The Thrill Is Gone | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| Bm7 | Bm7 | Bm7 | Bm7 |
| Em7 | Em7 | Bm7 | Bm7 |
| G7 | F#7 | Bm7 | Bm7 |
Verse 1
| Bm7 | Bm7 | Bm7 | Bm7 |
The thrill is gone, the thrill is gone away.
| Em7 | Em7 | Bm7 | Bm7 |
The thrill is gone baby, the thrill is gone away.
| G7 | F#7 | Bm7 | Bm7 |
You know you done me wrong baby, and you’ll be sorry someday.
Verse 2
The thrill is gone, it’s gone away from me.
The thrill is gone baby, the thrill is gone away from me.
Although, I’ll still live on, but so lonely I’ll be.
Solo
| Bm7 | Bm7 | Bm7 | Bm7 |
| Em7 | Em7 | Bm7 | Bm7 |
| G7 | F#7 | Bm7 | Bm7 |
Verse 3
The thrill is gone, it’s gone away for good.
All the thrill is gone baby, it’s gone away for good.
Someday I know I’ll be open-armed baby, just like I know, a good man should.
Verse 4
You know, I’m free, free now, baby, I’m free from your spell.
Oh, I’m free, free, free now, I’m free from your spell.
And now that it’s all over, all that I can do is wish you well.
Solo
| Bm7 | Bm7 | Bm7 | Bm7 |
| Em7 | Em7 | Bm7 | Bm7 |
| G7 | F#7 | Bm7 | Bm7 |
Outro
||: Bm7 | Bm7 | Bm7 | Bm7 :|| repeat to fade
The Thrill Is Gone Chords: Learn the progressions
The legendary 12-bar minor blues progression in The Thrill Is Gone stays unchanged until the end, where it vamps on a Bm chord.
Up until that point, the chords follow VI – II – VI, much like how a major blues follows I7 – IV7 – I7. Some teachers argue this should be labelled Im – IVm – Im, but I strongly disagree. The sound remains rooted in chord VI and the Aeolian mode—whereas a IVm is typically a manipulated IV chord, which carries a distinct sound of its own.
The Thrill Is Gone perfectly illustrates this. After the initial “up a 4th and back” movement, we land on chord IV (G), followed by a IIIx (F#), which leads us back to VI (Bm). The way these chords function makes it clear that IV and III retain their identity, even when transformed into dominant 7th chords.
The mode for a IIIx chord is Phrygian Dominant—compare how it feels in The Thrill Is Gone to One More Cup of Coffee by Bob Dylan, and you’ll hear that the IIIx functions the same way. This reinforces why the Roman numerals should remain VI – II, rather than being reinterpreted as Im – IVm.
Here’s a chord chart.
The Thrill Is Gone Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Download my chord chart as a PDF or in the iReal Pro format if you need to change the key.
How B.B. King Made It a Blues Classic
B.B. King didn’t write The Thrill Is Gone, but he undoubtedly made it one of the most iconic blues songs of all time.
Originally written and released in 1951 by Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell, the song saw moderate success, reaching #6 on the charts. Nearly two decades later, in 1969, B.B. King recorded his own version for the album Completely Well, which became a defining moment in his career.
His rendition climbed to #3 on the charts, earned multiple awards, and secured a place on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
With the video lesson, chords, lyrics and chord chart above, you can learn to play The Thrill Is Gone just like B.B. King did.
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