The song “My Girl” by The Temptations is a classic Motown hit that has been covered by many artists, such as The Rolling Stones, Otis Redding, and Michael Jackson. It is a simple and catchy song that can be played on guitar with just a few chords and a basic strumming pattern. In this article, we will show you how to play “My Girl” by The Temptations on guitar, using the original key of C major and the chord progression from the web search results.

The Chords

The chords you will need to play “My Girl” by The Temptations on guitar are:

[Intro]
|  C  |  %  |  %  |  %  |
  (Bass)    (+ Verse lick)
 
[Verse 1]
         C       F        C        F
I've got sunshine on a cloudy day
             C            F              C             F
And when it's cold outside, I've got the month of May
 
[Chorus]
C Dm7   F   G
I guess you say,
C        Dm7     F         G
What can make me feel this way?
C(maj7)
My girl ...            1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
             Dm7     | G N.C.  F F G G |
Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl)
 
[Verse 2]
(F) (G)  C      F                  C      F
I've got so much honey, the bees envy me
          C             F                  C          F
I've got a sweeter song, than the birds in the trees
 
[Chorus]
      C Dm7   F   G
Well, I guess you say,
C        Dm7     F         G
What can make me feel this way?
C(maj7)
My girl ...            1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
             Dm7     | G N.C.  F F G G |
Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl)
 
[Instrumental] = Intro
|  C  |  %  |  %  |  %  |
  (Bass)    (+ Verse lick)
 
[Solo]
C     F           C
         Hey hey hey
      F           Dm7
         Hey hey hey
|(Dm7)  | G     | Em    | A A A
                             (break)
[Verse 3]
        D             G        D        G
I don't need no money, fortune or fame
        D                    G         D          G
I've got all the riches, baby, one man can claim
 
[Chorus]
      D Em    G   A
Well, I guess you say,
D        Em      G         A
What can make me feel this way?
Dmaj7
My girl ...            (Walk down on the bass)
             Em         A  G  F#m      Em   Dmaj7
Talkin' 'bout my girl         Talking 'bout my girl
 
[Outro]
Dmaj7                                     Em
I've got sunshine on a cloudy day with my girl
     A    G       F#m      Em       Dmaj7
I've even got the month of May with my girl
                  Em                            A  G  F#m  Em
Talking 'bout, talking 'bout, talking 'bout my girl
Dmaj7
(My girl) My girl
 
(fade out)

You can use a capo to transpose the song to a different key if you find it easier to sing or play.

The Intro

The intro of “My Girl” by The Temptations consists of four bars of C major, with a bass line and a guitar lick that are repeated throughout the song. The bass line goes like this:

G|----------------|
D|------5-------5-|
A|--3-3---3-3-----|
E|----------------|

The guitar lick goes like this:

e|----------------|----------------|
B|--------------1-|----------------|
G|----------0-2---|----------------|
D|------0-2-------|------------0-3-|
A|--3-------------|--------0-3-----|
E|----------------|--1-3-----------|

You can play the intro with one guitar or two guitars, depending on your preference. Here is how it sounds with one guitar:

C
e|----------------|----------------|
B|--------------1-|--------------1-|
G|----------0-2---|----------0-2---|
D|------0-2-------|------0-2-------|
A|--3-------------|--3-------------|
E|----------------|----------------|

And here is how it sounds with two guitars:

Guitar 1 (bass line)     Guitar 2 (guitar lick)
C                        C
e|----------------|      e|----------------|----------------|
B|----------------|      B|--------------1-|----------------|
G|----------------|      G|----------0-2---|----------------|
D|------5-------5-|      D|------0-2-------|------------0-3-|
A|--3-3---3-3-----|      A|--3-------------|--------0-3-----|
E|----------------|      E|----------------|--1-3-----------|

The Verse

The verse of “My Girl” by The Temptations follows the same chord progression as the intro, but with different lyrics. You can use the same strumming pattern as the intro, or you can vary it according to your taste. Here are the chords and lyrics for the first verse:

    C             F       C       F
I've got sunshine on a cloudy day
    C             F       C       F
And when it's cold outside, I've got the month of May

    C     Dm     F       G
I guess you say,
    C     Dm     F       G
What can make me feel this way?

    C              F       G
My girl (my girl) my girl
                  C       F       C       F
Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl)

The Chorus

The chorus of “My Girl” by The Temptations is similar to the verse, but with a key change from C major to D major. You can use a capo on the second fret to play the chorus with the same chord shapes as the verse, or you can play the new chords without a capo. Here are the chords and lyrics for the chorus:

    D             G       D       G
I've got so much honey, the bees envy me
    D             G       D       G
I've got a sweeter song, than the birds in the trees

    D     Em     G       A
Well, I guess you say,
    D     Em     G       A
What can make me feel this way?

    D              G       A
My girl (my girl) my girl
                  D       G       D       G
Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl)

The Solo

The solo of “My Girl” by The Temptations is played over the intro chord progression, with some variations and embellishments. You can improvise your own solo using the C major pentatonic scale, or you can follow the original solo as played by Robert White. Here is a tab of the original solo:

C
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
G|----------0-2-4-|-5-4-2-0--------|----------0-2-4-|-5-4-2-0--------|
D|------0-2-------|--------3-2-0---|------0-2-------|--------3-2-0---|
A|--3-------------|------------3---|--3-------------|------------3---|
E|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|

C
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|-8p5h8p5h8p5h8p5h8p5h8p5h8p5h8p5h8p5h8p5h8p5h8p5h8p5h8p5h8p5h8|
B|----------------|----------------|-6p3h6p3h6p3h6--|--------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-4b6r4b6r4b6r4b6|-r4b6r4b6r4b6r4-|---------------7b9r7b9r7b9r7b9r7b9r7b9r7b9r7b9r7b9r7b9r7b9r7b9r7b9r7b9r7b9|
D|----------------|----------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|----------------|----------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|----------------|----------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|

The Outro

The outro of “My Girl” by The Temptations is similar to the chorus, but with some variations and repetitions. You can end the song with a D major chord, or you can fade out as in the original recording. Here are the chords and lyrics for the outro:

    D              G       A
My girl (my girl) my girl
                  D       G       D       G
Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl)

    D              G       A
I've got sunshine on a cloudy day with my girl
    G             F#m     Em      D
I've even got the month of May with my girl

    Em            A       G       F#m     Em
Talkin' 'bout, talkin' 'bout, talkin' 'bout my girl
    D              G       A
My girl (my girl) my girl

Conclusion

“My Girl” by The Temptations is a great song to play on guitar, whether you are a beginner or an advanced player. It has a simple and catchy chord progression, a memorable melody, and a fun solo. You can learn how to play “My Girl” by The Temptations on guitar by following the chords and tabs from the web search results or you can create your own version by adding your own style and flair. Either way, you will have a blast playing this classic Motown hit. Happy strumming!