Oct72024

Elton John – Take This Dirty Water Chords on Piano & Ukulele

ChordsC7 F Eb G D Am C EmD/F#Fmaj7C/ECm/EbG/DF7C/G

KeyKeyCapo

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[Intro]
C7 F Eb F G



[Verse 1]
          G
Spare the rod,
don't
          D
spare the fool
       Am
If you take the
 breaks
 you're given
    C
You get to make
the rules
         G
Take a chance
            D
and make it fast
       Am
If you break some
         Em
bones on landing
    C
You know you're
built to last

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[Verse 2]
          G
Fight the tide
and
         D
find the shore
       Am
If the gift horse
isn't smiling
     C
Just learn to ride
 some more
       G
Common sense is a
         D
 rule of thumb
       Am
If the suckers
        Em
throw a red flag
         C
Blow 'em all to
 Kingdom Come



[Chorus]
    G
And take this
dirty
D/F#      Am
water
Running like a
C
river
G
In and out of
D/F#
everything
   Fmaj7
We helped to
C/E    Cm/Eb
put to-gether
G/D
Take this dirty
D/F#
water
Am      G
Help to keep
   F7
it clean
    G/D
Get back to
the wellspring
C/E  D/F#
Puri-fy the
Eb      G C/G G
stream



[Repeat Intro]
C7 F Eb F G

[Verse 3]
           G
Search out days
that
      D
never end
        Am
If it's only for
 the chance
             C
To feel just like
a child again
       G
Tell a lie (tell
a lie)
that speaks the
D
truth
       Am
If the heart
 becomes
  Em
a prisoner
     C
Your soul will
turn you loose



[Chorus]
    G
And take this
      D/F#   Am
dirty water

Running like
  C
a river
G
In and out of
D/F#
everything
   Fmaj7
We helped to
C/E    Cm/Eb
put to-gether
G/D
Take this
      D/F#
dirty water
Am      G
Help to keep
   F7
it clean
    G/D
Get back to
the wellspring
C/E  D/F#
Puri-fy the
Eb     G C/G G
stream



[Solo]
G D Am C
       Running
like a river
G D Am  Em
    Ooh Ooh
C
Ooh



[Chorus]
G
Take this dirty
D/F#      Am
water
Running like
  C
a river
G
In and out
   D/F#
of everything
   Fmaj7
We helped to
C/E    Cm/Eb
put to-gether
G/D
Take this
      D/F#
dirty water
Am      G
Help to keep
   F7
it clean
    G/D
Get back to
the wellspring
C/E  D/F#
Puri-fy the
Eb      G C/G G
stream

[Outro]
C7 F Eb F G

Watch: Take This Dirty Water

From Elton John - Topic on YouTube. Play along with the chords above.

How to play Take This Dirty Water: key, chords and progression

Take This Dirty Water by Elton John keeps coming home to G major (one sharp: F♯). You need 15 chords: C7, F, Eb, G, D, Am, C, Em, D/F#, Fmaj7, C/E and Cm/Eb and 3 more.

The backbone of the song is C – G – D – Am (IV – I – V – ii in G major). In solfa, that is fah – doh – soh – reh. Practise these 4 changes until they feel natural and you can play most of it.

Good to know: F, Eb, Cm/Eb and F7 are the tricky part on guitar (barre or movable shapes). Slow the change down until it is clean; on piano and ukulele they are simpler.