesson, we first look at TAB for playing Lean On Me just like the piano, this is followed by developing parts that work on one acoustic guitar.
| C Dm Em F | F Em Dm C | C Dm Em | Em Dm Gsus4 |
Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow…
Five Similar Tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- A Natural Woman chords by Aretha Franklin
- I Say A Little Prayer chords by Aretha Franklin
- If I Ain’t Got You chords by Alicia Keys
- Just The Two Of Us chords by Bill Withers
- You’ve Got A Friend chords by Carole King
Bill Withers tunes
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
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Lean On Me chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
