Melissa Chords & Guitar Lesson

What a great song! Welcome to my Melissa Chord Chart by the Allman Brothers. This is a really awesome song to play along and strum with. It's definitely not the easiest song depending no how you strum it and and whether your hands have enough dexterity and comfort to play some of the non-traditional chords. There are some normal open chords but there are some other interesting chord voicing which give this song such a cool sounds.

Most chords in Melissa are a full measure but there are a couple places where the chords are two beats each so watch for that.

Melissa Guitar Chords:

Melissa Strumming Patterns:

The strumming for this is probably pretty improvised. That's how I would strum along, but I will give you a basic structure. As usual, all downs will always work for absolute beginners.

Easy:
1  2 +  3 4 +
D DU  D DU

More complicated:
1  2  + a  3 e + a 4 e + a
D D    U  D UD       U DU

Melissa Guitar Lesson:

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Melissa Chord Chart:

Intro:  E     F#m11    E     Emaj7     F#m11     E

Verse:
E                       F#m11/E                                 Emaj7    F#m11/E
   Crossroads               seem to come and go,         yeah
E                                                         F#m11/E 
The gypsy flies from coast to coast
|A -             Bm(add4) - |   |C#m - D6(9) -|
   Knowing many, loving      none
|E -            F#m11/E -|    | Emaj7 -  F#m11/E - |
   Bearing sorrow, having   fun
Cmaj7                                         B(hold)
But back home he'll always run
                          E    F#m11/E Emaj7 F#m11/E
To sweet Melissa

Verse:
E                        F#m11/E                                  Emaj7 F#m11/E
    Freight train,            each car looks the same,     all the same
E                                                             F#m11/E
     And no one knows the gypsy's name
|A -         Bm(add4) - |     | C#m - D6(9) -|
     No one hears his lonely sigh
|E -                     F#m11/E -|            | Emaj7 -  F#m11/E - |
   There are no blankets where he lies
Cmaj7                                                          B (hold)
Lord, in deepest dreams the gypsy flies
                          E      F#m11/E Emaj7 F#m11/E
To sweet Melissa

Bridge:
E
Again the morning’s come
D
Again he's on the run
A
Sunbeam shining through his hair
B
Appearing not to have a care
C#m                                           A         B           B (hold)
Pick up your gear and gypsy roll on,      roll on


Verse:
E                      F#m11/E                                  Emaj7     F#m11/E
     Crossroads,          will you ever let him go,           no, no
E                                                             F#m11/E
     Or will you hide the dead man’s ghost
|A -              Bm(add4) - |   |C#m -           D6(9) -|
     Or will he lie                     beneath the plain
|E -                F#m11/E -|         | Emaj7 -  F#m11/E - |
     Or will his spirit                      float away
Cmaj7                                      B (hold)
But I know that he won't stay
                        E        F#m11/E
Without Melissa

Cmaj7                                      B (hold)
Yes I know that he won't stay
                        E    F#m11/E     Emaj7     F#m11/E  (repeat out and end on E)
Without Melissa

 E    F#m11/E     Emaj7     F#m11/E  (repeat out and end on E)

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.

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