Valerie | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: Eb5 | Eb5 :||
Verse 1
| Eb5 | Eb5 | F5 | F5 |
Well sometimes I go out by myself and I look across the water.
| Eb5 | Eb5 | Fm7 (Fsus2) | Fm7 (Fsus2) |
And I think of all the things, what you’re doing, and in my head, I paint a picture.
Bridge 1
| Ab | Gm |
Cos since I’ve come on home, well my body’s been a mess.
| Ab | Gm |
And I’ve missed your ginger hair and the way you like to dress.
| Ab | Gm | Bb | Bb7 Bb6 Bb |
Won’t you come on over, stop making a fool out of me. Why don’t you come on over
Chorus 1
||: Eb (Ebsus2) | Eb (Ebsus2) | Fm7 (Fsus2) | Fm7 (Fsus2) :||
Valerie? Valerie? Valerie? Valerie?
Verse 2
| Eb | Eb Ebsus4 Eb | Fm | Fm |
Did you have to go to jail, put your house on up for sale, did you get a good lawyer?
| Eb | Eb | Fm7 (Fsus2) | Fm7 (Fsus2) |
I hope you didn’t catch a tan, I hope you’ll find the right man who’ll fix it for you.
| Eb (Ebsus2) | Eb (Ebsus2) | Fm7 (Fsus2) | Fm7 (Fsus2) |
And are you shopping anywhere, changed the colour of your hair, are you busy?
| Eb (Ebsus2) | Eb (Ebsus2) | Fm7 (Fsus2) | Fm7 (Fsus2) |
And did you have to pay that fine, you were dodging all the time, are you still dizzy?
Bridge 2
| Abmaj7 | Gm7 |
Since I’ve come on home, well my body’s been a mess.
| Ab | Gm |
And I’ve missed your ginger hair and the way you like to dress.
| Ab | Gm | Bb | Bb7 Bb6 Bb |
Won’t you come on over, stop making a fool out of me. Why don’t you come on over
Chorus 2
||: Eb (Ebsus2) | Eb (Ebsus2) | Fm7 (Fsus2) | Fm7 (Fsus2) :||
Valerie? Valerie? Valerie? Valerie?
Verse 3
| Ebmaj7 | Ebmaj7 | Fm9 | Fm9 |
Well sometimes I go out by myself and I look across the water.
| Ebmaj7 | Ebmaj7 | Fm9 | Fm9 |
And I think of all the things, what you’re doing, and in my head, I paint a picture.
Bridge 3
| Ab | Gm |
Since I’ve come on home, well my body’s been a mess.
| Ab | Gm |
And I’ve missed your ginger hair and the way you like to dress.
| Ab | Gm | Bb | Bb7 Bb6 Bb |
Won’t you come on over, stop making a fool out of me. Why don’t you come on over
Chorus 3
||: Eb (Ebsus2) | Eb (Ebsus2) | Fm7 (Fsus2) | Fm7 (Fsus2) :||
Valerie? Valerie? Valerie? Valerie?
Mm, Valerie? Valerie? Valerie? Valerie?
| Fm7 | Ebmaj7 |
Why don’t you come on over Valerie?
Valerie’s chords and progressions
Starting off moving between I – II, Valerie builds tension towards the bridge which moves between IV – III, a chord progression with even more tension.
This is finished off by chord V, the ultimate tension chord, taking us back home again for the chorus, which is I – II again.
Verse/chorus
||: Eb (I) | Eb (I) | Fm (II) | Fm (II) :||
Bridge
||: Ab (IV) | Gm (III) :|| Bb (V) | Bb (V) |
Valerie chord extensions
All chords in Valerie (Mark Ronson version) can and should be extended throughout.
- Eb – could be Eb5, or Ebmaj7 instead.
- Fm – could be F5, Fsus2, Fm7, or even Fm9.
- Ab – could be Abmaj7 as well.
- Gm – could also be a Gm7.
- Bb – could be Bb6, or Bb7 as well.
If you don’t decide exactly when to play what extension, you can play Valerie in a jammed way, meaning you change it a bit every time you play it.
The best way to ensure this happens is to vary the chord shapes as well as the extensions.
Do this and you’ll enjoy playing Valerie for many years to come, which, if you want to be a professional guitarist, you most certainly will do!
The ultimate function band standard?
Valerie is a song originally written, recorded, and released by Liverpudlian indie rockers The Zutons in 2006.
This was the same year Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse recorded their masterpiece Back To Black.
Amy’s early Motown-influenced album must have had plenty more songs floating around as Mark revamped The Zutons hit into a similar style and released it under his own name, featuring Amy Winehouse, the following year.
Little did he and Amy know how big this song would become, even eclipsing the success of Back To Black which went on to become one of the best-selling albums of all time!
Every decade, songs come along that last, Mark and Amy’s version of Valerie clearly is one of the most played songs by working bands since, only rivaled by Crazy In Love, Sex On Fire, Mr. Brightside, and Crazy from this same era.
Valerie chords | Related pages
Intermediate Electric
The intermediate electric tunes will help you with learning the CAGED system all over the fretboard, both for chords and pentatonic scales.
Learn these Motown/Soul classics, and you’ll not just improve dramatically but also gain yourself a repertoire.
Five similar tunes
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Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson‘s destiny seemed written in the stars as his stepdad was the guitarist of the well-known rock band Foreigner.
After a few solo album attempts, as well as working as a DJ, Mark found his calling in producing some of his time’s greatest artists.
Mark Ronson on the web
Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse only released two albums, Frank, and Back to Black before she joined the 27 Club.
Her best tunes include Rehab, You Know I’m No Good, Back to Black, Tears Dry On Their Own, Love Is A Losing Game, and Valerie.
Amy Winehouse on the web
Motown & Soul
You can learn how to play these Motown & Soul tunes, and in doing so, gain yourself a repertoire so you can jam with, or even join a working band.
Study these tunes in-depth and you will map out the fretboard, master the CAGED system, and learn how to design a rhythm guitar part that works in a band.
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.
