The One I Love | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: Em (G A) | Dsus2 (E G F#) | Em (Em7) | Em (Em7) :||
Verse 1
| Em | Dsus2 | Em (Em7) | Em (Em7) |
This one goes out to the one I love.
| Em | Dsus2 | Em | Em (Em7) |
This one goes out to the one I’ve left behind.
| G G/F G/E | Dsus2 | C/G (A B) | C |
A simple prop, to occupy my time.
| Em | Dsus2 | Em (Em7) | Em (Em7) |
This one goes out to the one I love.
Chorus 1
||: Em (G A) | Dsus2 (E G F#) | Em (Em7) | Em (Em7) :||
Fire. Fire.
Verse 2
| Em | Dsus2 | Em (Em7) | Em (Em7) |
This one goes out to the one I love.
| Em | Dsus2 | Em | Em (Em7) |
This one goes out to the one I’ve left behind.
| G G/F G/E | Dsus2 | C/G (A B) | C |
A simple prop to occupy my time.
| Em | Dsus2 | Em (Em7) | Em (Em7) |
This one goes out to the one I love.
Chorus 2
||: Em (G A) | Dsus2 (E G F#) | Em (Em7) | Em (Em7) :||
Fire (she’s comin’ down on her own, now).
Fire (she’s comin’ down on her own).
Instrumental
| G G/F G/E | Dsus2 | C/G (A B) | C |
| Em | Dsus2 | Em (Em7) | Em (Em7) |
Verse 3
| Em | Dsus2 | Em (Em7) | Em (Em7) |
This one goes out to the one I love.
| Em | Dsus2 | Em | Em (Em7) |
This one goes out to the one I’ve left behind.
| G G/F G/E | Dsus2 | C/G (A B) | C |
Another prop, has occupied my time.
| Em | Dsus2 | Em (Em7) | Em (Em7) |
This one goes out to the one I love.
Chorus 3
||: Em (G A) | Dsus2 (E G F#) | Em (Em7) | Em (Em7) :||
Fire (she’s comin’ down on her own, now).
Fire (she’s comin’ down on her own).
Fire (she’s comin’ down on her own, now).
Fire (she’s comin’ down on her own).
End
| Em (G A) | Dsus2 Eb5 | Em |
The One I Love’s chords and progressions
Perhaps the most interesting part of The One I Love‘s chords is how it blends the minor modes.
During the intro/chorus, we play an Em chord with an F# as a bass line, this means it must be E Aeolian or Dorian, and the F# is the 9th, like this:
||: Em (G A) | Dsus2 (E G F#) | Em (Em7) | Em (Em7) :||
During the verse, we play G G/F G/E, meaning Em now must be Phrygian, as F is a b9. Moving between modes like this creates tension, essential in this style of music.
| Em | Dsus2 | Em (Em7) | Em (Em7) |
| Em | Dsus2 | Em | Em (Em7) |
| G G/F G/E | Dsus2 | C/G (A B) | C |
| Em | Dsus2 | Em (Em7) | Em (Em7) |
Members look at how we can craft The One I Love’s chords into an acoustic guitar part by combining what the bass and electric guitar do on the original recording, using TAB of course!
Here’s a link to the complete lesson (members only): The One I Love chord analysis and TAB.
Become a member today and get unlimited access to all step-by-step guitar courses, TAB for the songbook, the Self-Eliminating Practice Routine, and the eBook Spytunes Method.
Did R.E.M. steal from Neil Young?
The One I Love is an excellent example of a simple song that also has a great lesson for all budding songwriters out there.
As discussed above, the chords usually need to have some kind of twist, variation, or modulation that breaks the norm, but also, a great tune needs to have lyrics with meaning.
As Michael Stipe simply sings the same verse three times, what he says is that he really means it. The message to budding songwriters is also clear – keep it simple!
Another tip for aspiring writers would be to compare The One I Love with Neil Young‘s My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue). There’s a fine line between being inspired and stealing!
If you want to be a songwriter, you need to, both study songs, and even rewrite songs, and eventually, new ones will start to come to you.
Perhaps Michael’s famous quote sums it up the best: The secret to R.E.M.’s success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration!
The One I Love chords | Related pages
Intermediate Acoustic
Most intermediate acoustic tunes can’t be played using just basic open-position chords. We have to move up the fretboard and play CAGED barre chords as well.
We incorporate bass lines, add licks, extend chords, and play vocal melodies. Most importantly, we’ll invent second guitar parts and play these songs together.
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R.E.M.
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