Mad World | Chords + Lyrics
Intro (0:00)
||: Em | A :||
Verse 1 (0:13)
||: Em | G | Dsus2 | A :||
All around me are familiar faces, worn-out places, worn-out faces.
Bright and early for their daily races, going nowhere, going nowhere.
Their tears are filling up their glasses, no expression, no expression.
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow, no tomorrow, no tomorrow.
Chorus 1 (0:59)
||: Em | A :||
And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad.
The dreams in which I’m dying, are the best I’ve ever had.
I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take.
| Em | A | Em | A | Em | A |
When people run in circles, It’s a very, very mad world, mad world.
Verse 2 (1:32)
||: Em | G | Dsus2 | A :||
Children waiting for the day they feel good, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday.
And I feel the way that every child should, sit and listen, sit and listen.
Went to school and I was very nervous, no one knew me, no one knew me.
Hello, teacher tell me what’s my lesson, look right through me, look right through me.
Chorus 2 (2:18)
||: Em | A :||
And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad.
The dreams in which I’m dying, are the best I’ve ever had.
I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take.
When people run in circles, it’s a very, very mad world, mad world.
Outro (2:52)
||: Em | A :||
Enlarging your world, mad world.
You can learn how to play Mad World!
The chords for Mad World are really simple, the intro/chorus/bridge/outro is just a II – V. Em – A. This is #4 on my top 10 chord progression list, usually employed when it’s time to dance!
The verse only has two more chords. II – IV – I – V. Em – G – Dsus2 – A.
All chords are from the key of D major, however, the D chord is not the home chord, instead, the Em chord is (chord II).
In the course, we learn it first as I play it in the video above, then explore how to use the CAGED system to play Mad World all over the fretboard. This is a great idea as if you know your way around the neck, you can improvise your guitar part.
Finally, we create two 2nd guitar parts using a capo on frets 2 and 5.
As a preview of what the course is like, below you find the first step. This guitar lesson look at how to play the verse, enjoy!
Mad World guitar lesson | Verse chords
Let’s start working on Mad World by Tears For Fears. The arrangement this is based on is actually Gary Jules‘ 2003 Xmas #1, piano-only version.
To learn how to play Mad World’s verse, use the TAB loop in the playlist above.
In the first example, the bass note of the chord is only played on beat 1. The last A is not a chord, just a bass note.
In the 2nd example, the bass note appears again on beat 3. The final A uses two strings rather than just one.
In example 3, we tie the pattern over the middle of the bar. This syncs rhythmically with the vocal melody.
After playing all examples, blend them together in an improvised way.
In the course, we next look into what to play for the chorus. This is followed by the intro, the complete song, and how to play Mad World’s chords all over the neck using the CAGED system.
Finally, we create two guitar parts using a capo, learn this so you, me, and the singer can play Mad World together.
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Mad World chords | Related pages
Mad World – 8 guitar lessons
To learn how to play Mad World, we break the song down into smaller sections and practice along with loops.
This is followed by playing in all areas of the neck using the CAGED system. Finally, we design a 2nd guitar part so we can play the song together.
Intermediate Acoustic Songs
The intermediate songs can not be played using just basic open-position chords. We have to move up the fretboard and play CAGED barre chords as well.
We incorporate bass lines, licks, extend chords, and even play vocal melodies. Most importantly, we invent 2nd guitar parts and play these songs together.
Mad World – 5 similar tunes
- Ain’t No Sunshine chords
- All In Love Is Fair chords
- Cannonball chords
- Robin Hood chords
- Wish You Were Here chords
Gary Jules
Gary Jules is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his cover of Mad World by Tears For Fears. It became the UK Christmas number one single in ’03.
Following the worldwide success, Gary Jules kept selling his own CDs on CD Baby as well as the song being released through a label.
Gary Jules on the web
Tears For Fears
Tears for Fears are an English pop band that has sold more than twenty-two million albums.
With hits like Mad World, Seeds Of Love and Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Tears For Fears was one of the biggest bands around in the 80s.
Tears For Fears on the web
