Chords + Lyrics | Tenderness
Intro
| C9b5 |
Verse 1
| F | E7 | Am7 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 | Am7 C7 |
I know you see through me, but there’s no tenderness, beneath your honesty.
Verse 2
| F | E7 | Am7 C | F F#dim7 |
Right and wrong, right and wrong, never helped us get along.
| C/G | G G11 | C Eb/Bb Bb | Am7 E7 |
You say you care for me, but there’s no tenderness, beneath your honesty.
Bridge
| 5/4 F#m7 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#m7 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 | Am7 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 Am7 | Ab9 G9 | C C7 |
| F F#dim7 | C | G | C Eb/Bb Bb | C |
Tenderness.
Tenderness Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Tenderness. Rather than using stem separation to extract the guitar as I usually do, this backing track with and without piano was created using iReal Pro.
After studying the chords and perhaps the TAB too, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
Verse
The first chord is a C9b5, which is quite a trick. While it sounds like a V chord leading to chord I, it’s actually chord I, which moves to chord IV—a clever move on Paul Simon’s part. This shows how he has continued to develop since his Simon & Garfunkel days.
The verses are almost identical, with only the last bar differing—either Am7 – C or Am – E7. Here’s the first verse with Roman numerals:
|12/8 C (IV) | B7 (IIIx) | Em (VI) G (I) | C (IV) C#dim7 |
| G/D (I/5)| D (V) D11 | G (I) Bb/F F (bVIIx) | Em (VI) G (I) |
| F (IV) | E7 (IIIx) | Am7 (VI) C (I) | F (IV) F#dim7 (#IVdim7) |
| C/G (I/5) | G (V) G11 | C (I) Eb/Bb (bIIIx) Bb | Am7 (VI) C7 (I) |
Tenderness verse creates a balance between the keys of C and F, with C functioning as the IV chord.
Bridge
The bridge introduces an unusual time signature of 5/4, along with a key change through modal interchange. We transition from C/Am to A/F#m, creating a distinctive shift:
|15/8 C#m G#7 A7 (IV) G#7 (III) |12/8 E (I) A (IV) B (V) | E (I) D#9 (VIIx) G#7 (IIIx) |
|15/8 C#m G#7 A7 G#7 | 12/8 E B/D# | F#m D7 | G |
| 5/4 F#m7 (VI) C#7 (IIIx) D7 (IV) C#7 | 4/4 A (I) G#m11 (VII) E/B (V/5) | A (I) G#7 (VIIx) C#7 (IIIx) |
| 5/4 F#m7 (VI) C#7 (IIIx) D7 (IV) C#7 | 4/4 A (I) E/G# (V/3) | Bm7 (II) G7 (bVIIx/V new key) | C (I new key) C7 |
Verse modifications
The final verse introduces further modifications, starting with G11 and leading to the following progression:
| C (I) A7 (VIx) | D7 (IIx) G7 (V) | G7 |
Outro
In the outro, the theme is revisited, and more chords are added to enrich the sound. The Ab9 acts as a tritone substitution for the II chord:
| C (I) Am7 (VI) | Ab9 (bVIx) G9 (V) | C (I) C7 |
| F (IV) F#dim7 (#IVdim7) | C (I) | G (V) | C (I) Eb/Bb (bIIIx/5) Bb (bVIIx) | C (I) |
Here’s a chord chart detailing all the crazy chords found in Tenderness.
Tenderness Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Tenderness chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Tenderness iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key, perhaps to the key I play with a female singer below!
Chords + Lyrics | Tenderness (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 A B | 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 | TAB
When I recorded Tenderness with a female singer, I made two adjustments to the arrangement:
- I changed the key from G to C
- I switched from 4/4 to 12/8.
This song had become a staple in our duo’s repertoire, evolving through numerous gigs. At the time, I didn’t pay much attention to Paul Simon’s original recording, still, perhaps you can learn from how I played it with her.
After working through the TAB, you can easily shift the arrangement back to C to play along with Paul Simon, my backing tracks or a male singer, if you prefer.
After carefully considering the options, I decided to show you two ways to play the verse. Once you’ve learned them, the goal is to blend these approaches and play in an improvised way.
That’s how I played Tenderness—not by memorising every detail, but by following the singer.
Here’s the first and simplest way to approach the verse:
The general idea here is to pick through the first half of each bar and strum the second.
Now, here’s a more complex way to play the verse (the last two chords change just like in verse 2):
This time, there’s a rest on beat 2+, created by muting with the fretting hand. It adds a bit of surprise and energy.
Practise both versions, then blend them by reading the chords and varying your strumming and muting.
Here’s the bridge. At times, it moves into 15/8—which is just 12/8 with an extra “beat” added. If you play it more straight, this is a 5/4 bar.
We’ve modulated from G/Em to E/C#m. The C#m section uses chords you’d find in a C#m blues.
Start by following the TAB, then move towards just reading the chords.
Tenderness Chords: Continue Learning
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