Intermediate Acoustic, Pop & Rock, Song Book

The One I Love chords by R.E.M.

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The One I Love | Chords + Lyrics

Intro

||: Em (G A) | Dsus2 (E G F#) | Em (Em7) | Em (Em7) :||

Verse 1

Chorus 1

||: Em (G A) | Dsus2 (E G F#) | Em (Em7) | Em (Em7) :||
Fire. Fire.

Verse 2

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

Verse 3

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.

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.

Five similar tunes with chords and lyrics

When you can play The One I Love's chords, try these five tunes from the song book.

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

Pop & Rock

Whenever a tune doesn’t fit into a specific genre, it tends to end up here, in the Pop & Rock section.

Learn tunes from Tom Petty, Eagles, Toto, Oasis, Elvis, Clapton, John Mayer, Kings Of Leon, R.E.M., Radiohead, Bruno Mars, and more.