Chords + Lyrics | My Baby Just Cares For Me
Intro
||: A /G# /F# /E | D /C# /B /E :||
Verse 1
| A /G# /F# /E | D /C# /B /E |
My baby don’t care for shows.
| A /G# /F# /E | D /C# /B /E |
My baby don’t care for clothes.
| A /G# /F# /E | D /C# /B /E | Bm7 | Bm7 |
My baby just cares for me.
| C#7 | C#7 | F#m7 | F#m7 |
My baby don’t care for cars and races.
| B7 | B7 | E7 N.C | N.C |
My baby don’t care for, high-tone places.
Bridge 1
| A /G# /F# /E | D /C# /B /E |
Liz Taylor is not his style.
| A /G# /F# /E | D /C# /B /E |
And even Lana Turner’s smile.
| A /G# /F# /E | D /C# /B /E | Bm7 | Bm7 |
Is something he can’t see.
| D6 | G#7 | A A7/G | F#7 |
My baby don’t care who knows it.
| Bm7 | E7 |
My baby just cares for me.
Instrumental 1
||: A /G# /F# /E | D /C# /B E7 :|| x3
Solo 1
| A | A | Bm | Bm |
| F#m | F#m | F#m | F#m |
| B7 | B7 | E7 N.C | N.C E7 |
Instrumental 2
||: A /G# /F# /E | D /C# /B /E :||
Solo 2
| A | A | D | D |
| D | G#7 | A A7/G | F#7 |
| Bm7 | E7 | A F#m7 | Bm7 E7 |
Verse 2
Baby, my baby don’t care for shows.
And he don’t even care for clothes.
He cares for me.
My baby don’t care for cars and races.
Baby don’t care for, he don’t care for high-tone places.
Bridge 2
Liz Taylor is not his style.
And even Liberace’s smile.
Is something he can’t see, is something he can’t see.
| D6 | G#7 | A A7/G | F#7 |
I wonder what’s wrong with baby.
| Bm7 | C#m/E Bm/D | A/C# A7/E | F#7 |
My baby just cares for, my baby just cares for.
| Bm7 | E7 | N.C | N.C A | A |
My baby just cares for me.
My Baby Just Cares For Me Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning My Baby Just Cares For Me. I’ve used stem separation to extract the piano while keeping the drums, bass, and vocals intact.
There is also a version without vocals but with piano.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
We could write My Baby Just Cares For Me‘s chords as new chords, not just indicate them with a bass line, but that would complicate things. Here’s what we would get:
| A A/G# F#m7 F#m7/E | D D/C# Bm7 E11 |
Instead of writing them with a bass line as shown above with chords and lyrics, like this:
| A /G# /F# /E | D /C# /B /E |
As you can see, it’s easier to write the bass line, and you’ll end up with the same chords anyway.
I’ve designed TAB for how to play this and all other sections, including the 1st piano solo on guitar, find it further down this guitar lesson.
Verse
Now, let’s focus on the chords following that initial signature descending line, the verse chords develop like this:
| Bm7 (II) | Bm7 |
| C#7 (IIIx) | C#7 | F#m7 (VI) | F#m7 |
| B7 (IIx) | B7 | E7 (V) N.C | N.C |
Using Roman numerals, we’re looking at a II – IIIx – VI – IIx – V progression. Most of this movement follows the cycle of 4ths.
The challenge when developing the acoustic guitar arrangement mainly lies in how you walk the bass over these chords (check the TAB!).
Bridge
The bridge chords (you could also refer to these sections as A and B instead of verse and bridge) begin in a familiar way but then progress as follows:
| Bm7 (II) | Bm7 |
| D6 (IV) | G#7 (VIIx) |
| A (I) A7/G | F#7 (VIx) |
| Bm7 (II) | E7 (V) |
These chords move outside the key more than the verse. Bm7 serves as II, D6 as IV, while G#7 acts as a VIIx chord. A is I, and A7/G is a bluesy I chord, leading us to a VIx (F#7), with a final II – V progression.
Solos
The solos feature new chord progressions, adapted to fit the golden ratio (we’ll discuss this in more detail later). Here are the chords for solo 1:
| A (I) | A | Bm (II) | Bm |
| F#m (VI) | F#m | F#m | F#m |
| B7 (IIx) | B7 | E7 (V) N.C | N.C E7 |
The movement here follows the pattern I – II – VI – IIx – V.
Solo 2’s chords go as follows:
| A (I) | A | D (IV) | D |
| D | G#7 (VIIx) | A A7/G | F#7 (VIx) |
| Bm7 (II) | E7 (V) | A F#m7 (VI) | Bm7 E7 |
The initial change from Bm to D is subtle, as D is IV instead of II. However, it’s the last two lines that really venture into new territory.
What you really need here is the TAB and plenty of practice time. Following that, a simple chord chart will serve as a helpful reminder as you play with the backing tracks. Here’s one I’ve created for you, spread over two pages.
My Baby Just Cares For Me Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here are the links to the PDFs: My Baby Just Cares For Me chord chart PDF, page 1 and My Baby Just Cares For Me chord chart PDF, page 2.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro. You can access the iReal Pro file here: My Baby Just Cares For Me iReal Pro, page 1, and My Baby Just Cares For Me iReal Pro, page 2.
Using this and the iReal Pro app, you can change the key. However, (and I speak from experience here) I don’t think that would be the best idea. I spent years playing it in C, which, when I started working with a new singer, made me drop the song— not great considering I’d already learnt to play the piano solo on guitar…
My Baby Just Cares For Me | TAB
In this epic tune, there’s a lot of TAB to get through. Let’s begin with the main part—the intro, the first half of the verse, and the bridge. This is the signature bass linesection.
Start by looking at the first line and imagine the chords as:
| A A/G# F#m7 F#m7/E | D D/C# Bm7 E11 |
Make sure you understand why, then realise it’s easier to see this as just two chords with a descending bass line. It also sounds better on the guitar if you play fewer strings—hence idea 2 above.
Keeping with the same theme, for the instrumental section we play an E7 at the end, like this:
Spend plenty of time getting the right feel when playing this main riff.
Halfway through the verse, the chords change to this:
The bass line is the most important part. Start by playing it as written in the TAB before exploring your own variations.
Now, here’s the second half of the bridge.
I’ve kept the rhythm the same throughout for consistency. Begin by playing it as written, then experiment with your own ideas.
Here’s the first solo.
I don’t know about you, but I think this solo is a true masterpiece. Play it exactly as written!
When I eventually turn this tune into eight step-by-step lessons, I’ll include the second solo and ending as well. Until then—get to work!
The Golden Ratio
My Baby Just Cares for Me makes use of the golden ratio, 1.618. Mozart was a fan of this technique, and since Nina Simone was a classical music enthusiast, it’s likely she planned it this way.
In fact, she added the solos to the standard arrangement (the original was released in 1930), which is what makes the song hit that golden ratio.
To calculate the golden ratio in a song, we count the number of bars. In the case of My Baby Just Cares for Me, that’s 106 bars. Multiply 106 by 0.618, and you get 65. Bar 65 begins the final line of the solo, a big build-up to the peak.
Here are the chords that carry the song to that golden ratio:
| Bm7 (II) | E7 (V) | A (I) F#m7 (VI) | Bm7 (II) E7 (V) |
Can you feel how the song peaks during this chord progression?
My Baby Just Cares For Me Chords: Continue Learning
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