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
| Emaj7 (Emaj9) | Emaj9 Emaj7 |
Woah, 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 |
Oil wasted on the oceans and upon our seas
| B9 B11 | B11 Amaj7/B |
Fish full of mercury.
Verse 3
| Emaj7 (Emaj9) | Emaj9 Emaj7 |
Oh, oh, mercy, mercy me.
| C#m7 (C#m9)| C#m9 C#m7 |
Ah, things ain’t what they used to be, no more.
| F#m7 (F#m9) | F#m9 F#m7 |
Radiation underground and in the sky.
| B9 B11 | B11 Amaj7/B |
Animals and birds who live nearby are dying.
Verse 4
| Emaj7 (Emaj9) | Emaj9 Emaj7 |
Oh, mercy, mercy me.
| C#m7 (C#m9)| C#m9 C#m7 |
Oh, things ain’t what they used to be.
| F#m7 (F#m9) | F#m9 F#m7 |
What about this overcrowded land?
| B9 B11 | B11 Amaj7/B |
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, it just plays this:
Members take this further and develop the guitar part into chords that incorporate the keyboard’s extensions.
Once you’ve seen the TAB, you can just read the chords as a reminder, like this:
||: Emaj7 (Emaj9) | Emaj9 Emaj7 |
| C#m7 (C#m9)| C#m9 C#m7 |
| F#m7 (F#m9) | F#m9 F#m7 |
| B9 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.
Here’s a link to the complete lesson: Mercy Mercy Me – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
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
Five similar tunes with chords and lyrics
- For Once In My Life chords by Stevie Wonder
- Let’s Get It On chords by Marvin Gaye
- Moondance chords by Van Morrison
- Spooky chords by Dusty Springfield
- What’s Going On chords by Marvin Gaye
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
Motown & Soul
Motown & Soul is the best place to start if you want to get better at playing the electric guitar. The harmony is simple and there is room for improvisation.
Learn tunes by The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, and many more.
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Mercy Mercy Me’s chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
