Englishman In New York | TAB
The chords are pretty simple, best seen in the key of Bm. Using Roman Numerals, that’s II – V – VI. Em – A – Bm.
The only difference between the verse and the chorus is in the extensions, which use bigger chords for the verse in order to be faithful to the original recording.
That string section part can be played on guitar using Em7 – A – Bm – Bmadd9 – Bm/A. Here’s TAB.
During the chorus, calm it down to the bare bones of Em – A – Bm, like this:
For the M8, we go to D (Ionian) and almost feel as if we changed the key, we haven’t, we’ve just gone to a different part of the key.
| D (I) | A (V) | Bm (VI) Bm7 | F# (IIIx) F#7 |
Those first four bars are all from the same key, I – V – VI – IIIx. The F# is the most common place to change from minor to major.
| G (IV) | A (V) | A#dim7 (#V) | Bm (VI) N.C |
The second half of this section is still in the key of D, IV – V – VI, with a dim7 in between V and VI. This is the most common place to put a dim7 chord.
Perhaps this is the genius of Sting, he makes it sound jazz, but really, it’s still pop.
Here’s TAB for the middle 8.
Practice these three sections in isolation before you play along with Sting, it’s easier than you may have first thought.
Englishman In New York TAB | Related Pages
Englishman In New York | Chords + Lyrics
You can learn to play Englishman In New York by Sting using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| Em7 A | Bm Bm9 Bm/A |
I don’t drink coffee, I take tea, my dear…
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Sting tunes
Sting is an English musician who, prior to his solo career, had a band called The Police, with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers.
Formed in 1977, The Police reached worldwide success after releasing their first single Roxanne only a year after they formed the band.
Sting on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This guitar lesson by Dan Lundholm featuring TAB covers Englishman In New York. 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.