Only Love Can Break Your Heart Chords

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Difficulty:	beginner
Tuning:	E A D G B E
Capo:	no capo

Author dickyangelo [a] 60.

3 contributors total, last edit on Mar 19, 2024

We have an official Only Love Can Break Your Heart tab made by UG professional guitarists.

Check out the tab

Chords

Dmaj7

F#m

Strumming

There is no strumming pattern for this song yet. Create and get +5 IQ

[Intro]
 
A7 D G A A7 D G A
 
 
[Verse]
 
 A7               D         G       A
   When you were young and on your own
 A7         D       G   A      A7
 How did it feel to be alone   
 Dmaj7                     G
 I was always thinking of games that I was playing
 Dmaj7                          G
 Trying to make the best of my time
 
 
[Chorus]
 
 A7       G                   F#m
 But only love can break your heart
           Em          G6      A
 Try to be sure right from the start
 A7       G                   F#m
 Yes only love can break your heart    
              Em          G6     A
 What if your world should fall apart   
 
 A7 D G A A7 D G A
 
 
[Verse]
 
 A7       D           G     A
 I have a friend I've never seen
 A7       D           G     A     A7
 He hides his head inside a dream
 Dmaj7                        G
 Someone should call him and see if he can come out
 Dmaj7                           G
 Try to lose the down that he's found
 
 
[Chorus]
 
 A7       G                   F#m
 But only love can break your heart
           Em          G6      A
 Try to be sure right from the start
 A7       G                   F#m
 Yes only love can break your heart    
              Em           G6    A
 What if your world should fall apart   
 
 A7 D G A A7 D G A
 
 
[Outro]
 
 A7       D           G     A
 I have a friend I've never seen
 A7           D      G      A
 He hides his head inside a dream
 A7        D        G          A
 Yes, only love can break your heart (x4 to fade)
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Only Love Can Break Your Heart – Neil Young

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17 comments

those chorus chords seem totally random to me -- sounds great if you play verse chords for chorus. A7 D G A.

Been trying to work this out for a lesson, and am fascinated by the arguments over the chords used in this song all over the net. Basically we have to decide whether we are recreating exactly what the guitarist played in the recording, or are we reducing a song that has vocals, a piano, a guitar and a bass to just one guitar. In that case those other instruments affect or extend the chord we play. For instance, the guitar may well be playing straight Ds and Gs at "I was always thinking", but the vocal line is indeed adding Maj7s. The chorus is often described as G to F sharp minor, but again the vocal line is suggesting Gmaj7 to Fsharp minor seven. Even more interesting is the bass is actually playing an Fsharp over the E minor, so a minor 6th could work there too ( second bar ). I'll be telling my beginner students that an A6 will work well instead of the F sharp minor 7, whilst they are getting used to barring. Cheers for the tab.

Play in the key of G7. G7 C F G it matches the video