My Girl | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| N.C | N.C | C riff | C riff |
Verse 1
| C | F | C | F |
I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day.
| C | F | C | F |
When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May.
Bridge 1
| C Dm | F G | C Dm | F G |
I guess you’d say, what can make me feel this way?
Chorus 1
| C | C | F | G Dm7 G |
My girl, my girl, my girl, talkin’ ’bout my girl. My girl.
Verse 2
| C | F | C | F |
I’ve got so much honey, the bees envy me.
| C | F | C | F |
I’ve got a sweeter song, than the birds in the trees.
Bridge 2
| C Dm | F G | C Dm | F G |
Well, I guess you’d say, what can make me feel this way?
Chorus 2
| C | C | F | G Dm7 G |
My girl, my girl, my girl, talkin’ ’bout my girl. My girl.
Breakdown
| N.C | N.C | C riff | C riff |
Ohh ohh
Solo
| C | F | C | F |
Hey hey hey. Hey hey hey.
| Dm | G | Em | A |
Oh yeah.
Verse 3 (New key)
| D | G | D | G |
I don’t need no money, fortune, or fame.
| D | G | D | G |
I’ve got all the riches baby one man can claim.
Bridge 3
| D Em | G A | D Em | G A |
Well, I guess you’d say, what can make me feel this way.
Chorus 3
||: D | D | G | A G F#m Em :||
My girl, my girl, my girl, talkin’ ’bout my girl. My girl, talkin’ ’bout my girl.
I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day with my girl. I’ve even got the month of May with my girl.
Talkin’ ’bout, talkin’ ’bout, talkin’ ’bout.
My Girl’s chords and progressions
This genius composition by Smokey Robinson, performed by The Temptations, backed by The Funk Brothers is diatonic, meaning, it doesn’t go outside the key. However, it does change the key after the solo.
Starting off with the legendary C Major Pentatonic riff, we are best to play this, as well as a chord stab on the 2 of every bar, should we be the only guitar player in the band.
This concept is then repeated over chord IV, now with the F Major Pentatonic, and a chord stab. Using TAB, I would recommend you play the verse like this.
Next, we have the bridge. Here we move, diatonically, like this:
||: C (I) Dm (II) | F (IV) G (V) :||
The chorus is similar to the verse with its I – IV movement, just finished off on V, and then a quick II – V.
You could experiment with extending the C to Cmaj7 to create a more lush sound, as you most likely won’t have a string section on the gig.
| C (I) | C (I) | F (IV) | G (V) Dm7 (II) G (V) |
The breakdown is a re-intro, which is followed by a solo. The solo starts off like the verse with a I – IV, then creates a key change where the Em functions first as a III, then a II in the new key, genius!
| C (I) | F (IV) | C (I) | F (IV) |
| Dm (II) | G (V) | Em (III) (II) | A (V new key) |
The next verse, bridge, and chorus are the same as before, just in the key of D, not C. The outro has a nice little twist in it as it descends V – IV – III – II.
||: D (I) | D (I) | G (IV) | A (V) G (IV) F#m (III) Em (II) :||
And that’s all My Girl’s chords. Super simple, genius, and a world-class lesson in how to write a hit.
My Girl chords | Related pages
Five similar tunes
- I’ll Be There chords
- Let’s Stay Together chords
- Son Of A Preacher Man chords
- Under The Boardwalk chords
- Wonderful World chords
Smokey Robinson
Smokey was a huge part of Motown’s success. Partly with his band The Miracles, but he also wrote and produced a big part of Motown’s legendary catalog.
Robinson’s hits include Shop Around, You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me, The Tears of a Clown, My Guy, My Girl, and Get Ready.
Smokey Robinson on the web
The Temptations
The Temptations are a five-piece vocal group that has been active since 1960. After the original five members, another nineteen singers have come and gone.
Early hits like My Girl was produced by Smokey Robinson, later they ventured into a more psychedelic soul sound with Papa Was A Rolling Stone.
The Temptations on the web
