Nov52021

ABBA – I Can Be That Woman Chords on Piano & Ukulele

Updated January 8, 2026

ChordsG C D Em AmD/F#

KeyKeyCapo

View

[Intro]
G  G

[Verse 1]
          G
You're asleep on the
            C
couch with Tammy
         D
And she looks straight
         G
up at me
The reproach in her
          C
eyes is imagined
         D
But the pain that
               G
I feel is real
           Em
She jumps down and
              D
her tail is swishing
        C
Like a feather right
Am            D
under your nose
              Em    C
And then you wake up and
         D    G
you're bleary-eyed
D/F#        C
I say "I'm sorry",
       D        G
I can see you cried

Check out Musical Tips from our BLOG

[Verse 2]
           G
You look frail as
                  C
you stand before me
          D                 G
Then you curse and kick a chair
And the dog, bless her heart,
          C
licks my fingers
         D                      G
But she jerks every time you swear
        Em
I feel sick and my
            D
hands arе shakin'
         C           Am
This is how all our fights
      D
have begun
                Em    C
You say you've had it,
         D               G
and you say "Scrеw you!"
D/F#      C
I say "I love you",
        D         G
and I know it's true

[Chorus]
C                         G
 You're not the man you should
 have been
D                    G
 I let you down somehow
 (Not the one I could've been)
C                     G
 I'm not the woman I could
 have been (I can be that woman)
D                         G
 But I can be that woman now

Feel free to use our free Chord Shape Generator to see every chord in this song on guitar, ukulele and piano.

[Verse 3]
           G
You're confused when
                  C
you turn to face me
        D              G
Is it true or is she drunk?
But it's clear that
                  C
I've hit my rock bottom
      D                    G
I'm aware of how far I've sunk
         Em
And the dog is
              D
the first to feel it
            C
There's a shimmer
    Am          G
of hope in your eyes
             Em      D
You can't believe it,
             C        G
but you're close to tears
D/F#        C
Oh but I'm sorry
         D       G
for the wasted years

[Chorus]
                             C
(Not the one I could've been)
                         G
You're not the man you should
have been
                D
(I let you down)
                    G
I let you down somehow
                             C
(Not the one I could've been)
                     G
I'm not the woman I could
have been
                     D
(I can be that woman)
                         G
But I can be that woman now

How to play I Can Be That Woman: key, chords and progression

These are the chords for I Can Be That Woman by ABBA on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar, and Keyboard

I Can Be That Woman by ABBA sits in G major (one sharp: F♯), and you need 6 chords to play it: G, C, D, Em, Am and D/F#.

Listen for G – C – D – G (I – IV – V – I in G major), the I–IV–V–I, the backbone of gospel, blues and folk: the song comes back to it again and again. In solfa, that is doh – fah – soh – doh. Once these 4 changes are comfortable, most of the song is done.

Beginner-friendly: every chord is an open chord on guitar, so you can play it without a capo or barre chords.