Vincent | Chords + Lyrics
Verse 1
| N.C G69 | G Gsus4 | G G6 Gsus4 | Am Asus2 |
Starry, starry night. Paint your palette blue and gray.
| Am Asus2 | C Cmaj7 | D7 | G G69 |
Look out on a summer’s day. With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
| G Gsus4 | G G6 Gsus4 | Am Asus2 |
Shadows on the hills. Sketch the trees and the daffodils.
| Am Asus2 | C Cmaj7 | D7 | G C/G (Gmaj7) | G Gadd4 |
Catch the breeze and the winter chills. In colors on the snowy linen land.
Chorus 1
| Amadd4 | D7 D7/A | G G/F# | Em Emb6 |
Now I understand. What you tried to say to me.
| Am Asus2 | D7 |5/4 Em |
And how you suffered for your sanity. How you tried to set them free.
|4/4 A7 | Am D7 | G Gmaj7 G6 | G G69 |
They would not listen, they did not know how. Perhaps they’ll listen now.
Verse 2
| G Gsus4 | G G6 Gsus4 | Am Asus2 |
Starry, starry night. Flaming flowers that brightly blaze.
| Am Asus2 | C Cmaj7 | D7 | G G69 |
Swirling clouds in violet haze. Reflect in Vincent’s eyes of china-blue
| G Gsus4 | G G6 Gsus4 | Am Asus2 |
Colors changing hue. Morning fields of amber grain.
| Am Asus2 | C Cmaj7 | D7 | G Gadd4 |
Weathered faces lined in pain. Are soothed beneath the artist’s loving hand.
Chorus 2
| Amadd4 | D7 D7/A | G G/F# | Em Emb6 |
Now I understand. What you tried to say to me.
| Am Asus2 | D7 | Em |
And how you suffered for your sanity. And how you tried to set them free.
| A7 | Am D7 | G Gadd4 |
They would not listen, they did not know how. Perhaps they’ll listen now.
Middle 8
| Amadd4 | D7 D7/A | G G/F# | Em Emb6 |
For they could not love you. But still your love was true.
| Am | Cm |
And when no hope was left in sight on that starry, starry night.
| G F | E | Am Asus2 |
You took your life as lovers often do. But I could’ve told you, Vincent.
| C |3/4 D7 |4/4 G (C/G) | G G69 |
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.
Verse 3
| G Gsus4 | G Gsus4 | Am Asus2 |
Starry, starry night. Portraits hung in empty halls.
| Am Asus2 | C | D7 | G G69 |
Frameless heads on nameless walls. With eyes that watch this world and can’t forget.
| G Gsus4 |2/4 G |4/4 Am Asus2 |
Like the strangers that you’ve met. The ragged men in ragged clothes.
| Am Asus2 | C | D7 | G C/G (Gmaj7) |
A silver thorn of bloody rose. Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.
Chorus 3
| Am Am7 | D7 | G G/F# | Em |
Now I think I know. What you tried to say to me.
| Am Am7 | D7 | Em |
And how you suffered for your sanity. And how you tried to set them free.
| A7 | Am D7 | G Gmaj7 | G6 G69 | G |
They would not listen, they’re not listening still. Perhaps they never will.
Vincent’s chords and progressions
It’s not easy to get your head around the chords and lyrics above. The lyrics start early and the tempo is up and down with plenty of ritardando and odd time signatures.
The only other song I know that feels the same is Eva Cassidy‘s version of Over The Rainbow.
I feel strongly that in the case of Vincent, we should have chords and lyrics separate. If you are singing and playing at the same time, make sure you learn the guitar independently first.
Here are the verse chords, without lyrics:
| N.C G69 | G Gsus4 | G G6 Gsus4 | Am Asus2 |
| Am Asus2 | C Cmaj7 | D7 | G G69 |
| G Gsus4 | G G6 Gsus4 | Am Asus2 |
| Am Asus2 | C Cmaj7 | D7 | G C/G (Gmaj7) | G Gadd4 |
It’s the extensions that are tricky, ignore them and this is just: I – II – IV – V on repeat.
The chorus is more complex, without lyrics it goes like this:
| Amadd4 | D7 D7/A | G G/F# | Em Emb6 |
| Am Asus2 | D7 |5/4 Em |
|4/4 A7 | Am D7 | G Gmaj7 G6 | G G69 |
Again, it’s all those extensions that make it look so complicated. Using Roman numerals, it’s:
II – V – I – VI
II – V – VI
IIx – II – V – I
To get the extensions and picking pattern right you simply must have TAB, no other way is going to work. The chords and their extensions simply serve as a reminder once you know the part.
Members get the complete TAB for how to play Vincent, as well as a chord analysis that will explain the feeling of the chord progression, including the variations IIx and the IVm that appear in the middle 8.
Here’s a link to the complete lesson: Vincent 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.
Vincent is one of two tunes that enabled Don McLean to retire!
When McLean was about to release his second album, his label was bought by United Artists, giving him a far wider reach than on his previous label, Liberty.
Two tunes on this album, Vincent and the title track American Pie were huge hits and together with the album sold a combined 7 million copies.
This and the enormous amount of radio play the two tunes have since received, Don McLean never had to work again. Something he happily acknowledged when quizzed about what American Pie had meant to him!
You’d think he had cracked how to write a hit with two such great tunes but since then, Don has had no more hits.
Vincent chords | Related pages
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