Stand By Me | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| A | A | F#m | F#m |
| D | E | A | A |
Verse 1
| A | A | F#m | F#m |
When the night has come, and the land is dark.
| D | E | A | A |
And the moon, is the only, light we’ll see.
| A | A | F#m | F#m |
No, I won’t, be afraid, oh I won’t, be afraid.
| D | E | A | A |
Just as long, as you stand, stand by me.
Chorus 1
| A | A | F#m | F#m |
So darlin’, darlin’, stand by me, oh, stand by me.
| D | E | A | A |
Oh, stand, stand by me. Stand by me.
Verse 2
| A | A | F#m | F#m |
If the sky that we look upon, should tumble and fall.
| D | E | A | A |
Or the mountain, should crumble to the sea.
| A | A | F#m | F#m |
I won’t cry, I won’t cry, no I won’t, shed a tear.
| D | E | A | A |
Just as long, as you stand, stand by me.
Chorus 2
| A | A | F#m | F#m |
And darlin’, darlin’, stand by me, oh stand by me.
| D | E | A | A |
Oh stand now. Stand by me, stand by me.
Solo
||: A | A | F#m | F#m |
| D | E | A | A :||
Chorus 3
| A | A | F#m | F#m |
And darlin’, darlin’, stand by me, oh stand by me.
| D | E | A | A |
Oh, stand now, stand by me, stand by me.
Outro
| A | A | F#m | F#m |
Whenever you’re in trouble won’t you. Stand, by me? Oh, stand by me, woah won’t you,
| D | E | A | A |
Stand now? Oh, stand, stand by me.
Stand By Me’s chords and progression
Dubbed the 50s progression or even the Stand By Me changes(!), we have the I – VI – IV – V. In the key of A, Stand By Me’s chords by Ben E. King are:
||: A | A | F#m | F#m |
| D | E | A | A :||
As they never change, and everybody in the entire world knows this tune, we may have the perfect emergency addition to any covers band’s set list in Stand By Me.
Compulsory to know how to play it, you could use this as an opportunity to see if you know your CAGED chord shapes well enough. Try this:
Every time you play Stand By Me, explore the fretboard by playing the I – VI – IV – V progression in all areas.
Since you’ll play this tune with most bands, and a lot of singers like changing the key, this is an excellent opportunity for you to check your fretboard knowledge live, under a bit of pressure.
Before you do this on stage in a new key with a new band, perhaps try it as you play along with the original recording. In order to be in tune with it, you need to change the Hz on my online guitar tuner from 440 to 443.
Stand By Me 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 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
- (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay chords
- Lovely Day chords
- My Girl chords
- Under The Boardwalk chords.
- Wonderful World chords
Ben E. King
Starting out with The Drifters, Ben E. King soon embarked on a solo career where his first two singles would become his best-known tunes.
Hits include There Goes My Baby, This Magic Moment, Save The Last Dance For Me, Spanish Harlem, and Stand By Me.
Ben E. King 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.
