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, progressions, and TAB
The One I Love is an excellent example of a beginner song that also has a great lesson for all budding songwriters out there. As Michael Stipe simply sings the same verse three times, the message is clear – keep it simple!
Let’s look at how we can craft this into a one acoustic guitar part by combining what the bass and electric guitar do on the original recording.
The chorus is also the intro, so let’s start here, it goes from chord VI – V, back to VI again. The bass line moving between the two chords is diatonic. The last two bars of Em include that electric riff using an Em7. Here’s TAB.
I’ve added a D/A in the 2nd bar. This is not what they do on the recording, but on one acoustic guitar, it fattens that D chord up nicely.
Notice how the Em with Em7 picks out the guitar melody and is played differently on beat 1, this provides variation.
Play this on repeat until you feel comfortable. Using a metronome might help so it doesn’t sound rushed.
Next, let’s look at the verse. Here we also go between Em and D. Bar 1, 4, and 7 don’t have the extension. This is so it doesn’t get in the way of the vocal.
When we play G, I’ve included the bass line again, the Dsus2 is almost the same as before, and the C/G with an ascending bass line feels like a good plan.
On a final note, and this is another tip for the budding songwriter, 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!
The One I Love chords | Related pages
Five similar tunes
R.E.M.
Formed in 1980, R.E.M. spent a decade on the road honing their craft before they took over the world with the album Out Of Time.
Their best tunes include The One I Love, Shiny Happy People, Losing My Religion, Drive, Man On The Moon, and Everybody Hurts.
R.E.M on the web
