Piano Man Chords & Guitar Lesson
Welcome to my Piano Man chord chart by Billy Joel. Definitely an intermediate song with a lot of slash chords to try and compensate for this being a piano songs. Also, the chord changes are very quick.
This is a classic Billy Joel song, and it’s a fun song to play with relatively straightforward chord changes! The song maintains 6/8 time for its duration, with chords changes generally falling on the first and thirds beats throughout each measure.
This song probably has one of my favorite lines it which is, “The microphone smells like a beer.” Yep, I’ve experienced that a couple of times.
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Piano Man Guitar Chords:
Piano Man Strumming Patterns:
This song is in 6/8 time so it will have more a swing feel to it.
Strumming:
C G/B
1 2 3 4 5 6
D D D D D D
Intermediate Strumming:
C G/B
1 2 + 3 + 4 5 + 6 +
D U DU D U DU
Piano Man Guitar Lesson:
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Piano Man Chord Chart:
Intro:
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
|C/F C/E| |D7 G|
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
|F F/G|
|C F/C| |G/C F C/E G/D|
|C F/C| |G/C F C/E G/D|
Verse:
|C G/B| | F/A C/G|
It’s nine o'clock on a Saturday
|F C/E| |D7 G|
The regular crowd shuffles in
. |C G/B| |F/A C/G|
There’s an old man sitting next to me
|F F/G| |C C|
Making love to his tonic and gin
|C G/B| |F/A C/G| |F F/G| C F/C
Verse:
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
He says, “Son can you play me a memory?
|F C/E| |D7 G|
I'm not really sure how it goes
|C G/B| |F/A Am/G|
But its sad and its sweet and I knew it complete
|F F/G| C
When I wore a younger man’s clothes.”
|Am Am/G| |D/F# F|
La la la de de da
|Am Am/G| D/F# |G G/F| |C/E G7/D|
La la, de de da da da
Chorus:
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
Sing us a song you’re the piano man
|F C/E| |D7 G|
Sing us a song tonight
. |C G/B| |F/A C/G|
Well we’re all in the mood for a melody
|F F/G| C
And you’ve got us feeling alright
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
|F F/G|
|C F/C| |G/C F C/E G/D|
|C F/C| |G/C F C/E G/D|
Verse:
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
|F C/E| |D7 G|
He gets me my drinks for free
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
And he’s quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
|F F/G| C F/C
But there’s someplace that he’d rather be
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
He says, “Bill I believe this is killing me.”
|F C/E| |D7 G|
As a smile ran away from his face
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
“Well, I’m sure that I could be a movie star
|F F/G| C
If I could get out of this place.”
|Am Am/G| |D/F# F|
La la la de de da
|Am Am/G| D/F# |G G/F| |C/E G7/D|
La la, de de da da da
Verse:
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
|F C/E| |D7 G|
Who never had time for a wife
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
And he’s talking with Davy, who’s still in the Navy
|F F/G| C
And probably will be for life
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
|F F/G| C F/C
Verse:
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
And the waitress is practicing politics
|F C/E| |D7 G|
As the businessman slowly gets stoned
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
Yes they’re sharing a drink they call “loneliness”,
|F F/G| C
But it’s better than drinking alone
Interlude:
|Am Am/G| |D/F# F| |Am Am/G| |D/F# F|
|Am Am/G| D/F# |G G/F| |C/E G7/D|
Chorus:
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
Sing us a song you’re the piano man
|F C/E| |D7 G|
Sing us a song tonight
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
Well we’re all in the mood for a melody
|F F/G| C
And you’ve got us feeling alright
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
|F F/G|
|C F/C| |G/C F C/E G/D|
|C F/C| |G/C F C/E G/D|
Verse:
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
It’s a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
|F C/E| |D7 G|
And the manager gives me a smile
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
‘Cause he knows that it’s me they’ve been coming to see
|F F/G| C F/C
To forget about life for a while
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
And the piano it sounds like a carnival
|F C/E| |D7 G|
And the microphone smells like a beer
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
|F F/G| C
And say, “Man, what are you doing here?”
|Am Am/G| |D/F# F|
La la la de de da
|Am Am/G| D/F# |G G/F| |C/E G7/D|
La la, de de da da da
Chorus:
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
Sing us a song you’re the piano man
|F C/E| |D7 G|
Sing us a song tonight
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
Well we’re all in the mood for a melody
|F F/G| C
And you’ve got us feeling alright
|C G/B| |F/A C/G|
|F F/G|
|C F/C| G/C F C/E G/D|
|C F/C| G/C F C/E G/D|
C (strum and hold)
This file is the author’s own work and represents his interpretation of this song. It’s intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.
We do not distribute printable chord and lyrics charts. These charts are here only to support online learning. We highly recommend buying music from Hal Leonard or a reputable online sheet music store.