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
My Girl starts 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.
The verse chords are simply I – IV, with that pentatonic riff following the chords in the key of C.
The bridge is ascending as it moves: I – II – IV – V on repeat, building for the chorus to release this tension over I – IV again.
Toward the end of the solo, we modulate up a tone and continue playing My Girl in the key of D.
The outro has a lovely descending progression going V – III – IV – II, or A – G – F#m – Em.
Members get custom-made TAB for how to put all this together as well as a full chord analysis of all sections, including the solo and key change.
Here’s a link to the complete lesson (members only): My Girl chord analysis + TAB.
Become a member today and get unlimited access to all step-by-step guitar courses, TAB for the songbook, the Self-Eliminating Practice Routine, and the eBook Spytunes Method.
My Girl is a must for the working Motown band!
This genius composition by Smokey Robinson, performed by The Temptations, backed by The Funk Brothers is one of Motown’s signature songs and a guaranteed hit for the working Motown band.
Released in 1964, it sold over 2 million copies and remains a classic to this day, perhaps mainly helped by the wedding industry as the perfect Father-Daughter dance.
Temptations even recorded the song in German and Italian as well in ’65 and ’66. My Girl was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, what took them so long?
I can highly recommend you play My Girl in the first set, perhaps surrounded by Let’s Stay Together, My Guy, Son Of A Preacher Man, and Baby Love.
You may think you only need a few slow songs like this as most of the time, it is up-tempo that is needed but then you forget that once in a blue moon when the first set all needs to be chilled out.
There’s nothing more embarrassing than playing You Can’t Hurry Love when people are trying to eat, just because you’re band only knows 30 tunes!
Being a professional, working musician is much more rewarding if you take it seriously, so make sure you know all the classics.
My Girl chords | Related pages
Intermediate Acoustic
Most intermediate acoustic tunes can’t be played using just basic open-position chords. We have to move up the fretboard and play CAGED barre chords as well.
We incorporate bass lines, add licks, extend chords, and play vocal melodies. Most importantly, we’ll invent second guitar parts and play these songs together.
Intermediate Electric
The intermediate electric tunes will help you with learning the CAGED system all over the fretboard, both for chords and pentatonic scales.
Learn these Motown/Soul classics, and you’ll not just improve dramatically but also gain yourself a repertoire.
Five similar tunes with chords and lyrics
Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson was a huge part of Motown’s success with his band The Miracles, but 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
Ballads
The perfect first dance or an emotional piece for your next audition, this collection of ballads is great for working on your expression.
Learn tunes from Burt Bacharach, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, Eva Cassidy, Ben Harper, Etta James, Chet Baker, Elvis, Norah Jones, and many more.
Motown & Soul
You can learn how to play these Motown & Soul tunes, and in doing so, gain yourself a repertoire so you can jam with, or even join a working band.
Study these tunes in-depth and you will map out the fretboard, master the CAGED system, and learn how to design a rhythm guitar part that works in a band.
