Brown Eyed Girl | TAB
Let’s look at some TAB for how to play that intro, with the licks on just one acoustic guitar.
If you played this on the electric, with a band, you’d add the sus4 at the same time as the 9, but on the acoustic as only one part, this didn’t work so I just kept the important note, the 9th.
When I wrote out Brown Eyed Girl with chords and lyrics, it came out like this
||: G (Gadd9) | C (Cadd9) | G (Gadd9) | D (Dadd4) :||
You could argue that it should be G Gadd9 G Gadd9 in bar one, etc as this is what happens. Writing the chord in brackets indicates that you add it and then take it away.
You could also argue that it should just be a Gadd9 as this is what happens overall in the bar. Music theory is not an exact science…
Here’s the verse in TAB. Make sure you play exactly as it says.
We play the first line on repeat four times. Pay attention to the exact strings notated. There’s a big first strum, then higher strings, then lower. We use open strings on the 4+ beat.
After repeating that line four times, the chords change and so does the strumming. For example, the C chord is played differently, the second time hinting at the melody on beat 3+.
The D5/A is an attempt to maintain a big-sounding chord, a bass player would still play a D.
The final D chord after the repeat uses a 3 against 4 rhythm to build anticipation for the chorus, which looks like this:
Notice how the first strum, compared to the verse, is now just a bass note. Beat 4+ is still always open strings to get you to the next chord.
Here’s the breakdown section, practice this slowly before you play along with the original recording.
Brown Eyed Girl TAB | Related Pages
Brown Eyed Girl | Chords + Lyrics
You can learn how to play Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| G | C | G | D |
Hey, where did we go? Days when the rains came…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
Van Morrison tunes
Starting in his native Northern Ireland with the band Them, Van Morrison’s solo career began with one of the worst record deals in the history of the business.
His best-known tunes include Gloria, Brown Eyed Girl, Moondance, Crazy Love, Into The Mystic, and Have I Told You Lately.
Van Morrison on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This guitar lesson by Dan Lundholm features TAB and covers Brown Eyed Girl. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.