Sweet Child O’ Mine | Chords + Lyrics (tune down 1/2)
Intro
||: D | Dadd4 | Cadd9 | Cadd9 |
| G5 | G5 | D | Dadd4 :|| x3
Verse 1
| D5 | D5 |
She’s got a smile that it seems to me,
| C | Cadd9 |
reminds me of childhood memories,
| G5 | G5 | D | Dadd4 |
where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky.
| D | D Dadd4 |
Now and then when I see her face,
| C | Cadd9 |
she takes me away to that special place,
| G | G6 G5 | D | Dadd4 |
and if I stared too long, I’d probably break down and cry.
Chorus 1
| A Aadd4 | Csus4 Cadd9 | Dsus4 | Dadd4 |
Whoa, oh, oh. Sweet child o’ mine.
| A Aadd4 | Csus4 Cadd9 | D5 | D5 |
Whoa, oh, oh, oh. Sweet love of mine.
Instrumental 1
| D | D | C | C |
| G | G | D | Dadd4 |
Verse 2
| D | Dadd4 |
She’s got eyes of the bluest skies,
| Cadd9 | Cadd9 |
as if they thought of rain.
| G | G | D | Dadd4 |
I’d hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain.
| D | Dadd4 |
Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place,
| Cadd9 | Cadd9 |
where as a child I’d hide.
| G | G | D | Dadd4 |
And pray for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me by.
Chorus 2
| A5 (B5) | C5 | Dsus4 | Dadd4 |
Whoa, oh, oh. Sweet child o’ mine.
| A5 (B5) | C5 | D5 | D5 |
Whoa whoa, oh, oh, oh. Sweet love of mine.
Instrumental 2
| D | D | C | C |
| G | G | D | Dadd4 |
| D | D | C | C |
| G | G | D | D |
Whoa, yeah.
Chorus 3
| A5 (B5) | C5 | D | Dadd4 |
Whoa, oh, oh, oh. Sweet child o’ mine
| A5 (B5) | C5 | D5 | D5 |
Whoa, oh, whoa, oh. Sweet love of mine.
| A5 (B5) | C5 | D5 | Dadd4 |
Whoa, oh, oh, oh. Sweet child o’ mine.
| A5 (B5) | C5 | D5 | D (D#) |
Ooh, ooh, sweet love of mine
Instrumental 3
| Em | C | B7 | Am :|| x3
| Em | C | B7 | A5 | A5 |
Solo
||: Em (F#) | G5 | A5 | C5 D5 G5 :||
Breakdown
| E5 (N.C) (F#) | G5 (N.C) | A5 (N.C) | C5 D5 G5 |
Where do we go? Where do we go now? Where do we go?
| E5 (N.C) (F#) | G5 (N.C) | A5 (N.C) | C5 D5 G5 |
Ooh, oh, where do we go? Where do we go now? Oh, where do we go now?
| E5 (N.C) (F#) | G5 (N.C) | A5 (N.C) | C5 D5 G5 |
Where do we go? (Sweet child) Where do we go now?
| Em (F#) | G5 | A5 | C5 D5 |
Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay Where do we go now? Ah, ah
Outro
| Em (F#) | G5 | A5 | C5 D5 G5 |
Where do we go? Oh, where do we go now?
| Em (F#) | G5 | A5 | C5 D5 G5 |
Oh, where do we go? Oh, where do we go now?
| Em (F#) | G5 | A5 | (E D B Bb A G) |
Where do we go? Oh, where do we go now? Now, now, now, now, now, now, now.
| Em (F#) | G5 | A5 | C5 D5 | Em |
Sweet child. Sweet child of mine.
Sweet Child O’ Mine Chords: Learn the progressions
Members get my attempt on how to combine the many parts found in Sweet Child O’ Mine using TAB, lots, and lots of TAB.
I haven’t done the solo as there is a video out there already showcasing this (check the playlist above).
Let’s look at the chords here and try to work out why it’s so memorable! First of all, we are tuned down a semitone and play in the key of G, going V – IV – I – V for the verse, like this:
| D5 (V) | D5 | C (IV) | Cadd9 |
| G5 (I) | G5 | D | Dadd4 |
The fact that we start on chord V and hide the I chord in the middle of the progression drives Sweet Child O’ Mine’s chords forward.
The chorus uses power chords to disguise if it’s minor or major chords. We move up to the II – IV – V. There is a quick III chord used as a passing chord as well. No 3rds are used, it’s all power chords or sus4.
| A5 (II) B5 (III) | C5 (IV) | Dsus4 (V) | Dadd4 |
The next progression is for the solo, a breakdown, and an outro all organized around this movement:
||: Em (VI) /F# | G5 (I) | A5 (II) | C5 (IV) D5 (V) G5 (I) :||
Seen as Roman Numerals, this is almost all chords from E Aeolian mode, only missing out the III chord as we go VI (use VII as a single passing note) – I – II – (skip III) – IV – V.
Here’s a link to the complete lesson: Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Sweet Child O’ Mine put Guns N’ Roses on the map!
Guns N’ Roses‘s signature song, Sweet Child O’ Mine is an epic masterpiece that combines rock with pop sensibility.
This is the tune that put the band on the map and allowed their other heavier tunes to reach a mass market.
The more deeply you get into it, the more you’ll realize how much there is to it, especially the guitar work.
Perhaps the greatest challenge is that even if you learn both Izzy and Slash’s guitar parts note for note, you’d still be faced with the dilemma of how to combine the parts as you’ll probably be the only guitarist at the gig.
Another dilemma you will have is to decide between bringing a spare guitar tuned down 1/2 tone to the gig or buying the Digitech drop pedal.
Alternatively, you could suggest to the singer that Sweet Child O’ Mine’s chords should be played a semitone up, that’ll be a fun conversation…
Sweet Child O’ Mine Chords | Related Pages
Five similar tunes with chords and lyrics
- Don’t Stop Believin’ chords by Journey
- Mr. Brightside chords by The Killers
- Sex On Fire chords by Kings Of Leon
- Summer Of ’69 chords by Bryan Adams
- Sweet Home Alabama chords by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Guns N’ Roses tunes
Formed in the mid-’80s in Los Angeles, Guns N’ Roses wrote almost all their best tunes before the release of the debut album.
Their biggest hits include Paradise City, Welcome To The Jungle, Sweet Child O’ Mine, Patience, You Could Be Mine, and November Rain.
Guns N’ Roses on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Sweet Child O’ Mine chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
