Chords + Lyrics | Let’s Get It On
Verse 1
||: Eb Gm | Abmaj7 Bb9 | Eb Gm7 | Abmaj7 Bb9 :||
I’ve been really tryin’, baby. Tryin’ to hold back this feeling for so long.
And if you feel like I feel, baby. Then, c’mon, oh, c’mon, whoa.
Chorus 1
||: Eb Gm7 | Abmaj9 Bb11 | Eb Gm7 | Abmaj7 Bb7 :||
Let’s get it on. Ah, baby, let’s get it on. Let’s love, baby
Let’s get it on, sugar. Let’s get it on, woo-hoo.
Verse 2
We’re all sensitive people, with so much to give. Understand me, sugar (ooh ooh)
Since we’ve got to be here, let’s live. I love you.
Verse 3
There’s nothing wrong with me, loving you, baby no no.
And giving yourself to me can never be wrong, if the love is true, oh baby.
Bridge 1
||: Ab7 | Ab7 | Eb6 Gm7 | Abmaj9 Bb11 (A7) :||
Ooh, don’t you know how sweet and wonderful life can be ooh (let me love you).
I’m asking you baby to get it on with me ooh ooh (let me love you).
I ain’t gonna worry (let me love you) I ain’t gonna push, won’t push you baby (let me love you).
| Ab7 | F7 | Bb7 | Bb7 |
So c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, baby. Stop beatin’ ’round the bush, hey.
Chorus 2
Let’s get it on (ooh ooh). Let’s get it on (ooh ooh). You know what I’m talkin’ ’bout
C’mon, baby, hey, hey. Let your love come out. If you believe in love.
Let’s get it on, ooh. Let’s get it on, baby. This minute, oh yeah.
Let’s get it on. Please, please get it on.
Bridge 2
I know and you know what I’ve been dreaming of, don’t you baby? (ah, ah, ah, ah).
My whole body makes that feelin’ of love, I’m happy (my body wants ya, my body wants ya).
I ain’t gonna worry, no I ain’t gonna push (ah) I won’t push you baby, woo (ah ah).
C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, darlin’. Stop beatin’ ’round the bush.
Outro Chorus
Oh, gonna get it on (ooh, ooh). Threatenin’ you, baby (ooh, ooh).
I wanna get it on (ooh, ooh). You don’t have to worry that it’s wrong (ooh, ooh).
If the spirit moves ya (ooh, ooh). Let me groove ya good (ooh, ooh)
Let your love come down (ooh, ooh). Oh, get it on.
C’mon, baby (ooh, ooh). Do you know the meaning? (ooh, ooh)
I’ve been sanctified (ooh, ooh), hey hey.
Girl, you give me good feeling (ooh, ooh) (so good).
So good, somethin’ like sanctified (ooh, ooh). Oh dear I, baby (ooh, ooh)
Nothing wrong with love (ooh, ooh). If you want to love me just let yourself go (ooh, ooh)
Oh baby, let’s get it on (ooh, ooh).
Let’s Get It On Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Let’s Get It On. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, horns, strings, 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 sharp to 442Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
The more you play in Soul and Motown bands—and the deeper you dive into these incredible compositions—the more you discover just how much there is to learn about chords.
And the more you explore a song like Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On, the harder it becomes to define its exact chords and progressions.
If you do a quick Google search for Let’s Get It On chords, you might come across something like this:
||: Eb Gm | Ab Bb :||
I can say with certainty that this isn’t the full picture. While this version may suit beginners, it misses the mark for a tune with such rich lyricism and musical finesse—there are no extensions at all.
What gives Let’s Get It On its harmonic depth is the beautiful use of extensions, often disguised as chord licks and rarely played the same way twice.
Consequently, trying to transcribe and define exactly what happens in every bar can be a little misguided. This style of music is closer to jazz—fluid and evolving—than to rock, where memorisation is a neccessity.
What you’ll see below, are three core progressions. Once these are committed to memory, they’ll allow you to approach the song in a far more improvised and musical way.
Verse
Here are the verse chords for Let’s Get It On. You could play these exactly the same way throughout, and they would still work:
||: Eb Gm | Abmaj7 Bb9 | Eb Gm7 | Abmaj7 Bb9 :||
Notice that the progression switches from Gm to Gm7. Play along with the recording and listen carefully—you’ll hear how these seemingly small changes make a real difference.
The following bar introduces Abmaj7, which then leads naturally into Bb9.
Chorus
Now for the chorus chords:
||: Eb Gm7 | Abmaj9 Bb11 | Eb Gm7 | Abmaj7 Bb7 :||
Here, we stay on Gm7 throughout. The Abmaj7 is expanded to a maj9, while the Bb shifts from an 11 to a dom7.
To learn how to turn all of these chords into a practical guitar part that you can eventually shape into your own style, check out the TAB further down this guitar lesson.
Bridge
Here are the bridge chords:
||: Ab7 | Ab7 | Eb6 Gm7 | Abmaj9 Bb11 (A7) :|| x3
I’ve introduced an Eb6 here (the TAB shows how we move between Eb and Eb6). Once you’re comfortable with these progressions, you can begin incorporating this variation into the verse and chorus as well.
The final A7 functions as a leading chord back to Ab7—a tritone substitution that adds extra pull.
Before returning to the chorus, there’s one more bridge progression. I’ve kept these chords deliberately simple to build tension, making the verse and chorus feel more adventurous by contrast:
| Ab7 | F7 | Bb7 | Bb7 |
Start by learning Let’s Get It On using the chords exactly as written above, alongside the lyrics. Once that feels comfortable, begin introducing small variations.
What those variations should be won’t fully reveal itself until you’ve worked through the TAB.
Here’s a chord chart to get you started.
Let’s Get It On Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Download my small chord chart with big extension as a PDF, or in the more flexible iReal Pro format:
Let’s Get It On | TAB
The goal here is to improvise—but not straight away. Start by working through the TAB examples first. Restraint is the key.
Intro Verse
The intro features that iconic opening, followed by more very tasty licks. If your band is large enough (horns, keyboards, backing vocals, etc.), you could comfortably play like this throughout.
More often than not, though, you’ll need to take responsibility for the chords, so let’s look at how to approach that.
Verse
Here’s a restrained idea for playing the verse. Notice how small the difference is between Gm and Gm7—that’s exactly the scale of variation we’re aiming for. You don’t need much, just more ideas like this.
Here’s another option. Stick with these two ideas for now—it’s not time to improvise yet.
Chorus
The chorus differs from the verse, using a different set of extensions. Notice how the Abmaj9 first appears as a maj7. The second time, the maj9 is left out. Bb moves from an 11 to a dom7.
Here’s another way to play the chorus. This time, I’ve added a small lick over the Gm7, and in the second half we move up the fretboard.
Again, stay with these TAB examples for now. Make sure you can play them cleanly and start appreciating just how subtle the variations are.
Bridge
For the bridge, I’ve included just one example, even though the first line repeats three times. Make sure you can really nail this part.
Before you let go of the TAB completely, ensure you can move smoothly between the different ideas and play along with the backing tracks using only a chord chart. When that’s working—improvise!
Let’s Get It On Chords: Continue Learning
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