You’ve Got A Friend | Chords + Lyrics (capo 1)
Intro
| G (Gadd9) | C | (Gsus4) G (Gadd9) G5 | F#m11 B7 |
Verse 1
| Em | B7/F# | Em B7/F# | G B7/F# Em Em/D |
When you’re down and troubled and you need some lovin’ care.
| Am7 | D7sus2 | G C/G Gadd9 | Gadd9 |
And nothin’, nothin’ is goin’ right.
| F#m11 | B7 (B7sus4) | Em B7/F# | G B7/F# Em B7/F# |
Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there.
| Am7 | Bm7 | D7sus4 | D7sus4 |
To brighten up even your darkest night.
Chorus 1
| G | Gmaj7 | C | C |
You just call out my name and you know, wherever I am.
| (G6) G | Gadd4 | D7omit3 | D7sus4 |
I’ll come runnin’, to see you again.
| G | Gmaj7 | C | Em Em/D |
Winter, spring, summer or fall, all you have to do is call.
| C G/B | D7sus4 |
And I’ll be there, you’ve got a friend.
Instrumental
| G (Gadd9) | C | (Gsus4) G (Gadd9) G5 | F#m11 Asus2 B7 |
Verse 2
If the sky above you grows dark and full of clouds.
And that old north wind begins to blow.
Keep your head together and call my name out loud.
Soon you’ll hear me knockin’ at your door.
Chorus 2
You just call out my name and you know, wherever I am.
I’ll come runnin’, to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer or fall, all you have to do is call.
And I’ll be there, you’ve got a friend.
Middle 8
| F | C | G | Gmaj7 |
Now, ain’t it good to know that you’ve got a friend, when people can be so cold?
| C | F | Em | A7 |
They’ll hurt you, yes, and desert you, and take your soul if you let them.
| D7sus4 | D7 |
Oh, but don’t you let them.
Chorus 3
You just call out my name and you know, wherever I am.
I’ll come runnin’, runnin’, yeah, yeah, to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer or fall, all you have to do is call.
And I’ll be there, yes, I will, you’ve got a friend.
Outro
||: G (Gadd9) | C :||
You’ve got a friend.
Ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend.
Ain’t it good to know, ain’t it good to know.
Ain’t it good to know, you’ve got a friend
Oh, yeah, now, you’ve got a friend.
Yeah baby, you’ve got a friend,
| G (Gadd9) | C | G |
Oh, yeah, you’ve got a friend.
You’ve Got A Friend Chords: Learn the progressions
You’ve Got A Friend has some fantastic chord changes, well worth investigating in more depth.
We start by pivoting between chord VI and IIIx, using the 5th in the bass for the IIIx, like this:
| Em (VI) | B7/F# (IIIx/5) | Em B7/F# |
It’s very clever to first do it for a bar each, then share a bar!
Next, we go to a quick movement of four chords in a bar, descending the bass line like this:
| G (I) B7/F# (IIIx/5) Em (VI) Em/D (VI/b7) |
This quick movement takes us to a II – V – I:
| Am7 (II) | D7sus2 (V) | G (I) C/G Gadd9 | Gadd9 |
There’s TAB for all sections, clearly demonstrating how to play all of You’ve Got A Friend’s chords if you follow this link: You’ve Got A Friend – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
The second half of the verse goes like this:
| F#m11 | B7 (B7sus4) | Em B7/F# | G B7/F# Em B7/F# |
| Am7 | Bm7 | D7sus4 | D7sus4 |
That F#m11 is a modified chord VII, avoiding both the 5th and b5, again, pretty clever stuff.
The rest of the verse is great variations on the previous theme, the quick chords are slightly different, and we also go to a Bm7, instead of a D7sus2.
Members get the TAB for all sections and a full chord analysis of Carol King’s version, this took me three days to work out before I was happy!
Returning here after the TAB deep dive, this chord chart is all you need (I can’t believe it all fit on one page!)
You’ve Got A Friend Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: You’ve Got A Friend Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: You’ve Got A Friend iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
There are many versions of You’ve Got A Friend!
The above are chords and lyrics for Carol King‘s version of You’ve Got A Friend, not James Taylor‘s.
The reason for this is that most singers who ask you to play this tune are thinking of Carole King so I’ve transcribed these piano chords and adapted them for the guitar, not copied James’s.
There’s also an amazing rendition by Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack. All these versions are available in the playlist at the top of this page, do check them all out.
When Carole King recorded You’ve Got A Friend, she and James Taylor used the same band, I do believe this is the only time this has ever happened and the result was two hits of the same tune, in the same year, 1971.
You’ve Got A Friend Chords | Related Pages
You’ve Got A Friend | Guitar Lesson + TAB
With this guitar lesson, you can learn to play You’ve Got A Friend by Carole King using TAB and chord analysis.
| Em | B7/F# | Em B7/F# | G B7/F# Em Em/D |
When you’re down and troubled and you need some lovin’ care…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
Carole King tunes
Starting out as a songwriter, Carole King wrote some of the best tunes heard in the ’60s, culminating with her 2nd solo album Tapestry in 1971.
Her best tunes include Will You Love Me Tomorrow, The Loco-Motion, Pleasant Valley Sunday, You’ve Got A Friend, and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.
Carole King on the web
James Taylor tunes
James Taylor got his first break when he was signed by The Beatles record label Apple to release his debut album.
Tunes include Fire and Rain, Sweet Baby James, You’ve Got A Friend, and How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You).
James Taylor on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about You’ve Got A Friend chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.