Under The Boardwalk | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: G (G B D D) | G (G B) :||
Verse 1
| G | G | D | D |
Oh, when the sun beats down and burns the tar up on the roof.
| D | D | G | G |
And your shoes get so hot you wish your tired feet were fireproof.
Bridge 1
| C | C | G | G |
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah.
| G | D | G | G |
On a blanket with my baby is where I’ll be.
Chorus 1
| Em | Em |
(Under the boardwalk) Out of the sun.
| D | D |
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be havin’ some fun.
| Em | Em |
(Under the boardwalk) People walking above.
| D | D |
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be making love.
| Em N.C | Em N.C |
(Under the boardwalk) Boardwalk.
Verse 2
| G | G | D | D |
From the park, you hear the happy sound of the carousel.
| D | D | G | G |
Mm-hm, you can almost taste the hot dogs and french fries they sell.
Bridge 2
| C | C | G | G |
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah.
| G | D | G | G |
On a blanket with my baby is where I’ll be.
Chorus 2
| Em | Em |
(Under the boardwalk) Out of the sun.
| D | D |
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be havin’ some fun.
| Em | Em |
(Under the boardwalk) People walking above.
| D | D |
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be making love
| Em N.C | Em N.C |
(Under the boardwalk) Boardwalk.
Solo
| G | G | D | D |
| D | D | G | G |
Bridge 3
| C | C | G | G |
Oh, under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah.
| G | D | G | G |
On a blanket with my baby is where I’ll be.
Chorus 3
| Em | Em |
(Under the boardwalk) Out of the sun.
| D | D |
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be havin’ some fun.
| Em | Em |
(Under the boardwalk) People walking above.
| D | D |
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be fallin’ in love.
| Em N.C | Em N.C |
(Under the boardwalk) Boardwalk.
Under The Boardwalk’s chords and progression
The Drifters Under The Boardwalk is an excellent lesson in learning to recognize the I – V, IV – I, and VI – V movements. My top 10 chord progression list dives deeper into why this is important.
Let’s look at each section to ensure you can clearly hear all of Under The Boardwalk’s chords, starting with the intro, which looks like this:
||: G (G B D D) | G (G B) :||
The notes in brackets are the signature bass line. It would be an excellent idea to play along with the original recording, maintaining that bass line for all chords. The intervals are: | R – 3 – 5th – low 5th | R – 3 |.
Once you can do this for G, D, C, and even Em (use the m3rd instead), move it all over the fretboard and you’ve got yourself an excellent arpeggio exercise using a musical context.
The verse is just I – V – I. Again, play along with the original recording, this time, find different chord shapes. Here’s the full progression, it’s so easy! The question is, can you play it anywhere on the neck?
| G | G | D | D |
| D | D | G | G |
The bridge has one more chord than the verse, a C. Guess what? You should play this all over the fretboard using all CAGED shapes too!
| C | C | G | G |
| G | D | G | G |
Finally, the chorus. Now we just go between Em – D. That’s chord VI and V. Of course, you should play this all over the neck since that’s the best way to improve. Here are Under The Boardwalk’s chorus chords:
||: Em | Em | D | D :||
The solo is just the verse chords again. Why don’t you work out what the strings are doing? It would be a great transcription exercise for you to do this by ear, focusing on what interval the melodies start and finish.
You could write all this down but I reckon it’s better if you just do it by ear, playing along with the original recording provided above, using the chords and lyrics as a guide.
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