Tenderness | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| C9b5 |
Verse 1
| F | E7 | Am C | F F#dim7 |
What can I do, what can I do? Much of what you say is true,
| C/G | G G11 | C Eb/Bb Bb | Am C7 |
I know you see through me, but there’s no tenderness, beneath your honesty.
Verse 2
| F | E7 | Am C | F F#dim7 |
Right and wrong, right and wrong, never helped us get along.
| C/G | G G11 | C Eb/Bb Bb | Am E7 |
You say you care for me, but there’s no tenderness, beneath your honesty.
Bridge
| 5/4 F#m C#7 D7 C#7 | 4/4 A G#m11 E/B | A G#7 C#7 |
You and me, were such good friends, what’s your hurry?
| 5/4 F#m C#7 D7 C#7 | 4/4 A E/G# | Bm7 G7 | C C7 |
You and me, could make amends, I’m not worried, I’m not worried.
Verse 3
| F | E7 | Am C | F F#dim7 |
Honesty, honesty, it’s such a waste of energy.
| C/G | G G11 | C A7 |
I know you see through me, but there’s no tenderness, beneath your honesty. No, you don’t have to
| D7 G7 | G7 |
lie to me, just give me some tenderness.
Outro
| C Am | Ab9 G9 | C C7 |
| F F#dim7 | C | G | C Eb/Bb Bb | C |
Tenderness.
Tenderness | Chords + Lyrics (key of G)
Intro
| 12/8 G9b5 |
Verse 1
| C | B7 | Em G | C C#dim7 |
What can I do, what can I do? Much of what you say is true,
| G/D | D D11 | G Bb/F F | Em G |
I know you see through me, but there’s no tenderness, beneath your honesty.
Verse 2
| C | B7 | Em G | C C#dim7 |
Right and wrong, right and wrong, never helped us get along.
| G/D | D D11 | G Bb/F F | Em B7 |
You say you care for me, but there’s no tenderness, beneath your honesty.
Bridge
| 15/8 C#m G#7 A7 G#7 | 12/8 E B C# | E D#9 G#7 |
You and me, were such good friends, what’s your hurry?
| 15/8 C#m G#7 A7 G#7 | 12/8 E B/D# | F#m D7 | G G7 |
You and me, could make amends, I’m not worried, I’m not worried.
Verse 3
| C | B7 | Em G | C C#dim7 |
Honesty, honesty, it’s such a waste of energy.
| G/D | D D11 | G E |
I know you see through me, but there’s no tenderness, beneath your honesty. No, you don’t have to
| A7 D7 | D7 |
lie to me, just give me some tenderness.
Outro
| G Em | Eb9 D9 | G |
Mm, hm.
| C C#dim7 | G | D | G Bb/F F | G |
Oh-oh. mm-hm. Tenderness.
Tenderness Guitar Lesson | Course Preview
The first chord, a G9b5 is a trick! It sounds like it’s the V chord going to chord I but it’s not, this is chord I, leading to chord IV.
Straight away we’re in for some seriously clever chord movements. Looks like Paul Simon picked up a thing or two since his days in Simon & Garfunkel.
If the chords seem complicated in Tenderness, check out the time signatures!
First of all, the original version is more straightforward in 4/4. My version has more of a triplet feel which puts it in 12/8. 12/8 is like 4/4 with a triplet over each beat.
When Tenderness eventually gets the extra beat, instead of calling those bars 5/4, they become a 15/8 time signature. This is not actually as complicated as it may sound, you simply add one more “beat of 1 2 3″.
Study the chords and lyrics above to get your head around Tenderness chords, it will take a while!
Tenderness’ chords and progressions in the key of G
My version is transposed so it works with a female singer, so let’s focus on the chords you can see me play in the key of G.
The intro is simply a G9b5 chord played as an arpeggio, waiting for the verse to kick in.
The first verses are pretty much identical, only the last bar differs, Em – G, or Em – B7.
|12/8 C | B7 | Em G | C C#dim7 |
| G/D | D D11 | G Bb/F F | Em G |
| C | B7 | Em G | C C#dim7 |
| G/D | D D11 | G Bb/F F | Em B7 |
The bridge starts off with an odd time signature in 15/8.
| 15/8 C#m G#7 A7 G#7 | 12/8 E B C# | E D#9 G#7 |
| 15/8 C#m G#7 A7 G#7 | 12/8 E B/D# | F#m D7 | G |
The final verse includes more modifications.
| C | B7 | Em G | C C#dim7 |
| G/D | D D11 | G E |
| A7 D7 | D7 |
The outro dwells on the theme and finds even more chords!
| G Em | Eb9 D9 | G |
| C C#dim7 | G | D | G Bb/F F | G |
Tenderness will soon be available as eight step-by-step guitar lessons. Until then, the TAB for what I play in the video is available for members.
Tenderness chords | Related pages
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Study these in-depth and you will gain a complete understanding of the guitar fretboard, including how to build any scale, arpeggio, or chord.
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Paul Simon
Paul Simon is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, both as half of the folk-singing duo Simon and Garfunkel and also as a solo artist.
His many hits include Homeward Bound, Scarborough Fair, You Can Call Me Al, The Boxer, Cecilia, Mrs. Robinson, and Graceland.
Paul Simon on the web
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