Yellow Chords

by Coldplay
104,749 views, added to favorites 1,186 times
The song is not played with a capo and has non-standard tuning.
Difficulty: intermediate
Tuning: E A D G B E
Capo: no capo
Author Mophideus [a] 79.
2 contributors total, last edit on Sep 30, 2021
We have an official Yellow tab made by UG professional guitarists.
Check out the tab

Chords

Bsus4
F#add13
Emaj7
G#m
B
F#
F#sus2
Emaj7add13
F#mMaj7

Strumming

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This arrangement is for playing solo on the acoustic guitar and meant to sound like the full composition.
Tuning: Tune the 1st string down one half step to Eb/D#: E-A-D-G-B-D#
(It's better to call it D# in this instance because this is a sharp key and D# is the major 3rd of B/
the major 7th of E.)
 
[Chords]
Chris plays the chords with his thumb on the root note but they can be played similar to barre chords.
Essential:
B        799800 (for it to sound more like the lead guitar you can play [799870])
Bsus4    799900
F#add13  244300
Emaj7    022100
Emaj7*   0.14.14.13.0.0
G#m      466400
 
[Embellishments]
F#sus2      244100 (only to simulate the lead guitar in the beginning if that's your thing)
Emaj7add13  022120 (also only to sim the lead guitar)
F#mMaj7     244201 (this is what Chris plays in the outro on the record, but you might find it easier to
                    play 24425x if you can't get your thumb around for the root note. Just doesn't sound
                    quite as nice)
 
For the purposes of simplicity I refer to the F#add13 chord as F#.
The strumming pattern is pretty simple. Mostly just downstrokes on 8th notes with the occasional upstroke to
add variety. The intro, breaks, and outro would normally have the electric guitar riff but for playing solo
you can just play the B - F# - E. I included a simulation of the electric guitar riff that isn't entirely
necessary to the song, and doesn't fully do the riff justice (B Bsus4 F# F#sus2 Emaj7add13 Emaj7 B Bsus4).
That progression can also be played in the last break instead of what is shown below.
 
[Intro]
B  Bsus4   B  Bsus4
B Bsus4 F# F#sus2 Emaj7add13 Emaj7 B Bsus4
 
[Verse 1]
B                                           F#
Look at the stars, look how they shine for you
                    Emaj7                          B
And everything you do, yeah they were all yellow.
B                                F#
I came along, I wrote a song for you
                           Emaj7                            B
And all the things that you do and it was called Yellow.
Bsus4        B     F#                              Emaj7
So then I took my turn, oh what a thing to have done,
                        B   Bsus4
And it was all yellow.
 
[Chorus 1]
Emaj7*      G#m          F#
Your skin, oh yeah your skin and bones
Emaj7   G#m           F#
Turn in - to something beautiful
Emaj7       G#m           F#         Emaj7
And you know, you know I love you so. You know I love you so
 
[Break]
B  Bsus4 F# F#sus2 Emaj7add13 Emaj7 B Bsus4
 
[Verse 2]
B                                    F#
I swam across, I jumped across for you
                    Emaj7
Oh what a thing to do  cause you were all yellow
B                                  F#
I drew a line, I drew line for you
                    Emaj7
Oh what a thing to do
                       B Bsus4
And it was all yellow
 
[Chorus 2]
Emaj7*        G#m      F#
Your skin oh yeah your skin and bones
Emaj7     G#m           F#
Turn in - to something beautiful
Emaj7       G#m          F#             Emaj7
And you know for you I'd bleed myself dry
Emaj7
For you I'd bleed myself dry
 
[Break]
B  Bsus4 F# F#sus2 Emaj7add13 Emaj7 B Bsus4
 
[Bridge]
     B                              F#
It's true - look how they shine for you
                         Emaj7
Look how they shine for you
                        B
Look how they shine for
                         F#
Look how they shine for you
                         Emaj7
Look how they shine for you
                    B
Look how they shine
 
[Outro]
B                                         F#mMaj7
Look at the stars, look how they shine for you
                            Emaj7
And all the things that you do...
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15 comments
mtleon
Excellent! So nice when the tabs/voicing is accurate!
+5
leopignataro
Great version!!! Sounds much more like the original than the others! Thanks!!
+4
DiddyD
Well done, the only tab here so far to get it right. Only thing I would amend is in your header info about the tuning, which is crucial to this version, it's the 1st string (the high pitch E) not the 6th string you need to tune down. Although you do clarify it as E-A-D-G-B-Eb ,string numbering always goes from the high E (1st)to the low E (6th). Otherwise 5 stars!
+3