The Joker | Chords + Lyrics (tune down a tone)
Verse 1
||: G C | D C (G/B) :||
Some people call me the space cowboy, yeah.
Some call me the gangster of love.
Some people call me Maurice.
‘Cause I speak of the pompatus of love.
Verse 2
People talk about me, baby.
Say I’m doin’ you wrong, doin’ you wrong.
Well, don’t you worry, baby, don’t worry.
‘Cause I’m right here, right here, right here, right here at home.
Chorus 1
| G C | G C |
‘Cause I’m a picker, I’m a grinner, I’m a lover, and I’m a sinner.
| G C | D C |
I play my music in the sun.
| G C | G C |
I’m a joker, I’m a smoker, I’m a midnight toker.
| G C | D C |
I sure don’t want to hurt no one.
Chorus 2
I’m a picker, I’m a grinner, I’m a lover, and I’m a sinner.
I play my music in the sun.
I’m a joker, I’m a smoker, I’m a midnight toker.
| G C | D Dsus4 | Dsus4 |
I get my lovin’ on the run. Ooh, whoo, ooh, whoo.
Instrumental
||: G C | D C (G/B) :|| x4
Verse 3
You’re the cutest thing that I ever did see.
I really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree.
Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time.
Ooh wee baby, I’ll sure show you a good time.
Chorus 3 (as chorus 1)
‘Cause I’m a picker, I’m a grinner, I’m a lover, and I’m a sinner.
I play my music in the sun.
I’m a joker, I’m a smoker, I’m a midnight toker.
I get my lovin’ on the run.
Chorus 4 (as chorus 1)
I’m a picker, I’m a grinner, I’m a lover, and I’m a sinner.
I play my music in the sun.
I’m a joker, I’m a smoker, I’m a midnight toker.
I sure don’t want to hurt no one.
Instrumental 2
| G C | G C | G C | D C |
| G C | G C | G C | D Dsus4 | Dsus4 |
Ooh, whoo, ooh, whoo
Verse 4
People keep talkin’ about me, baby.
Say I’m doin’ you wrong.
Well, don’t you worry, don’t worry, no don’t worry mama.
‘Cause I’m right here at home.
Verse 5 (to fade)
You’re the cutest thing I ever did see.
I really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree.
Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time.
Come on baby now, I’ll show you a good time.
The Joker | Chords + Lyrics (don’t tune down)
Verse 1
||: F Bb | C Bb :||
Some people call me the space cowboy, yeah.
Some call me the gangster of love.
Some people call me Maurice.
‘Cause I speak of the pompatus of love.
Verse 2
People talk about me, baby.
Say I’m doin’ you wrong, doin’ you wrong.
Well, don’t you worry, baby, don’t worry.
‘Cause I’m right here, right here, right here, right here at home.
Chorus 1
| F Bb | F Bb |
‘Cause I’m a picker, I’m a grinner, I’m a lover, and I’m a sinner.
| F Bb | C Bb |
I play my music in the sun.
| F Bb | F Bb |
I’m a joker, I’m a smoker, I’m a midnight toker.
| F Bb | C Bb |
I sure don’t want to hurt no one.
Chorus 2
I’m a picker, I’m a grinner, I’m a lover, and I’m a sinner.
I play my music in the sun.
I’m a joker, I’m a smoker, I’m a midnight toker.
| F Bb | C Csus4 | Csus4 |
I get my lovin’ on the run. Ooh, whoo, ooh, whoo.
Instrumental 1
||: F Bb | C Bb :|| x4
Verse 3
You’re the cutest thing that I ever did see.
I really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree.
Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time.
Ooh wee baby, I’ll sure show you a good time.
Chorus 3 (as chorus 1)
‘Cause I’m a picker, I’m a grinner, I’m a lover, and I’m a sinner.
I play my music in the sun.
I’m a joker, I’m a smoker, I’m a midnight toker.
I get my lovin’ on the run.
Chorus 4 (as chorus 1)
I’m a picker, I’m a grinner, I’m a lover, and I’m a sinner.
I play my music in the sun.
I’m a joker, I’m a smoker, I’m a midnight toker.
I sure don’t want to hurt no one.
Instrumental 2
| F Bb | F Bb | F Bb | C Bb |
| F Bb | F Bb | F Bb | C Csus4 | Csus4 |
Ooh, whoo, ooh, whoo
Verse 4
People keep talkin’ about me, baby.
