Robin Hood | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| G5 |
Verse 1
| G5 D/F# | Em D5/A |
When you’re starting to choke take some pills with your coke,
| C | Dsus4 D |
it’s inspirational.
| G5 D/F# | Em D |
When your life is a mess light one more cigarette,
| C | Dsus4 D |
it’s so logical.
Chorus 1
||: G5 D | C D :||
Well, it’s something your mother can’t abide,
but it’s something that I freely prescribe.
Chorus tag 1
| G5 | D/F# | Em | A |
Take yourself for a ride, it never felt so good, as the night that you and I played Robin Hood.
| C | Dsus4 D |
Stealing from the backrooms of my mind,
| C | D | G5 D/F# | Em A | A |
remembering a time when we were five, a time I thought we’d left behind.
Verse 2
When you’re starting to cry, I’ll come and sit by your side,
I will love you so.
And when nightmares come, I will try to be fun, even though,
I’m so scared you know.
Chorus 2
‘Cause, it’s something your mother can’t abide,
but it’s something that I freely prescribe.
Chorus tag 2
Take yourself for a ride, it never felt so good, as the night that you and I played Robin Hood.
Stealing from the backrooms of our minds,
stealing from a time when we were five, a time I thought we’d left behind.
Chorus tag 3
| C | D |
Stealing from the backrooms of my mind,
| C | D | G5 D/F# | Em A | 2/4 A | 4/4 A |
stealing from a time when we were five, a time I thought we’d left behind.
Outro
| G5 D/F# | Em D5 | C | Dsus4 D | G5 |
When you started to choke take some pills with your coke, it’s hysterical.
Robin Hood Chords: Learn the progressions
A few of Robin Hood’s chords have been manipulated, they’re not just simple open-position chords. First, the D/F# is a D chord with the 3rd of the chord (the F#) in the bass.
As the progression moves from G – D – Em, it makes sense to add the F# to the D as this creates a descending bass line of G – F# – E. This movement then continues down to chords D and even C.
Later on, we also find a Dsus4 chord. Sus4 means suspended 4th. To create this chord, replace the 3rd (an F#) with the 4th (a G).
The full verse chord progression looks like this:
||: G5 (I) D/F# (V/3) | Em (VI) D5/A (V/5) |
| C (IV) | Dsus4 (V) D :||
The chorus is much simpler with its I – V – IV – V movement, like this:
||: G5 (I) D (V) | C (IV) D (V) :||
The chorus tag is the most complicated part, here it is with Roman Numerals:
| G5 (I) | D/F# (V/3) | Em (VI) | A (IIx) |
| C (IV) | Dsus4 (V) D | C | D |
| G5 D/F# | Em A | A |
Notice how we move down from I – V/3 – VI before the chord outside the key IIx (A). This is followed by IV – V before we play the same movement again, now the chords share a bar.
The end of Robin Hood’s chorus tag (A chord) has different lengths. The first two times it’s over 6 beats, the last time it’s 8 beats.
Here’s a chord chart you can use, should you prefer to play Robin Hood without looking at chords with lyrics.
Robin Hood Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
After repeating the verse, chorus and tag, we play the same chords as before, just repeating them more, I’ve called this a D-section in the chart, with chords and lyrics, it’s a repeated chorus tag and outro.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Robin Hood Chord Chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: Robin Hood iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
In the course, we look at TAB and play along to loops to learn Robin Hood in-depth, below is a preview of the verse.
Robin Hood TAB | Course Preview
Ocean Colour Scene‘s Robin Hood is a tune I’ve chosen to include in the beginner course for a few reasons.
Firstly, it’s got great chords and strumming patterns that a beginner can learn a lot from.
But it’s also an interesting composition if you are interested in what makes a hit as Robin Hood was only a fan favourite, not a chart-topper (more about this below).
Members look at 5 TAB examples to practice using loops. The TAB for example 1 looks like this:
Notice how the pattern here is to play the full chord, then strum the upper half.
In the video above, you can play along with this TAB and get a taste of what it’s like to learn guitar with Spytunes.
In the course, we look at all sections like this, play the complete song with a singer, practice chromatic exercises, and even invent a 2nd guitar part.
When creating a 2nd guitar part, you have to learn even more chords as a capo is applied and we must now “think in a different key”.
Learn this 2nd guitar and you’ll be in a position to play Robin Hood with me and the singer as if we are an acoustic trio.
Here’s a link to the 8 step-by-step guitar lessons: Robin Hood – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Robin Hood – The hit that never was!
Ocean Colour Scene’s best album, the 1996 Moseley Shoals had three top 20 singles that in many ways made the band; The Day We Caught the Train, The Riverboat Song, and You’ve Got It Bad.
Robin Hood, which you see the chords and lyrics for above and will spend 8 lessons playing, even developing in the beginner course, didn’t even make the album.
Instead, it was a B-side to the aforementioned You’ve Got It Bad. To me, it should have been included on the album and even released as a single, it has all the ingredients to be a hit.
You may say (and I bet you this is what the label preached) that it’s too sad, too depressing even but then how do you explain hits such as Everybody Hurts, Mad World, and The Drugs Don’t Work?
The fans of the band clearly agreed with me as Robin Hood has gone on to become a fan favourite, the one that you only know about if you’re a true Ocean Colour Scene fan, it’s a hidden gem if you like.
Robin Hood Chords | Related Pages
Robin Hood | 8 Step-by-step Guitar Lessons + TAB
When you learn how to play Robin Hood by Ocean Colour Scene you’ll also learn how to pick and strum using accuracy as you practice along with loops.
We’ll also practice more chromatic exercises, and build a 2nd guitar part to play the song with the singer, like a little band.
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
Ocean Colour Scene tunes
Ocean Colour Scene (OCS) is an English rock band from Birmingham. The band had the most success with their 1996 album Moseley Shoals.
The album contained the band’s three biggest hits The Riverboat Song, The Day We Caught The Train, and You’ve Got It Bad.
Ocean Colour Scene on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Robin Hood chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
