Chords + Lyrics | Thriller
Intro
| C#5 | C#5 | C#sus2 | C#sus2 |
| C#m | C#m | C#sus4 | C#sus4 |
| C#dim | C#dim | C#m C#m7 | C#m7 F# E |
||: C#m bass riff :|| x8
Verse 1
||: C#m (bass riff) | C#m (bass riff) :||
It’s close to midnight and something evil’s lurking in the dark.
Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart.
||: C#m (guitar riff) | C#m (guitar riff) :||
You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before you make it.
You start to freeze, as horror looks you right between the eyes, you’re paralyzed.
Chorus 1
| C#m C#m7 | C#m7 F# E |
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night.
| F# | F#m |
And no one’s gonna save you from the beast about to strike.
| C#m C#m7 | C#m7 F# E |
You know it’s thriller, thriller night.
| F# | A F# B |
You’re fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight, yeah
Instrumental
||: C#m (guitar riff) | C#m (guitar riff) :||
Ooh, ooh.
Verse 2
||: C#m (guitar riff) | C#m (guitar riff) :||
You hear the door slam, and realize there’s nowhere left to run.
You feel the cold hand, and wonder if you’ll ever see the sun.
You close your eyes, and hope that this is just imagination.
Girl, but all the while, you hear a creature creepin’ up behind, you’re out of time.
Chorus 2
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night.
There ain’t no second chance against the thing with forty eyes, girl.
(Thriller) Woo-hoo (thriller night).
| F# | A F# B | C#m F#7 |
You’re fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight.
Middle 8
| F#7 | F#7 | Amaj7 | Amaj7 A B |
Night creatures call and the dead start to walk in their masquerade.
| C#m | C#m/B | A#m7b5 | Amaj7 |
There’s no escaping the jaws of the alien this time (they’re open wide)
| G#sus4 | G# |
This is the end of your life, ooh.
Verse 3 (as verse 2)
They’re out to get you, there’s demons closin’ in on every side.
They will possess you, unless you change that number on your dial.
Now is the time, for you and I to cuddle close together, yeah.
All through the night, I’ll save you from the terror on the screen, I’ll make you see.
Chorus 3
That this is thriller, thriller night.
‘Cause I can thrill you more than any ghoul would ever dare try.
Thriller, thriller night.
| F# | A F# B | D#m7b5 Dmaj7 B11 | B11 |
So let me hold you tight and share a killer, thriller, chiller, thriller here tonight.
Chorus 4 (as chorus 1)
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night.
Girl, I can thrill you more than any ghoul would ever dare try.
Thriller, thriller night.
So let me hold you tight and share a killer, thriller, ow!
Breakdown
||: C#m (guitar riff) | C#m (guitar riff) :||
(I’m gonna thrill you tonight)
Outro
||: C#m (guitar riff) | C#m (guitar riff) :||
Darkness falls across the land, the midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood, to terrorize y’all’s neighborhood (I’m gonna thrill you tonight).
And whosoever shall be found, without the soul for getting down.
Must stand and face the hounds of hell, and rot inside a corpse’s shell.
I’m gonna thrill you tonight. Thriller, ooh baby (thriller).
I’m gonna thrill you tonight (thriller night). Thriller, all night, oh baby.
I’m gonna thrill you tonight. Thriller, thriller night (oh baby).
I’m gonna thrill you tonight. Thriller, all night (oh baby).
Thriller night, babe (thriller night, babe), ooh.
The foulest stench is in the air, the funk of forty thousand years.
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb, are closing in to seal your doom.
And though you fight to stay alive, your body starts to shiver.
For no mere mortal can resist, the evil of the thriller.
Thriller Chords: Unlocking the Genius Behind the Progressions
Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones’s masterpiece Thriller features some seriously sophisticated chords within its arrangement.
Intro
The intro, played on keyboards, revolves around a C#m chord, with a single note moving up from the root to the 2nd, minor 3rd, 4th, and flat 5th.
This leads into the two-bar chorus progression, which outlines the melody. You might think this was just a cool intro created by chance—no way!
The King of Pop knew exactly what he was doing. Designed for radio, a DJ could talk over the intro, pause for the big chords, speak again as the bass line kicked in, and then leave it to Michael.
Thriller was engineered to be a radio hit—Michael and Quincy thought of everything!
I’ve created TABs to help you play all of this on guitar, including that eerie intro, so you can perform Thriller in a band even without keyboards.
We’ll also break down the bass line, guitar riff, and, of course, analyze every chord.
By understanding Thriller at this level, you’ll be able to craft a guitar part that fits any band setup.
Here’s the lesson link: Thriller – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Once you’ve mastered the riffs, let’s dive into the chords in this lesson.
Chorus
The chorus begins with the same progression as the intro, with these chords forming the entirety of the first chorus:
| C#m (VI) C#m7 | C#m7 F# (IIx) E (I) | F# (IIx) | F#m (II) |
| C#m C#m7 | C#m7 F# E | F# | A (IV) F# (IIx) B (V) |
Aside from the IIx chord (F#), Thriller‘s chorus progression is entirely diatonic.
Chorus 2 follows the same structure until the final bars, which transition into the middle 8:
| F# | A F# B | C#m F#7 |
Chorus 3 extends the ending for added tension:
| F# | A F# B | D#m7b5 Dmaj7 B11 | B11 |
Chorus 4 mirrors chorus 1, but on the recording, the guitar shifts to playing the riff, which continues through the outro.
Middle 8
The middle 8 section has the most complex harmonic movement—it took me the longest to figure out. Here’s what I believe it is:
| F#7 | F#7 | Amaj7 | Amaj7 A B |
| C#m | C#m/B | A#m7b5 | Amaj7 |
| G#sus4 | G# |
When playing along with the original recording, focus on voicing chords with just three or even two strings.
Experiment with different shapes to find the most effective notes for a part that sits well in the mix.
If you’re lucky enough to play Thriller in a band with keyboards, horns, and three singers, you definitely don’t want to play big chords! Instead, aim for a small, well-defined part that cuts through—this chord chart should help.
Thriller Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
I tried my best to fit Thriller onto a single page, but in the end, I had to settle for a two-page chord chart.
If you’d like to download it, here are the PDFs: Thriller chord chart PDF, page 1 and page 2.
This chart was created using iReal Pro. You can also download the iReal Pro files here: Thriller iReal Pro, page 1 and page 2. With these and the iReal Pro app, you can easily change the key.
Thriller TAB | Course Preview
In the course, we break down the main bass and guitar riff for Thriller and look at how to arrange the iconic keyboard intro for guitar.
As a preview, here’s the first line of that intro in TAB.
From Chart-Topping Hits to a Groundbreaking Video—How Thriller Became Legendary
As a single from the album of the same name, Thriller sold an impressive 10 million copies—an incredible feat considering it was the seventh single from the album. By then, you’d think everyone already had it!
The album Thriller sold a staggering 70 million copies worldwide. Before the title track was even released, it had already produced six hit singles: The Girl Is Mine (with Paul McCartney), Billie Jean, Beat It, Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’, Human Nature, and P.Y.T.
These seven singles were released between October 1982 and November 1983, keeping the album relevant for over a year.
When Michael finally released Thriller as a single, it came with a groundbreaking music video—unlike anything seen before.
Inspired mainly by An American Werewolf in London, as well as other horror films, the video propelled the album to its record-breaking status.
Alongside the iconic music video, they also released a making-of documentary, which went on to become the best-selling videotape of all time.
In the early ’80s, Michael Jackson truly earned his title as the King of Pop!
Thriller Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Thriller (Michael Jackson) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy:
