Chords + Lyrics | Message In A Bottle
Intro
||: C#sus2 Asus2 | Bsus2 F#madd9 :|| x4
Verse 1
||: C#sus2 Asus2 | Bsus2 F#madd9 :||
Just a castaway, an island lost at sea, oh.
Another lonely day, with no one here but me, oh.
More loneliness, than any man could bear.
Rescue me before I fall into despair, oh.
Bridge 1
| A5 | D5 E5 | A5 | D5 E5 |
I’ll send an S.O.S to the world, I’ll send an S.O.S to the world.
| F#5 | D5 | F#5 | D5 | F#5 | D5 |
I hope that someone gets my, I hope that someone gets my. I hope that someone gets my.
Chorus 1
| C#m7 | F#m7/A | C#m7 | F#m7/A |
Message in a bottle, yeah.
| C#m7 | F#m7/A | F#m | F#m |
Message in a bottle, yeah.
Verse 2
A year has passed since I wrote my note.
I should have known this right from the start.
Only hope can keep me together.
Love can mend your life or love can break your heart.
Bridge 2
I’ll send an S.O.S to the world, I’ll send an S.O.S to the world.
I hope that someone gets my. I hope that someone gets my. I hope that someone gets my.
Chorus 2
||: C#m7 | F#m7/A | C#m7 | F#m7/A :|| x3
Message in a bottle, yeah.
Message in a bottle, yeah.
Oh, message in a bottle, yeah.
| C#m7 | F#m7/A | F#m | F#m | F#m | F#m |
Message in a bottle, yeah.
Verse 3
Walked out this morning, I don’t believe what I saw.
Hundred billion bottles washed up on the shore.
Seems I’m not alone at being alone.
Hundred billion castaways, looking for a home.
Bridge 3
I’ll send an S.O.S to the world, I’ll send an S.O.S to the world.
I hope that someone gets my, I hope that someone gets my. I hope that someone gets my.
Chorus 3
||: C#m7 | F#m7/A | C#m7 | F#m7/A :|| x3
Message in a bottle, yeah.
Message in a bottle, yeah.
Message in a bottle, oh.
| C#m7 | F#m7/A | F#m | F#m |
Message in a bottle, yeah.
Instrumental
||: C#sus2 Asus2 | Bsus2 F#madd9 :|| x4
Outro
||: C#sus2 Asus2 | Bsus2 F#madd9 :||
||: Sending out an S.O.S. I’m sending out an S.O.S.
I’m sending out an S.O.S. I’m sending out an S.O.S :||
Message in a Bottle Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Message in a Bottle. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, horns, 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 extremely stretchy chords Andy Summers crafted for Message in a Bottle must be played with the correct extensions, as these form the riff and hook.
Verse
Looking at the chord progression, we can see it’s a diatonic VI – IV – V – II, with the 3rd either suspended to a sus2 or kept, with an added 9th, like this in the key of E:
||: C#sus2 (VI) Asus2 (IV) | Bsus2 (V) F#madd9 (II) :||
Playing this progression in the same way Andy Summers did is challenging, though there are ways to make it easier.
I’ve transcribed the chords/riff and also examined ways to simplify it by altering the position of the chords on the fretboard. Find the TAB for this further down this guitar lesson.
If you’re playing this late in the set after a busy week of gigs, you’ll definitely appreciate my modified version!
Bridge
The bridge employs a modal interchange, as we’re clearly in the key of A now, following a I – IV – V progression:
| A5 | D5 E5 | A5 | D5 E5 |
Chorus
For the chorus, we either play VI – II in the key of E or III – VI in the key of A. The ambiguity of the key creates the tension—genius!
||: C#m7 (VI or III) | F#m7/A (II or VI) :||
Having studied my TAB, this chord chart will serve as a helpful reminder when you perform Message in a Bottle live.
Message In A Bottle Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Message In A Bottle chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Message In A Bottle iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Message In A Bottle | TAB
The extremely stretchy chords Andy Summers came up with for Message In A Bottle have terrorised guitar players over the years.
Let’s look at how we can play these chords accurately, as well as explore what happens if we try to make life a little easier for ourselves.
Here’s the main riff in TAB. Notice how the shapes are all the same. The reason we call the last chord F#madd9, rather than sus2 is that the final two notes are the 9th and m3rd.
Clearly, the biggest challenge in playing this riff is its stretchy nature. Watch the music video and you’ll see Andy plays it exactly as the TAB describes.
When playing it, make sure to release the tension from the previous finger instead of trying to hold all the notes down at once. If it’s still too difficult, you can modify it by changing how you fret the chords.
There will be a small difference in tone—playing a note on a thinner string sounds slightly different—but this may be a worthwhile sacrifice if it allows you to play through the entire tune.
Here’s an alternative way to fret Message In A Bottle’s chords:
Bridge
Next, let’s look at the bridge. This section might seem easier—or is it?
If you grew up playing Green Day tunes in your bedroom, this will be a breeze. If you grew up on blues, chugging like this might be trickier than it appears!
Chorus
Finally, we get to the chorus. I’ve slightly modified the last two bars. On the record, there are overdubs, so what you see here is adapted for playing Message In A Bottle live as the only guitarist in a band.
The second chord is listed as F#m7/A, even though there’s no A in the guitar part—that note is played by the bass, followed by a G#. I felt adding that on the guitar would be a step too far.
If you’re turning this into an acoustic arrangement, try including an open A string!
When you can play all this TAB, try it using the backing tracks!
Message In A Bottle Chords: Continue Learning
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