If I Only Had The Words To Tell You
Billy Joel
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Tom : Am
D E A D E A C E7
[Verse]
A A/C# D A/C#
If I only had the words to tell you
Bm7 G7 E7
If you only had the time to understand
A A/C# D A/C#
Though I know it wouldn’t change your feelings
Bm7 E7 A C E7
And I know you’ll carry on the best you can
[Verse]
A A/C# D A/C#
If I only had the urge to tell you
Bm7 G7 E7
If you only knew how hard it is to say
A A/C# D A/C#
When the simple lines have all been taken
A/C# Bm7 E7 A G7
And the radio repeats them every day
[Verse]
C C/E F C/E
If I never find the song to sing you
Dm7 Bb7 G7
If you always find it hard to comprehend
C C/E F C/E
Well you know there wouldn’t be much meaning
Dm7 G7 C
If I had to sing those tired words again
[Bridge]
E7 E7/F# E7 Am
Life... goes on and on
G C G C Cmaj7
And tonight... will soon be gone
Fmaj7 Em7
But if we try
Dm7 Gsus4 G Gsus2 G
We can be sure
[Verse]
C C/E F C/E
If I only had the words to tell you
Dm7 Bb7 G7
If you only had the time to understand
C C/E F C/E
But I only have these arms to hold you
Dm7 G7 C F G
And it’s all that you can ask of any man
[Coda]
C F Bb Dm G
Laa laa la la la laa la la la
[Verse]
C C/E F C/E
If I only had the words to tell you
Dm7 Bb7 G7
If you only had the time to understand
C C/E F C/E
Oh but I only have these arms to hold you
Dm7 G7 C C7
And it’s all that you can ask of any man
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Song chords
View all chord diagrams →Chords used in this sheet
Reference guitar fingerings for the chords in this version.
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How to practice this chord sheet
A practical summary of the chords, key and tempo to help you start playing this version.
Progression and practice
Detected progression: D → E → A → D → E → A → C → E7
The harmony or tempo is more demanding. Work on the hard changes before playing the whole song.
- Start at 60 BPM. Speed up once you can keep time without stopping.
- Practice the two hardest chord changes first, then go back to the whole song.
- Use the transpose button if the key feels uncomfortable for your voice or the chord shapes you know.
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