A-Z Songbook, Advanced Acoustic, Ballads & First Dances

Tears In Heaven chords by Eric Clapton

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Tears In Heaven | Chords + Lyrics

Intro

| Aadd4 E/G# | F#m F#m/E | D/F# D/E E7 | A |

Verse 1

||: Aadd4 E/G# | F#m A/E | D/F# A | E A/E E7 :||
Would you know my name, if I saw you in heaven?
Would you feel the same, if I saw you in heaven?

Bridge 1

| F#m | C#/F | A7/E | F#7 F#7sus4 Bbm7 |
I must be strong and carry on, ’cause I
| Bm7 | Bm7/E |
know I don’t belong here in heaven.

Instrumental 1 (as intro)

| Aadd4 E/G# | F#m F#m/E | D/F# D/E E7 | A |

Verse 2

Would you hold my hand, if I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand, if I saw you in heaven?

Bridge 2

I’ll find my way through night and day, ’cause I
know I just can’t stay here in heaven.

Instrumental 2 (as intro)

| Aadd4 E/G# | F#m F#m/E | D/F# D/E E7 | A |

Middle 8

| C G/B | Am D/F# | G D/F# | Em D/F# G |
Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees.
| C G/B | Am D/F# | G D/F# | E A/E E7 |
Time can break your heart, have you begging please, begging, please.

Solo (as verse)

||: Aadd4 E/G# | F#m A/E | D/F# A | E A/E E7 :||

Bridge 3

Beyond the door, there’s peace I’m sure, and I
know there’ll be no more tears in heaven.

Instrumental 3 (as verse)

| Aadd4 E/G# | F#m A/E | D/F# A | E A/E E7 |

Verse 3

Would you know my name, if I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same, if I saw you in heaven?

Bridge 4

I must be strong and carry on, ’cause I
know I don’t belong here in heaven.

Outro

| A E/G# | F#m F#m/E | Bm7 | Bm7/E |
’cause I know I don’t belong here in heaven.
| A E/G# | F#m F#m/E | D/F# D/E E7 | A |

Tears In Heaven Chords: Learn the progressions

Tears In Heaven forms a genius chord progression, using small variations and slash chords to keep the harmonic interest on top.

For example, the key changes from A major to G major during the middle 8 section. To have the middle 8 section start on chord IV is truly a masterclass in modal interchange.

Let’s look at each section using Roman Numerals so you can fully understand how this masterpiece was put together.

Here are the intro chords:

This is a descending chord progression. It’s the bass note using intervals other than the root of the chord that makes it descend, very clever.

Now, let’s take a look at the verse chords. Notice how incredibly similar it is to what the intro set up. Clapton’s genius lies within these tiny details!

||: Aadd4 (I) E/G# (V/3) | F#m (II) A/E (I/5) | D/F# (IV/3) A (I) | E (V) A/E (I/5) E7 (V) :||

Next, we have a bridge which looks like this:

In this bridge, we have several chords outside the key which means the bridge has much more tension than the verse had. The VIx chord is a very common variation, the bII is not although it’s so fast we should see this more as a chromatic movement towards II.

The very clever middle 8 is, as already mentioned, a key change. We are now in the key of G and start on chord IV, like this:

Here’s a chord chart I made for you.

Tears In Heaven Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro

As we move in different ways between these sections, I found it best to write them out individually, without hinting how to move between them.

At the bottom of the chart, I simply put each section as it appears.

Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Tears In Heaven Chord Chart PDF.

This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: Tears In Heaven iReal Pro.

Below, you find a play–along TAB loop, this is how we practice all sections of the tune in the course.

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Tears In Heaven TAB | Course Preview

As a preview of what happens in the course, let’s look at the intro. Play along with the TAB loop above to get going playing Tears In Heaven, just like Eric Clapton did.

Here are the intro chords:

Make it your mission to see how the intervals indicated in these chords are played in the TAB below. Do this and they will serve as a reminder once you only have a chord chart to guide you.

In the course, you get loads of TAB like this to help you learn Tears In Heaven note-for-note, complete with play–along loops.

This includes the verse, bridge and middle 8, which is all you need to play the complete song!

This is then followed by some scale practice before we learn Andy Fairweather-Low’s part as well. If you learn this, you, me, and the singer can play Tears In Heaven together, like a trio.

Here’s a link to the 8 step-by-step guitar lessons: Tears In Heaven – Guitar Lessons with TAB.

Tears In Heaven and the Unplugged album

Tears In Heaven is a single from the soundtrack album Rush (1992) by Eric Clapton. However, most people recognize the live version from the Unplugged album released the same year.

As a whole, this album is highly recommended. It contains a wealth of blues classics played by one of the best guitar players of all time.

Tunes like Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out, Malted Milk, Old Love, Before You Accuse Me, and Walking Blues demonstrate Clapton’s blues mastery.

As well as these blues classics, we also find an acoustic version of Layla and the aforementioned Tears In Heaven on this fantastic live album.

At the age of 15, I spent the summer learning the entire album using a TAB book and the CD, nothing has ever shaped me more as a guitarist.

Transcribing what Eric played and then modifying Andy Fairweather-Low’s part to make Tears In Heaven work as a two-guitar arrangement for my advanced acoustic course was an absolute pleasure.

Tears In Heaven Chords | Related Pages

Tears In Heaven | 8 Step-by-step Guitar Lessons + TAB

Tears In Heaven by Eric Clapton has been transcribed note-for-note. The part is so well written that it stands up on its own, without the band.

The 2nd guitar has some excellent licks which have been transcribed, developed, and combined with some bass lines and extra chords.

Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics

When you can play Tears In Heaven's chords, try these five tunes from the songbook.

Eric Clapton tunes

As well as a member of bands like Derek & The Dominos, The Yardbirds, and Cream, Eric Clapton has successfully played sessions for more stars than any other guitar player.

His long career earned him three inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

Eric Clapton on the web

About me | Dan Lundholm

Dan Lundholm wrote this guitar lesson about Tears In Heaven chords.

This was a guitar lesson about Tears In Heaven chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can 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.