Chords + Lyrics | Sweet Child O’ Mine (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?
Ooh, oh, where do we go? Where do we go now? Oh, where do we go now?
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 Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Sweet Child O’ Mine. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar sharp to 441Hz, as well as down to Eb. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
I’ve also made tracks in the key of G, so you don’t have to tune your guitar down a semitone.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
Verse
First, we’re tuned down a semitone and play in the key of G, moving from V – IV – I – V for the verse, like this:
| D5 (V) | D5 | C (IV) | Cadd9 |
| G5 (I) | G5 | D | Dadd4 |
Starting on the V chord and hiding the I chord in the middle of the progression creates momentum and drives the progression forward. This may seem seemingly simple, but really, it’s genius at work.
Chorus
The chorus uses power chords to blur the line between minor and major. We move from II – IV – V, with a quick III chord used as a passing chord (B5). There are no 3rds—only power chords or sus4:
| A5 (II) B5 (III) | C5 (IV) | Dsus4 (V) | Dadd4 |
Solo
For the solo, breakdown, and outro, the chords follow this progression:
||: Em (VI) /F# | G5 (I) |
| A5 (II) | C5 (IV) D5 (V) G5 (I) :||
When viewed as Roman numerals, this progression uses almost all the chords from the E Aeolian mode, with the III chord missing. The movement is: VI (with VII as a passing note) – I – II – (skip III) – IV – V.
There are some subtle variations in the chords, which you’ll uncover by studying the chords and lyrics above.
Getting the chords right is crucial for Sweet Child O’ Mine, but even more importantly, you need to find a way to combine the two guitars from the original recording into one playable part for a band. For that, you’ll need TAB, find my siggestions further down this guitar lesson.
Spend time with the TAB, and once you’ve got it down, this chord chart will be your guide for the backing tracks and gig.
Sweet Child O’ Mine Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
If you’d like to download the chart, here’s a PDF: Sweet Child O’ Mine chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro. Here’s the link to that file: Sweet Child O’ Mine iReal Pro.
With this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key. This could be a helpful solution if you don’t have a guitar tuned down a semitone and find yourself with a singer who’s a bit unreasonable.
Sweet Child O’ Mine | TAB
There are plenty of specific chord riffs to work on here. If you want to learn the solos as well, use the second video in the playlist at the top of this guitar lesson.
Let’s begin with the intro melody. I’ve included the chords that could be played behind it, though they don’t reflect the exact notes found in the lead guitar part.
If we name the chords based on all notes in the riff, we get:
- Bars 1, 2, 7, 8 – Dadd4 (3 and 4)
- Bars 3 and 4 – C69add#11 (3rd, 9, 6, #11)
- Bars 5 and 6 – Gsus2maj7 (5, 9, maj7)
- Bars 9 and 10 – Dadd4add9 (2, 3, 4)
Make sure you can see how each note relates to the underlying chord—it’s important.
Next up is the first half of the verse. This comes in straight after the intro or instrumental section.
Notice how the part begins where the high melody ended, then moves down the neck before locking into a rhythmic groove.
Here’s the second half of the verse. It’s slightly modified and combines Izzy’s and Slash’s parts into one playable idea.
This part is brilliantly written, with lots of variation and repetition. Learn it thoroughly, then explore subtle ways to vary it live.
Now let’s look at the first chorus. I’ve adapted the intro riff to follow the chords. Unlike the intro, I’ve used actual chord names here, as they made more sense.
You might find this clashes with the vocal live, on the original recording they don’t play this every time.
Here’s another version of the chorus.
We begin lower, adding the intro melody only over the D chord. On the return, a higher A5 bridges the gap.
And here’s a third chorus variation.
We now play a great lick over the D chord, then build towards the solo using power chords.
Let’s move on to the instrumental. Understanding each interval in relation to the chords will help you memorise the part and develop your ear.
Instrumental section 2 is very similar. For the actual Slash solo, use the second video in the playlist.
Before this turns into the world’s longest guitar lesson, let’s cover the breakdown, which also works as the outro.
I’ll stop here—any more TAB and I’d need to present it in my 8-step-by-step format… maybe one day!
There’s already plenty of info out there on how to play this tune (YouTube!), but I think learning Sweet Child O’ Mine properly—both Izzy and Slash’s parts—is well worth it. If you’re the only guitarist in the band, you’ll need to find ways to combine their parts.
Hopefully, the TAB above points you in the right direction. Try it with teh backing tracks, tuned down a semitone – or not!
Sweet Child O’ Mine Chords: Continue Learning
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