Piano Man Chords

by Billy Joel
1,089,877 views, added to favorites 31,377 times
Difficulty: advanced
Tuning: E A D G B E
Key: C
Capo: no capo
Author Unregistered.
6 contributors total, last edit on Jul 26, 2024
We have an official Piano Man tab made by UG professional guitarists.
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Chords

C
C/B
Am
C/G
F
C/E
D7
G
G11
F/C
Cmaj7
Em/B
Am/G
D7/F#
G/F
G7/D
G/D

Strumming

Edit
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[Harmonica]
 
C  C/B  Am  C/G  F  C/E  D7  G
C  C/B  Am  C/G  F  G11
C  F/C  Cmaj7  G11
C  F/C  Cmaj7  G11
 
 
[Verse]
 
     C      C/B        Am       C/G  F             C/E            D7   G
It's nine o'clock on a Saturday,       the regular crowd shuffles in
           C     C/B       Am        C/G       F           G11       C
There's an old man sitting next to me   making love to his tonic and gin
 
 
[Harmonica]
 
C  C/B  Am  C/G  F  G11
C       F/C
 
 
[Verse]
 
        C            C/B       Am    C/G    F           C/E        D7    G
He says son, can you play me a memory   I'm not really sure how it goes
         C            Em/B        Am      C/G           F        G11           C
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete when I wore a younger man's clothes
 
 
[Bridge]
 
Am       Am/G      D7/F#      F  Am      Am/G          D7/F#     D7   G   G/F
Da da da     de de Da               dada          dede da          da da
 
C/E  G7/D
 
 
[Chorus]
C         Em/B            Am        C/G  F         C/E    D7    G
Sing us a song you're the piano man      Sing us a song tonight
            C          Em/B       Am     C/G     F             G11       C
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody     and you've got us feeling alright
 
 
[Harmonica]
 
C  Em/B  Am  C/G  F  G11
C  F/C  Cmaj7  G11
C  F/C  Cmaj7  G11
 
 
[Verse]
 
    C            Em/B    Am            C/G   F          C/E         D7    G
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine,  he gets me my drinks for free
         C              Em/B       Am             C/G            F                G11         C
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke but there's some place that he'd rather be
 
F/C         C         Em/B         Am        C/G      F          C/E          D7    G
    He says Bill I believe this is killing me  as the smile ran away from his face
          C           Em/B        Am      C/G  F            G11         C
Well, I'm sure that I could be a movie star if I could get out of this place
 
 
[Bridge]
 
Am       Am/G      D7/F#      F  Am      Am/G          D7/F#     D7   G   G/F  G
Da da da     de de Da               dada          dede da          da da
 
 
[Verse]
 
    C         Em/B        Am     C/G   F          C/E        D7   G
Now Paul is a real estate novelist who never had time for a wife
          C           Em/B        Am          C/G      F        G11         C
And he's talking with Davy who's still in the navy and probably will be for life
 
 
[Harmonica]
 
C  Em/B  Am  C/G  F  G11
C        F/C
 
 
[Verse]
 
         C          Em/B       Am      C/G      F           C/E         D7    G
And the waitress is practising politics  as the businessmen slowly get stoned
             C          Em/B           Am        C/G        F           G11       C
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness  but it's better than drinking alone
 
 
[Instrumental]
 
Am  Am/G  D7/F#  F
Am  Am/G  D7/F#  F
Am  Am/G  D7/F#  D7
G  G/F  C/E  G/D
 
 
[Chorus]
 
C         Em/B            Am        C/G  F         C/E    D7    G
Sing us a song you're the piano man      Sing us a song tonight
            C          Em/B       Am     C/G     F             G11       C
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody     and you've got us feeling alright
 
 
[Harmonica]
 
C  C/B  Am  C/G  F  G11
C  F/C  Cmaj7  G11
C  F/C  Cmaj7  G11
 
 
[Verse]
 
       C     C/B       Am       C/G     F       C/E            D7
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday and the manager gives me a smile
G            C       C/B        Am         C/G      F            G11       C
Cause he knows that it's me they've been coming to see, to forget about life for a while
 
C F/C Cmaj7 G11         C           C/B      Am     C/G     F          C/E    D7
And the piano sounds like a carnival and the microphone smells like a beer
        C           C/B        Am      C/G           F        G11          C
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar and say man what are you doing here?
 
 
[Bridge]
 
Am       Am/G      D7/F#      F   Am      Am/G          D7/F#     D7    G   G/F  C/E  G/D
Da da da     de de Da               dada          dede da          da da
 
 
[Chorus]
 
C/E  G7/D   C         C/B             Am        C/G  F         C/E    D7    G
            Sing us a song you're the piano man      Sing us a song tonight
            C          C/B        Am     C/G     F             G11       C
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody     and you've got us feeling alright
 
 
[Harmonica]
 
C  C/B  Am  C/G  F  G11
C  F/C  Cmaj7  G11
C  F/C  Cmaj7  G/F  C/E  G/D  C
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Piano Man – Billy Joel
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50 comments
rmee1million
for those of you that think its tabbed wrong....if you can do better, post one, and hopefully it will help others... if you can not,... then accept it as is, or SHUT THE FUCK UP.
+12
gearomad
5 star for me as only issue is lyric-chord alignment. Easily fixed as you go. Billy loves his slash chords so if you want to play his songs - get used to them. G11 causing some bother for a few folks it seems. It is a perfect chord to transition back to C 😀. In guitar terms I prefer to see it as F/G. So wrap thumb around to fret G bass note on third fret and finger a 'mini' F chord triad on the D,G,B strings (this gives you the 7th,9th,11th notes of G chord so pretty rich).
+5
JS5150
...Without the E...
+5