My Guy | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: Bb bass line :|| Cm7 Dm7 |
Verse 1
| Bb Bb6 | Bb Bb6 | Bb Bb6 | Bb Bb6 |
Nothing you could say could tear me away from my guy.
| Bb Bb6 | Bb Bb6 | Bb Bb6 | Bb Bb6 | D7 D D7 | D7 |
Nothing you could do ’cause I’m stuck like glue to my guy.
Bridge 1
| Cm7 F7 | Cm7 F |
I’m sticking to my guy like a stamp to a letter,
| Cm7 F7 | Cm7 N.C |
like birds of a feather, we stick together.
Turnaround 1
| Bb G | C7 F | Bb Bb6 Bb | Cm7 Dm7 |
I’m tellin’ you from the start I can’t be torn apart from my guy.
Verse 2
Nothing you could do could make me untrue to my guy (my guy).
Nothing you could buy could make me tell a lie to my guy (my guy, my guy, my guy).
Bridge 2
I gave my guy my word of honor,
to be faithful and I’m gonna,
Turnaround 2
you best be believing I won’t be deceiving my guy.
Bridge 3
| Cm7 F7 | Cm7 F7 |
As a matter of opinion, I think he’s tops,
| Cm7 F7 | Bb Bb6 Bb |
my opinion is he’s the cream of the crop.
Middle 8
| Gm7 Dm | Gm7 Dm | C7 | F |
As a matter of taste to be exact, he’s my ideal as a matter of fact.
Verse 3
| Bb Bb6 | Bbmaj7 Bb6 | Bb Bb6 | Bbmaj7 Bb6 |
No muscle-bound man could take my hand from my guy (my guy).
| Bb Bb6 | Bbmaj7 Bb6 | D7 D | D7 D D6 |
No handsome face could ever take the place of my guy (my guy, my guy, my guy).
Bridge 4 (as bridge 1)
He may not be a movie star,
but when it comes to being happy, we are.
Turnaround 3
There’s not a man today who could take me away from my guy.
Breakdown (as intro)
||: Bb bass line :|| Cm7 Dm7 |
Verse 4 (as verse 1)
No muscle-bound man (muscle-bound man) could take my hand from my guy (my guy).
No handsome face (handsome face) could ever take the place of my guy (my guy, my guy, my guy).
Bridge 5 (as bridge 1)
He may not be a movie star,
but when it comes to being happy, we are.
Turnaround 4
There’s not a man today who could take me away from my guy. What you say?
Outro
||: Bb G | C7 F | Bb Bb6 Bb | Cm7 Dm7 :||
There’s not a man today who could take me away from my guy. Tell me more!
There’s not a man today who could take me away from my guy. What’s that?
There’s not a man today who could take me away from my guy.
My Guy Chords: How the Harmony Shapes the Song
The key of My Guy becomes clear right from the intro, as the diatonic harmony features two minor chords a tone apart—something found only in one part of the scale.
The introduction uses a major pentatonic bass line, followed by II and III chords:
||: Bb bass line :|| Cm7 Dm7 |
For the verse, we manipulate the I chord with 6 extensions before moving to IIIx:
||: Bb (I) Bb6 | Bb Bb6 :||x4
| D7 (IIIx) D D7 | D7 |
In verse 3, I opted to replace the second Bb with a maj7, adding a smoother colour:
||: Bb Bb6 | Bbmaj7 Bb6 :||x4
| D7 (IIIx) D D7 | D7 |
Regardless of whether we use the maj7, the D7 (IIIx) leads into the bridge, a II – V progression:
||: Cm7 F7 :|| x3
| Cm7 N.C |
The final section is a turnaround introducing two new chords—VIx and IIx:
| Bb (I) G (VI) | C7 (IIx) F (V) | Bb (I) Bb6 Bb | Cm7 (II) Dm7 (III) |
This movement is a common harmonic device, similar to Baby Won’t You Please Come Home, where the VI and II chords can be played as either minor or dominant.
Here’s a chord chart I made for you.
My Guy Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
If you’d like to download the chart, here’s a PDF: My Guy chord chart PDF.
This chart was created using iReal Pro—here’s a link to the file: My Guy chord chart iReal Pro.
With the app, you can quickly change the key if your singer requests a last-minute adjustment. It’s also a great tool for practising My Guy’s chords in different keys, which is always beneficial when learning any tune.
In the course, we explore these chords across the entire neck—below is a preview of how this works.
Now, imagine being able to do this fluidly, in any key, on the spot. How would that transform your playing?
My Guy TAB | Course Preview
There are some jazzy-sounding chords to discover when playing My Guy, more so than in the average early Motown tune.
These chords also provide great opportunities to fit in licks. A solid approach is to first transcribe licks from the original recording and then develop them further.
In the course, we explore these ideas in depth, playing the chords in different positions with varied rhythms to ensure complete freedom across the neck. With this foundation, transitioning between licks and chord playing becomes much easier.
Here’s some TAB showing how we practise My Guy’s chords in the course.
The first example uses the G shape of a Bb chord. In the second, we shift up to play an E shape, continuing this process until we’ve covered the entire fretboard, effectively linking barre chord shapes.
In the next steps, we break down the bridge, turnaround, middle eight, and instrumental section, using play-along loops and TAB—just as you saw earlier for the verse chords.
You’ll explore multiple variations for each section, all with TAB and loops, ultimately enabling you to improvise your guitar part when playing along with the live band backing track in the final step.
Here’s a link to the 8 step-by-step guitar lessons: My Guy – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
My Guy was one of Motown’s first major hits!
Sung by Motown’s first female superstar, Mary Wells, My Guy became a smash hit in 1964. It reached #1 in the U.S., topped the charts in New Zealand, and landed at #3 in Australia and #5 in the U.K.
Written by Smokey Robinson, the song embodies Motown’s early, sweeter, and more innocent sound. Even seven decades later, My Guy remains a staple for working Motown bands, often played in the first set before things get more lively.
As Motown’s rising female star, success may have gone to Mary’s head. Believing she could make it anywhere, she walked away from the career Berry Gordy had set up for her. Before leaving, she recorded just a few duets with Marvin Gaye before signing with 20th Century Fox in 1965, hoping to become a movie star as well.
Motown, however, didn’t dwell on her departure. With groups like Martha and the Vandellas and The Supremes, they had no shortage of female talent. Marvin Gaye soon found even greater success with new duet partners like Tammi Terrell and Kim Weston.
Meanwhile, Mary never landed any major film roles or hit records on her new label—My Guy remained her one and only big success.
My Guy Chords: Continue Learning
There are plenty of jazzy-sounding chords to explore as you progress through My Guy‘s eight step-by-step lessons.
Along the way, you’ll learn multiple variations for each section, ultimately giving you the freedom to improvise your guitar part when playing with a band in the final step.
Start learning with the full lesson series: My Guy – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: