Whistle For The Choir | Chords + Lyrics (key of E)
Intro (0:00)
| E | E | G#m | G#m Gm |
| F#m | F#m | B7 | B7 |
Verse 1 (0:16)
| E | E |
Well, it’s a big, big city and it’s always the same. Can never
| G#m | G#m Gm |
be too pretty, tell me your name, is it
| F#m | F#m | B7 | B7 |
out of line, if I was to be bold and say would you be mine?
Verse 2 (0:31)
| E | E |
Because I may be a beggar and you may be the queen,
| G#m | G#m Gm |
I know I may be on a downer I’m still ready to dream, though it’s
| F#m | F#m | B7 | B7 |
3 o’clock, the time is just the time it takes for you to talk.
Chorus 1 (0:46)
| E | E |
So if you’re lonely why’d you say you’re not lonely.
| G#m | G#m Gm |
Oh, you’re a silly girl, I know I heard it so,
| F#m | F#m | B7 | B7 |
it’s just like you to come and go.
| E | E |
You know me, no you don’t even know me,
| G#m | G#m Gm |
you’re so sweet to try, oh my, you caught my eye,
| F#m | F#m | B7 | B7 |
a girl like you’s just irresistible.
Instrumental (1:15)
| E | E | G#m | G#m Gm |
| F#m | F#m | B7 | B7 |
Verse 3 (1:30)
| E | E |
Well, it’s a big, big city and the lights are all out,
| G#m | G#m Gm |
but it’s as much as I can do you know to figure you out.
| F#m | F#m | B7 | B7 |
And I must confess, my heart’s in broken pieces, and my head’s a mess.
Verse 4 (1:45)
| E | E |
And it’s 4 in the morning, and I’m walking along,
| G#m | G#m Gm |
beside the ghost of every drinker here who’s ever done wrong.
| F#m | F#m | B7 | B7 |
And it’s you, woo-hoo, that’s got me going crazy for the things you do.
Chorus 2 (2:00)
| E | E |
So if you’re crazy, I don’t care, you amaze me,
| G#m | G#m Gm |
oh you’re a stupid girl, oh me, oh my, you talk,
| F#m | F#m | B7 | B7 |
I die, you smile, you laugh, I cry.
| E | E |
And only, a girl like you could be lonely,
| G#m | G#m Gm |
and it’s a crying shame if you would think the same,
| F#m | F#m | B7 | B7 |
a boy like me is just irresistible.
Solo (2:29)
| D | D | F#m | F#m Fm | Em | Em | A | B7 |
| E | E | G#m | G#m Gm | F#m | F#m | B7 | B7 |
Chorus 3 (2:59)
| E | E |
So if you’re lonely, why’d you say you’re not lonely,
| G#m | G#m Gm |
oh you’re a silly girl, I know I heard it so,
| F#m | F#m | B7 | B7 |
it’s just like you to come and go.
| E | E |
And know me, no you don’t even know me,
| G#m | G#m Gm |
you’re so sweet to try, oh my, you caught my eye,
| F#m | F#m | B7 | B7 |
a girl like you’s just irresistible.
Whistle For The Choir | Chords + Lyrics (key of A)
Intro (0:00)
| A | A | C#m | C#m Cm |
| Bm | Bm | E | E7 |
Verse 1 (0:17)
| A | A |
Well, it’s a big, big city and it’s always the same.
| C#m | C#m Cm |
Can never be too pretty, tell me your name,
| Bm | Bm | E | E7 |
is it out, of line, if I was to be bold and say would you be mine?
Verse 2 (0:32)
| A | A |
Because I may be a beggar and you may be the queen,
| C#m | C#m Cm |
I know I may be on a downer I’m still ready to dream,
| Bm | Bm | E | E7 |
though it’s 3 o’clock, the time is just the time it takes for you to talk.
Chorus 1 (0:47)
| A | A | C#m | C#m Cm |
So if you’re lonely why’d you say you’re not lonely. Oh you’re a silly
| Bm | Bm | E | E7 |
girl, I know I heard it so, it’s just like you to come and go.
| A | A | C#m | C#m Cm |
You know me, no you don’t even know me, you’re so sweet to
| Bm | Bm | E | E7 |
try, oh my, you caught my eye, a girl like you’s just irresistible.
Instrumental (1:18)
| A | A | C#m | C#m Cm |
| Bm | Bm | E | E7 |
Verse 3 (1:33)
| A | A |
Well, it’s a big, big city and the lights are all out,
| C#m | C#m Cm |
but it’s as much as I can do you know I figure you out.
| Bm | Bm | E | E7 |
And I must confess, my heart’s in broken pieces, and my head’s a mess.
Verse 4 (1:48)
| A | A |
And it’s 4 in the morning, and I’m walking along,
| C#m | C#m Cm |
beside the ghost of every drinker here who’s ever done wrong.
| Bm | Bm | E | E7 |
And it’s you, woo-hoo, that’s got me going crazy for the things you do.
Chorus 2 (2:04)
| A | A | C#m | C#m Cm |
So if you’re crazy, I don’t care, you amaze me, oh you’re a stupid
| Bm | Bm | E | E7 |
girl, oh me, oh my, you talk, I die, you smile, you laugh, I cry.
| A | A | C#m | C#m Cm |
And only, a girl like you could be lonely, and it’s a crying
| Bm | Bm | E | E7 |
shame if you would think the same, a boy like me is just irresistible.