Say I’m doin’ you wrong.
Well, don’t you worry, don’t worry, no don’t worry mama.
‘Cause I’m right here at home.
Verse 5 (to fade)
You’re the cutest thing I ever did see.
I really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree.
Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time.
Come on baby now, I’ll show you a good time.
The Joker Chords: Learn the progressions
Search the internet for The Joker chords and I can guarantee it’ll say that the chords are in the key of G.
And looking at the video in the playlist above, you can clearly see how Steve Miller plays G, C, and D chords.
However, listening to the recording, it’s all in the key of F. So he must have tuned down a whole step, right?
After playing along with the record, I reckon there are two guitars, one in standard, and one tuned down a whole step.
I’ve designed some TAB for playing in both F and G, the reason being that you’re not going to bring a guitar tuned down a whole step for just one tune to the gig.
Also, everyone else in the band won’t understand what you mean when you claim The Joker should be played a tone up from the original recording so it’s easier for you. They’ll think you’re lazy!
The secret to being a successful professional guitarist is to always go the extra mile and most importantly, be happy about it. In the case of the Joker that means to learn it in both the keys of F and G.
Another alternative would be to invest in the Digitech drop pedal… if you can handle the slight delay and odd feeling it adds.
In the TAB lesson, we start with playing the bass line riff in both F and G, then develop the bass line into a guitar part in both keys that will work on the acoustic, or in a band.
Here’s a link to that part of the lesson: The Joker – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
The chords are simple, it really is a case of what you do with them that matters. The verse and instrumental section, thinking int he key of G, is just this:
||: G (I) C (IV) | D (V) C (IV) G/B (I/3) :||
So that’s just a I – IV – V, possibly the most common chord progression ever, still, you’ll know within a second that it’s The Joker we’re playing. That’s what great part writing is all about.
The chorus is as simple (compare it to Brown Eyed Girl).
| G (I) C (IV) | G (I) C (IV) |
| G (I) C (IV) | D (V) C (IV) |
Again, it’s how you play these chords that matter. This is best described using TAB (link above). As it’s so memorable, you only need a chord chart after you’ve learnt the TAB. Here’s one I made for you.
The Joker Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
As you can see above, I wrote the three sections and then listed the form. I did this as it felt easier to read compared to following a bunch of Segno and Coda signs.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: The Joker Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: The Joker iReal Pro.
Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key, which, if you don’t have a guitar tuned down is a good idea, change it to the key of F.
How The Joker is borrowing and referencing other songs!
The more I study songs in depth, the more I discover how songs are being inspired/referencing previous compositions, in the case of The Joker, Steve Miller has done this in several ways.
Firstly, he’s taken an old blues tune called Lovey Dovey (The Clovers, 1954), written by Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun and Eddie Curtis.
The melody isn’t exactly the same but it is similar, the lyrics on the original are:
Well, you’re the cutest thing that I did ever see.
I really love your peaches, gonna shake your tree.
Lovey Dovey. Lovey Dovey all the time.
Lovey Dovey, I can’t get you out of my mind.
Whereas Steve’s third and fifth verses are:
You’re the cutest thing that I ever did see.
I really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree.
Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time.
Ooh wee baby, I’ll sure show you a good time.
There are also a couple of references to previous Steve Miller songs in there. “Some people call me Maurice” is a reference to a previous song from the band’s 1972 album Recall the Beginning… A Journey from Eden.
The “Gangster of Love” line is from another album, Sailor, 1968. Once I Learned this, the lyrics finally started to make (some) sense.
The Joker Chords | Related Pages
The Joker | Guitar Lesson + TAB
In this guitar lesson, you find a chord and part analysis for The Joker in two keys, with TAB for both.
| G C | D C (G/B) |
Some people call me the space cowboy, yeah…
Five Similar Tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- (Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay chords by Otis Redding
- Angie chords by The Rolling Stones
- Bad Moon Rising chords by Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Me and Bobby McGee chords by Janis Joplin
- Stuck In The Middle With You chords by Stealers Wheel
Steve Miller Band tunes
Steve had his first success with a Blues band in Chicago but soon moved to San Fransico to set up what was to become the Steve Miller Band.
Their best-known tunes include The Joker, Abracadabra, Take the Money and Run, Fly Like An Eagle, and Rock’n Me.
Steve Miller Band on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about The Joker 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.
