Roxanne | Chords + Lyrics (capo 3)
Intro
| Em | Em |
| Em | Bm/D | Cmaj7 | Bm |
| Am7 | Dsus4 | Esus4 | Esus4 |
Verse 1
| Em | Bm/D | Cmaj7 | Bm |
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light.
| Am7 | Dsus4 | Esus4 | Esus4 |
Those days are over, you don’t have to sell your body to the night.
Verse 2
Roxanne, you don’t have to wear that dress tonight,
walk the streets for money, you don’t care if it’s wrong or if it’s right.
Bridge 1
| Am7 | Dsus4 | Esus4 | Esus4 |
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light.
| Am7 | Dsus4 | Esus4 | Esus4 Am7 |
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light.
Chorus 1
| G5 | G5 C | D5 | D5/C# D5 | Em | Em Am7 |
| G G5 | G5 C | D5 D5/C# | D5/C# D5 | Esus4 | Esus4 |
||: Roxanne (put on the red light) :|| x4
You don’t have to put on the red light, oh.
Instrumental
||: Em | Em/D :||
Verse 3
I loved you since I knew you, I wouldn’t talk down to you.
I have to tell you just how I feel, I won’t share you with another boy.
Verse 4
I know my mind is made up, so put away your makeup.
Told you once I won’t tell you again, it’s a bad way.
Bridge 2
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light,
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light.
Chorus 2
||: G5 | G5 C | D5 | D5/C# D5 | Em | Em Am7 :||
||: (Roxanne) put on the red light :|| x4
You don’t have to put on the red light.
||: (Roxanne) put on the red light :|| x4
| G5 | G5 C | D5 | D5/C# D5 | Esus4 |
(Roxanne) put on the red light. You don’t have to put on the red light.
Roxanne | Chords + Lyrics (no capo)
Intro
| Gm | Gm |
| Gm | Dm/F | Ebmaj7 | Dm |
| Cm7 | Fsus4 | Gsus4 | Gsus4 |
Verse 1
| Gm | Dm/F | Ebmaj7 | Dm |
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light.
| Cm7 | Fsus4 | Gsus4 | Gsus4 |
Those days are over, you don’t have to sell your body to the night.
Verse 2
Roxanne, you don’t have to wear that dress tonight,
walk the streets for money, you don’t care if it’s wrong or if it’s right.
Bridge 1
| Cm7 | Fsus4 | Gsus4 | Gsus4 |
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light.
| Cm7 | Fsus4 | Gsus4 | Gsus4 Cm7 |
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light.
Chorus 1
| Bb5 | Bb5 Eb | F5 | F5/E F5 | Gm | Gm Cm7 |
| Bb Bb5 | Bb5 Eb | F5 F5/E | F5/E F5 | Gsus4 | Gsus4 |
||: Roxanne (put on the red light) :|| x4
You don’t have to put on the red light, oh.
Instrumental
||: Gm | Gm/F :||
Verse 3
I loved you since I knew you, I wouldn’t talk down to you.
I have to tell you just how I feel, I won’t share you with another boy.
Verse 4
I know my mind is made up, so put away your makeup.
Told you once I won’t tell you again, it’s a bad way.
Bridge 2
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light,
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light.
Chorus 2
||: Bb5 | Bb5 Eb | F5 | F5/E F5 | Gm | Gm Cm7 :||
||: (Roxanne) put on the red light :|| x4
You don’t have to put on the red light.
||: (Roxanne) put on the red light :|| x4
| Bb5 | Bb5 Eb | F5 | F5/E F5 | Gsus4 |
(Roxanne) put on the red light. You don’t have to put on the red light.
Roxanne Chords: Learn the progressions
Roxanne’s verse chords are clearly at home over the VI chord (Aeolian), here’s the chord progression with Roman Numerals.
||: Em (VI) | Bm/D (III/5) | Cmaj7 (IV) | Bm (III) |
| Am7 (II) | Dsus4 (V) | Esus4 (VIsus) | Esus4 :||
Make sure you keep these numbers in mind as you play the progression, it will help you further down the line when soloing.
Notice how the final sus4 chord feels uncertain, then when repeated as a sad Em.
The bridge sticks with the sus4, building anticipation like this:
| Am7 (II) | Dsus4 (Vsus4) | Esus4 (VIsus4) | Esus4 |
Finally, Roxanne’s chorus chords are mainly the I – IV – V – VI progression using passing chords, like this:
| G5 (I) | G5 C (IV) | D5 (V) | D5/C# D5 | Em (VI) | Em Am7 (II) |
| G G5 | G5 C | D5 D5/C# | D5/C# D5 | Esus4 | Esus4 |
Here’s a chord chart I made for you.
Roxanne Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
I’m happy with the way this chart came out, it feels easy to read and all sections are easy to identify.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Roxanne Chord Chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: Roxanne iReal Pro.
Using the app, you could easily change the key from playing with a capo on fret 3 as I do on the acoustic, to the original key of Gm (which works better with a band).
Roxanne TAB | Course Preview
My version of Roxanne is an attempt to capture how The Police played it as a band but on one acoustic guitar.
I aimed to achieve this by breaking up the strumming and playing lower strings to imitate the bass line from the original recording.
Using this as the foundation, I came up with four ways to play the verse. Here’s the TAB for example 1 of how to play Roxanne’s verse chords (play along with the TAB loop above).
In the course, you’ll get everything you need to play Roxanne as we use TAB loops like this for all sections.
Completing these lessons will enable you to play Roxanne just like I do in the video at the top of this page, but we don’t stop there.
Following learning the one acoustic guitar arrangement, we play the vocal melody (with extreme attention to detail) and improvise over the verse progression (you’ll love that part!).
Here’s a link to the 8 step-by-step guitar lessons: Roxanne – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Roxanne started as a Bossa Nova!
Initially written as a Bossa Nova by Sting, Roxanne was one of the first tunes The Police recorded. As the band was Punk/New Wave, Sting first dismissed it but after Stewart Copeland chimed in with his drumming, it all fell into place.
The lyrics were inspired by a trip the band had made for a gig in Paris. Residing at a hotel in the red-light district, Sting took inspiration from the lifestyle and when he saw a poster with the name Roxanne, the tune came to him.
Since the band broke up, Sting has played Roxanne in many different ways, including as a Bossa Nova.
When the band reunited for a tour in 2007/2008, to mark their 30th anniversary, they announced it by playing Roxanne at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.
The tour that followed became the 3rd highest-grossing tour of all time.
Roxanne Chords | Related Pages
Roxanne | 8 Step-by-step Guitar Lessons + TAB
Roxanne is, once you can play the verse, pretty easy. We’ll learn how to play it in just four steps in the course.
Following this, we play the vocal melody, practice Aeolian, and improvise using the mode over the verse progression.
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- Englishman In New York chords by Sting
- I Shot The Sheriff chords by Bob Marley
- Locked Out Of Heaven chords by Bruno Mars
- Master Blaster chords by Stevie Wonder
- Message In A Bottle chords by The Police
The Police tunes
The Police was a New Wave band from England comprising Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland.
Unusually, it was Stewart’s brother, Miles Copeland III who managed the band and later, Sting’s solo career.
The Police on the web
Sting tunes
Sting is an English musician who, prior to his solo career, had a band called The Police, with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers.
Formed in 1977, The Police reached worldwide success after releasing their first single Roxanne only a year after they formed the band.
Sting on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Roxanne 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.