Solo (2:34)
| G | G | Bm | Bm Bbm | Am | Am | Dsus2/A | (Eb7) E7 |
La, la, la, la…
| Aadd9 | Aadd9 | C#m7 | C#m7 | Bm | Bm | E7 | E7 |
Chorus 3 (3:04)
| A | A | C#m | C#m Cm |
So if you’re lonely, why’d you say you’re not lonely, oh you’re a silly
| Bm | Bm | E | E7 |
girl, I know I heard it so, it’s just like you to come and go.
| A | A | C#m | C#m Cm |
And know me, no you don’t even know me, you’re so sweet to
| Bm | Bm | E | E7 |
try oh my, you caught my eye, a girl like you’s just irresistible.
You can learn how to play Whistle For The Choir!
The Fratellis Whistle For The Choir is in the key of E, using a great four-chord progression for all sections.
The part is played using an alternating bass line, so over E, play E E/B, for F#m, play F#m F#m/C#, etc. This is best displayed using TAB, you can see how this concept plays out in the guitar lesson further down the page.
The Solo moves down a tone to start on a D chord before it goes back up again as we start singing in the original key.
When I play this with a female singer, we have to be in the key of A. If you thought of the progression as I – III – II – V, when playing in E, this will really help when playing in A.
As we play the solo in G, again, it’s still just a I – III – II – V.
Thinking in roman numerals is a great start, however, when changing the key, we can’t just simply change the chords and play the same parts.
All chord shapes will lend themselves to playing the song in different ways, especially when it’s a one-guitar arrangement.
In the guitar lesson below, we use Whistle For The Choir’s chords to explore the fretboard and work out how to play the progression everywhere, if you can do this, changing the key will be much, much easier!
Whistle For The Choir guitar lesson | Chords in the key of A
In the first example, because of the open A, most chord shapes had to be borrowed from an adjacent area. The C#m is in an Am shape, the Bm should have been a Cm shape. But what you see here is easier.
In example 2, we now start with a G-shaped A chord. It’s time to snap all those chords off early again, make sure your fretting hand is “bouncing”.
Almost all chord shapes are perfect in this example, apart from the C#m chord, which still is outside the area, and should have been a Cm shape.
It’s very important to understand that the CAGED system is a guide, not an absolute truth, every shape won’t work every time. What we do is move on to the next shape and see if it works there. Almost always, it does.
An example of when it doesn’t you had in example 1. The solution then is to move on to the next shape again.
Example 3 starts with an E shape. Even now, as far up the neck as this, we borrow shapes. That Gm shape for The Bm is just too difficult to fret.
In example 4 we start with a D shape and avoid the 3rd. As well as missing a 3rd for the opening A chord, the C#m avoids the Gm shape.
Example 5 covers the entire neck. Not even now do we get a “perfect” scenario where all shapes are in the same area, we borrow a shape for the Bm chord.
Let’s use a strumming pattern from the actual song and find some shapes that work. Spend enough time with example 6 until it feels easy.
Unfortunately, you don’t know enough of the song to play it from beginning to end yet.
Before we can get to that, you must play all this in the key of G as well.
Whistle For The Choir guitar lesson | Chords in the key of G
Since the song has a key change from A to G, we must first make sure we can play the I III II V progression in this key.
Use examples 1-5 first to ensure you can play all chords, all over the neck.
When you can play examples 1-5 along with the TAB loop, try example 6.
Finally, play along with me and the singer in the last video in the playlist above.
In the course, we next look at what I play exactly in the video with the female singer. There’s TAB as well as a video guitar lesson about it where I walk you through the arrangement.
Following this, we do it all again, but now in the keys of E and D, so we can play the song with a male singer as well.
In the course, we actually spend four lessons working on CAGED fretting exercises before we even begin to play with the female singer in the key of A.
For the complete experience with 8 step-by-step guitar lessons on how to play Whistle For The Choir’s chords, sign up here.
Whistle For The Choir chords | Related pages
Whistle For The Choir – 8 guitar lessons
Before you learn how to play Whistle For The Choir, there’s a series of CAGED fretting exercises to complete.
This is essential since the song may only have four chords, but we play it in four keys, all over the neck, with two different singers.
Whistle For The Choir – 8 Guitar Lessons.
Intermediate Acoustic Songs
The intermediate songs can not be played using just basic open-position chords. We have to move up the fretboard and play CAGED barre chords as well.
We incorporate bass lines, licks, extend chords, and even play vocal melodies. Most importantly, we invent 2nd guitar parts and play these songs together.
Whistle For The Choir – 5 similar tunes
- American Pie chords
- Brown Eyed Girl chords
- Don’t Look Back In Anger chords
- Losing My Religion chords
- Sunny Afternoon chords
The Fratellis
The Fratellis shot to fame in late 2006, and mainly 2007 when they had three successful singles from their debut album Costello Music.
Since their debut, The Fratellis have continued to gather new fans around the UK with their blues-influenced pop songs.
The Fratellis on the web
