You Were Always On My Mind Chords: How to Play the Classic Song by Willie Nelson and Elvis Presley
You Were Always On My Mind is a popular song that has been recorded by many artists, but two of the most famous versions are by Willie Nelson and Elvis Presley. The song is a ballad about regret and love, and it has a simple yet beautiful chord progression that can be played on guitar. In this article, we will show you how to play You Were Always On My Mind chords by Willie Nelson and Elvis Presley, and explain some of the differences between the two versions.
Willie Nelson’s Version
Willie Nelson recorded his version of You Were Always On My Mind in 1982, and it became one of his signature songs. He won three Grammy Awards for his performance, including Song of the Year and Best Male Country Vocal Performance. His version is in the key of D major, and it uses a capo on the first fret. The chords are:
[Chorus] Am Don't want to feel you C Don't want you on my mind G Don't want to feel you D Don't want you on my mind Am Don't want to feel you C Don't want you on my mind G On my mind, on my mind D Mind, mind, mind, mind [Verse 1] Am C Why on earth would I leave G D If you were everything I wanted you to be? Am C When I saw what you did, who you were with G D Got me questionin' the things that I believe [Refrain] Am C So I ask myself, do I let you go? G D Or do I keep you in the frame of my mind? Am C Now I'm growing wise to your sugar-coated lies G D Nothing's sweet about my misery, yeah [Pre-Chorus] Am C G I finally found what went wrong D (You think I would mind Oh, you think I, oh) Am C G I finally found the wrong in you D (You think I would mind Oh, you think I, oh) Am C G I finally found what went wrong D (You think I would mind Oh, you think I, oh) Am C G I finally found the wrong in you D (You think I would mind Oh, you think I, oh) [Chorus] Am Don't want to feel you C Don't want you on my mind G Don't want to feel you D Don't want you on my mind Am Don't want to feel you C Don't want you on my mind G On my mind, on my mind D Mind, mind, mind, mind [Verse 2] Am C You again, why'd you call? G D I don't need to hear you cryin' out my name Am C Unlike before when you and I laid eye to eye G D Now it's time for you to taste the bitter end [Refrain] Am C So I ask myself, do I let you go? G D Or do I keep you in the frame of my mind? Am C Now I'm growing wise to your sugar-coated lies G D Nothing's sweet about my misery, yeah [Pre-Chorus] Am C G I finally found what went wrong D (You think I would mind Oh, you think I, oh) Am C G I finally found the wrong in you D (You think I would mind Oh, you think I, oh) Am C G I finally found what went wrong D (You think I would mind Oh, you think I, oh) Am C G I finally found the wrong in you D (You think I would mind Oh, you think I, oh) [Chorus] Am Don't want to feel you C Don't want you on my mind G Don't want to feel you D Don't want you on my mind Am Don't want to feel you C Don't want you on my mind G On my mind, on my mind D Mind, mind, mind, mind N.C. Preditah
The strumming pattern is:
D D U U D U
where D is downstroke and U is upstroke.
The song has an intro, three verses, a chorus, a bridge, an instrumental solo, and an outro. The chord progression for each section is:
- Intro: G D/F# Em A
- Verse 1: D A Bm D/A G D A Bm D/A E G D D/C G D/F# Em Em7/D Em7/B A D D7 G A D G A
- Chorus: G D D/C G D/F# Em Em7/D Em/B A A/C# D D7 G A D A
- Verse 2: same as verse 1
- Bridge: D A/C# Bm D/A G D Em A D A/C# Bm D/A G D Em A A/C# D D7 G A D A
- Instrumental solo: same as verse 2 (second half)
- Outro: same as verse 1 (first half)
Elvis Presley’s Version
Elvis Presley recorded his version of You Were Always On My Mind in 1972, and it was released as a single in 1973. It reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number one on the Billboard Easy Listening chart. His version is in the key of G major, and it does not use a capo. The chords are:
- G: 320003
- C: x32010
- Am: x02210
- F: 133211
- Bb: x13331
- Eb: x68886
- Cm: x35543
The strumming pattern is:
D U U U U
where D is downstroke and U is upstroke.
The song has an intro, three verses, a chorus, a bridge, an instrumental solo, and an outro. The chord progression for each section is:
- Intro: G *
- Verse 1: G C Am F C C F G C Am F C C F Maybe I didn’t love you quite as often as I could have Maybe I didn’t treat you quite as good as I should have Little things I should have said and done I just never took the time You were always on my mind (you were always on my mind) You were always on my mind
- Chorus: F Eb Bb C F Eb Bb C Maybe I didn’t hold you all those lonely lonely times And I guess I never told you I’m so happy that you’re mine If I made you feel second best girl I’m so sorry I was blind You were always on my mind (you were always on my mind) You were always on my mind
- Verse 2: same as verse 1
- Bridge: F Eb Cm F Bb F Cm Bb Tell me tell me that your sweet love hasn’t died Give me give me one more chance to keep you satisfied satisfied
- Instrumental solo: same as chorus (first half)
- Outro: same as verse 1 (first half)
You can find the tablature and lyrics for Elvis Presley’s version on Ultimate Guitar.
Conclusion
You Were Always On My Mind is a classic song that can be played on guitar with simple chords and strumming patterns. The two versions by Willie Nelson and Elvis Presley have some differences in the key, the capo, and the chord shapes, but they share the same melody and lyrics. You can choose which version you prefer, or try to play both and compare them. Either way, you will enjoy playing this beautiful song that expresses the feelings of love and regret.
