Starman | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: Bb(#11) | Bb(#11) | Fmaj7 | Fmaj7 :||
La, la, la. La la, la. La, la, la. Goodbye love.
Verse 1
| Gm | Gm |
Didn’t know what time it was and the lights were low,
| F | F | C | C7 | F Ab Bb |
I leaned back on my radio, some cat was layin’ down some rock ‘n’ roll, ‘lotta soul he said.
| Gm | Gm |
Then the loud sound did seem to fade,
| F | F | C | C7 | A | Gadd9 |
came back like a slow voice on a wave of phase, that weren’t no D.J. that was crazy cosmic jive.
Chorus 1
| F | Dm |
There’s a Starman waiting in the sky,
| Am Am/G | C C7 |
he’d like to come and meet us, but he thinks he’d blow our minds.
| F | Dm |
There’s a Starman waiting in the sky,
| Am Am/G | C C7 |
he’s told us not to blow it, ’cause he knows it’s all worthwhile. He told me:
Chorus tag 1
| Bb Bbm | F D7 | Gm C |
Let the children lose it, let the children use it, let all the children boogie.
Instrumental 1
| Bb | F | C | F | Bb | F | C |
Verse 2
I had to phone someone so I picked on you.
Hey, that’s far out so you heard him too? Switch on the TV we may pick him up on channel 2.
Look out your window I can see his light.
If we can sparkle he may land tonight, don’t tell your poppa or he’ll get us locked up in fright.
Chorus 2
There’s a Starman waiting in the sky,
he’d like to come and meet us, but he thinks he’d blow our minds.
A Starman is waiting in the sky,
he’s told us not to blow it, ’cause he knows it’s all worthwhile.
Chorus tag 2
He told me: Let the children lose it, let the children use it, let all the children boogie.
Chorus 3
Starman waiting in the sky,
he’d like to come and meet us, but he thinks he’d blow our minds.
There’s a Starman waiting in the sky,
he’s told us not to blow it, ’cause he knows it’s all worthwhile.
Chorus tag 3
He told me: Let the children lose it, let the children use it, let all the children boogie.
Outro
||: Bb | F | C | F/C :||
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la…
Starman Chords: Learn the progressions
Starman’s chords are pretty amazing, the intro starts with the unusual Bb(#11) chord.
||: Bb(#11) | Bb(#11) | Fmaj7 | Fmaj7 :||
It’s very clever to start a tune with an unusual chord like this as it signals to the listener what song is about to be played, especially if you’re listening to it on the radio.
The verse is much more traditional with its initial II – I – V progression, apart from that I use an open position Gm which is very rare (David doesn’t do this).
| Gm (II) | Gm | F (I) | F | C (V) | C7 | F (I) Ab (bIIIx) Bb (IV) |
| Gm | Gm | F | F | C | C7 | A (IIIx) | Gadd9 (IIx) |
The bIIIx and IIIx chords stand out and make this all sound a bit kooky, which fits with David Bowie’s overall image.
For the chorus chords, we have a IVm in the Bbm. Here’s the full chorus with Roman Numerals:
||: F (I) | Dm (VI) | Am (III) Am/G (III/7) | C (V) C7 :||
| Bb (IV) Bbm (IVm) | F (I) D7 (VIx) | Gm (II) C (V) |
The instrumental section starts on the IV chord. This makes us feel as if we are going somewhere new. The melody starts on the 3rd of every chord. In the course, we practice this in every position!
||: Bb | F | C | F/C :||
Later on in the song, the vocals join in with the instrumental melody, singing la-la-la-la-laa.
Let’s take a look at all of Starman’s chord extensions. This is how they’re built:
- Bb(#11) – This is a normal major chord with an added #11 on the open E string. I can’t decide if it should called a Bbadd#11, or a Bb(#11)…
- Fmaj7 – This is just an F chord with the maj7 added on the top, again an open E string.
- Gm – This is the open position Gm shape, which is very unusual. Bowie doesn’t use this shape but I like it!
- C7 – This is the dom7 version of the V chord.
- Gadd9 – This is chord IIx, with an add9 extension.
- Am/G – This is an Am chord with its 7th in the bass. Compare it with what happens in Sunny Afternoon.
- D7 – This is a standard open position D chord that has been extended to a dom7.
Here’s a chord chart for Starman.
Starman Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Starman Chord Chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: Starman iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key and manipulate the layout.
In the course, we look at TAB and play along to loops to learn Starman in more depth, below is a preview, where we look at that unique intro.
Once you play it it is obvious David came up with it by moving his hand from Fmaj7 up to Bb, creating that unique Lydian chord, the Bb(#11), or is it Bbadd#11?
Starman TAB | Course Preview
Once you’ve heard it, you know this is Starman, no other song uses this distinctly Lydian chord!
Above, there’s a play-along loop of this intro, here’s the TAB for it:
In the course, we do this for the verse, the chorus and the tag. There’s full TAB and play-along loops for all this as we methodically work through all of Starman’s sections.
All of Starman’s chords are not part of the F major key, some go outside. We discuss this in-depth in the course.
Here’s a link to the 8 step-by-step guitar lessons: Starman – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Starman was almost replaced by a Chuck Berry cover!
Starman is a single from David Bowie‘s legendary album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972).
Initially, Bowie didn’t want the song on the album. He had wanted a cover by Chuck Berry to be included instead but his A&R man insisted that Starman was going to be a hit.
When it reached number #10 in the charts, helping to push the album to #5, it was clear his A&R man had been right.
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars was a concept album. It dealt with all things a rock star can come across, from excessive drug intake to fans ultimately destroying their star.
Inspiration has been cited from various artists but it is perhaps Jimi Hendrix who was the clearest influence on the fictional Ziggy.
The first session of the album started only weeks after Hunky Dory ended, making it two legendary releases in a row.
The two albums made David Bowie one of the biggest rock stars of the early ’70s.
Both the album and the songs from it have been included on many greatest-ever lists since its release, always ending up in the top 50.
Starman Chords | Related Pages
Starman | 8 Step-by-step Guitar Lessons + TAB
It’s not just the opening chord of Starman that is unique, the open-position Gm chord is pretty unusual too.
After we learned the song in three steps we’ll continue by digging deeper using the CAGED system as we study both chords and vocal melody.
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
David Bowie tunes
David Bowie was an English singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger, and audio engineer.
His biggest hits include (Is There) Life On Mars?, Starman, Ziggy Stardust, Let’s Dance, China Girl, and Heroes.
David Bowie on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Starman 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.
