Mercy Mercy Me | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| G#/A# | G#/A# | A/B | Amaj7/B |
Verse 1
| Emaj7 Emaj9 | Emaj9 Emaj7 |
Woah, oh, mercy, mercy me.
| C#m7 C#m9 | C#m9 C#m7 |
Oh, things ain’t what they used to be, no, no.
| F#m7 F#m9 | F#m9 F#m7 |
Where did all the blue skies go?
| B9 B11 | B11 Amaj7/B |
Poison is the wind that blows from the north and south and east.
Verse 2
Woah, mercy, mercy me.
Oh, things ain’t what they used to be, no, no.
Oil wasted on the oceans and upon our seas
Fish full of mercury.
Verse 3
Oh, oh, mercy, mercy me.
Ah, things ain’t what they used to be, no more.
Radiation underground and in the sky.
Animals and birds who live nearby are dying.
Verse 4
Oh, mercy, mercy me.
Oh, things ain’t what they used to be.
What about this overcrowded land?
How much more abuse from man, can she stand?
Outro
| Am7 A7sus4 | A7sus4 Am7 |
| Dm7 Dm9 | Dm9 Dm7 |
| Gm7 Gm9 | Gm9 Gm7 |
| Bb/C | Bbmaj7/C |
||: Bbm7 Bbm9 :||
End (free time)
| Bbm9 | Cm9 | Fdim7/G | Cmmaj7 |
Mercy Mercy Me Chords: Learn the progressions
Marvin Gaye‘s Mercy Mercy Me is almost the same as another massive tune from the same album, What’s Going On.
Just like What’s Going On, the main chord progression is I – VI – II – V.
What’s cool with Mercy Mercy Me’s chords is how the extensions go from maj7 – maj9, and min7 – min9, if you listen to the keyboard chords that is!
The guitar doesn’t put all these extensions in, to explain the guitar is best done using TAB, here’s a link: Mercy Mercy Me – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
In that part of the lesson, we take this even further and develop the guitar part into chords that incorporate the keyboard’s extensions.
Once you’ve seen the TAB, you can just read Mercy Mercy Me’s chords as a reminder, like this:
||: Emaj7 (I) Emaj9 | Emaj9 Emaj7 |
| C#m7 (VI) C#m9| C#m9 C#m7 |
| F#m7 (II) F#m9 | F#m9 F#m7 |
| B9 (V) B11 | B11 Amaj7/B :||
As a jazz standard, you’ll end up playing Mercy Mercy Me for many years to come, and as there is so much to learn from it, it really will pay off to dig deep, exploring the harmony in great depth.
Having spent hours with it, a simple chord chart is a good thing to keep in your back pocket as you head to the gig, whether it be a Motown\Soul gig or a jazz jam. Here’s one I made for you.
Mercy Mercy Me Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Mercy Mercy Me Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Mercy Mercy Me iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
An environmental protest song half a century before Greta went on a school strike!
Long before Greta Tunberg became famous for her Friday school strikes and later a worldwide spokesperson for the environment, Marvin Gaye put it all in a song.
Solely written by Marvin, it was the Funk Brothers who provided the music which is remarkable as even though this is such a masterpiece, a year later, they were all fired when Berry Gordy relocated to L.A.
Another remarkable angle here is that the other big tune from this album, What’s Going On is essentially the same tune and released as consecutive singles, they both charted.
Mercy Mercy Me has since gone on to become a jazz standard, perfect for soloing over for hours on end, you should try it! As you do, aim to target the chord notes, extensions included!
Mercy Mercy Me Chords | Related Pages
Mercy Mercy Me | Guitar Lesson + TAB
With this guitar lesson, you can learn to play Mercy Mercy Me by Marvin Gaye using TAB and chord analysis.
| Emaj7 Emaj9 | Emaj9 Emaj7 |
Woah, oh, mercy, mercy me…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
Marvin Gaye tunes
Marvin Gaye helped shape the Motown sound as a drummer, session singer, writer, lead singer, and producer in the 60s and 70s.
Marvin’s hits include I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Can I Get A Witness, and politically fueled What’s Going On.
Marvin Gaye on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Mercy Mercy Me’s 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 by practising scales or studying theory in isolation.