How to Play Can’t Buy Me Love Chord by The Beatles on Guitar

Can’t Buy Me Love” is one of the most popular songs by The Beatles, released in 1964 as a single and on their album A Hard Day’s Night. The song was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon-McCartney, and it features a catchy melody, a simple chord progression, and a memorable guitar solo. In this article, we will show you how to play “Can’t Buy Me Love” by The Beatles on guitar, using chords, tabs, and strumming patterns.

Chords

The song is in the key of C major, and it uses only seven chords: C7, Em, Am, Dm, G7, F7, and Dm7. You can find the chord diagrams for these chords below:

 
Chords
       E-A-D-G-B-e
G13    3-5-3-4-5-3
 
 
[Chorus]
 
             Em    Am   Em  Am
Can't buy me love,      love,
             Dm   G7
Can't buy me love
 
 
[Verse 1]
 
     C7
I'll buy you a diamond ring my friend, if it makes you feel alright
     F7                                 C
I'll get you anything my friend, if it makes you feel alright
 
 
[Break]
 
      G7               F7              G7          F7     C
Cause I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love
 
 
[Verse 2]
 
      C7
I'll give you all I've got to give, if you say you love me too
  F7                                     C
I may not have a lot to give but what I got I'll give to you
 
 
[Break]
 
G7               F7              G7          F7     C
I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love
 
 
[Chorus]
 
             Em  Am   C
Can't buy me love,    everybody tells me so
             Em  Am  Dm      Dm7 G13
Can't buy me love,   no, no, no, no
 
 
[Verse 3]
 
C7
Say you don't need no diamond rings and I'll be satisfied
F7                                            C
Tell me that you want the kind of things that money just can't buy
 
 
[Break]
 
G7               F7              G7          F7     C
I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love
 
 
[Solo]
 
| C  | %  | % | % |
| F7 | %  | C | % |
| G7 | F7 | C | % |
 
 
[Chorus]
 
             Em  Am   C
Can't buy me love,    everybody tells me so
             Em  Am  Dm      Dm7 G13
Can't buy me love,   no, no, no, no
 
 
[Verse 4]
 
C7
Say you don't need no diamond rings and I'll be satisfied
F7                                            C
Tell me that you want the kind of things that money just can't buy
 
 
[Break]
 
G7               F7              G7          F7     C
I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love
 
 
[Chorus]
 
             Em  Am    Em Am
Can't buy me love,     love,
             Dm11 G13 | C | C
Can't buy me love,   oh

Tabs

The song starts with a four-bar intro that consists of two chords: Em and Am. The guitar plays a simple riff over these chords, using the open E string and the third fret of the B string. You can see the tab for the intro below:

e|—————–|—————–|—————–|—————–| B|-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-|-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-|-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-|-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-0-| G|—————–|—————–|—————–|—————–| D|—————–|—————–|—————–|—————–| A|-2—–2—–2—|-0—–0—–0—|-2—–2—–2—|-0—–0—–0—| E|-0———–0—|-0———–0—|-0———–0—|-0———–0—|

The verse follows the same chord progression as the intro, but with different strumming patterns. The first verse is played like this:

e|——————|——————|——————|——————| B|-8–8–8–8–8–8|-8–8–8–8–8–8|-8–8–8–8–8–8|-8–8–8–8–8–5| G|-9–9–9–9–9–9|-9–9–9–9–9–9|-9–9–9–9–9–9|-9–9–9–9–9–5| D|-10/10/10/10/10/10|-10/10/10/10/10/10|-10/10/10/10/10/10|-10/10/10/10/10/5| A|-7—–7—–7—-|-5—–5—–5—-|-7—–7—–7—-|-5—–5—–5—-| E|-0———–0—-|-0———–0—-|-0———–0—-|-0———–0—-|

The chorus changes the chords to C7, F7, G7, and Dm. The guitar plays a syncopated rhythm over these chords, using palm muting and accents. The first chorus is played like this:

e|————————————–|————————————–| B|–5-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x|–6-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x| G|–5-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x|–5-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x/x/x/x/x/x/x/x| D|–5-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X|–6-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X| A|–3———————————–|–4———————————–| E|–x———————————–|–x———————————–|

e|————————————–|————————————–| B|–8-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x|–5-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x/x/x/x/x/x/x/x/x| G|–7-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x/x/x/x/x/x/x/x/x|–5-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X| D|–5-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X|–7-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X| A|–x———————————–|–5———————————–| E|–x———————————–|–x———————————–|

The song also has a bridge that uses the chords Em, Am, Dm7, and G7. The guitar plays a melodic line over these chords, using hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides. The bridge is played like this:

e|—————–|—————–|—————–|—————–| B|-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-|-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-|-5h6p5h6p5h6p5h6p|-5h6p5h6p5h6p5h6p| G|-4/5/4/5/4/5/4/5-|-4/5/4/5/4/5/4/5-|-7—–7—–7—|-7—–7—–7—| D|—————–|—————–|—————–|—————–| A|-2—–2—–2—|-0—–0—–0—|-0—–0—–0—|-0—–0—–0—| E|-0———–0—|-0———–0—|-x———–x—|-x———–x—|

e|——————|——————|——————|——————| B|-8–8–8–8–8–8|-8–8–8–8–8–8|-10h11p10h11p10h11|-10h11p10h11p10h11| G|-9–9–9–9–9–9|-9–9–9–9–9–9|-12—-12—-12—|-12—-12—-12—| D|——————|——————|——————|——————| A|-7—–7—–7—-|-5—–5—–5—-|-x—–x—–x—-|-x—–x—–x—-| E|-0———–0—-|-0———–0—-|-x———–x—-|-x———–x—-|

Strumming Patterns

The song uses different strumming patterns for different parts of the song. Here are some suggested strumming patterns that you can use:

Intro: D D D D (downstrokes only)

Verse: D DU UDU (down, down-up, up-down-up)

Chorus: D XU XU XU (down, mute-up, mute-up, mute-up)

Bridge: D DU UDU (down, down-up, up-down-up)

You can also experiment with different strumming patterns and rhythms to suit your style and preference.

Conclusion

“Can’t Buy Me Love” by The Beatles is a classic song that is fun and easy to play on guitar. You only need to know seven chords and a few simple riffs and strumming patterns to play along with the song. You can also use a capo to change the key of the song and make it easier to sing. We hope this article helped you learn how to play “Can’t Buy Me Love” by The Beatles on guitar. Happy strumming!