Feb292024

Emerson, Lake, Palmer – Give Me A Reason To Stay on Piano & Ukulele

[Intro]
A E   G D   Esus4   E

[Verse 1]
             A
I could walk on

Tell myself there's
                 B7
no room for you in
my life

Pretend there's nothin'
  Esus4
 left inside
         E         A   E
And just throw us away

[Pre Chorus]
              A
But I still believe
If you asked I'd walk
           B7
 into the fire for you
      D
Oh.., don't wanna leave
     A
you here like this
Bm        Dbm       Dm
I'll keep holdin' on if
         C#sus4    C#
there's somethin' left

[Chorus]
F#              D#m
 I'm willin' to lay
              B
my heartache down
D         E         F#
Give me a reason to stay
                 D#m
It wouldn't take much
             B
 to turn me around
    A            E
And stop me from leavin'
Bm        Bm7       Esus4   E
Give me a reason to stay

[Verse 2]
             A
Just say the word
I can surely stand
          B7
a little compromise
                Esus4
Reach out to me with
your eyes
         E
And I'll meet you
      A    E
half way

[Pre Chorus]
                     A
Give me some kind of sign
Show me there's some hope
            B7
for love inside your heart
      D
Oh.., what could it
         A
 hurt to try again
Bm       Dbm  Dm
Won't it hurt more
       C#sus4 C#
if we let it in?

[Chorus]
F#              D#m
 I'm willin' to lay
             B
my heartache down
D         E         F#
Give me a reason to stay
                 D#m
It wouldn't take much
             B
 to turn me around
    A            E
And stop me from leavin'
Bm        Bm7       Esus4  E
Give me a reason to stay

Check out our TIPS section for latest tips on Instrumentation

[Bridge]
F#m
 You have it in your
           F#m7   F#m
hands to keep me here
     Bm
Just stop before
       A   D
we go too far
F#m
 All you have to
        F#m7    F#m
 do is talk to me
        G
If it's not too late,
       C#sus4  C#
 look into my heart

[Instrument]
A   F#m7   D
 F   G   A     F#m7   D

[Bridge]
B5
 I'm willin'

I don't need very
much from you
B5
 I'm willin'

What I'm trin'
    Db5    D5
 to say to you

[Chorus]
F#              D#m
 I'm willin' to lay
              B
 my heartache down
D         E         F#
Give me a reason to stay
                 D#m
It wouldn't take much
             B
to turn me around
    A            E
And stop me from leavin'
Bm                  F#m
Give me a reason to stay

[Outro]
F#              D#m
 I'm willin' to lay
              B
my heartache down
D         E         F#
Give me a reason to stay
                 D#m
It wouldn't take much
             B
to turn me around
    A            E
And stop me from leavin'
Bm                  Esus4 E
Give me a reason to stay

Watch: Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Give Me A Reason To Stay (Official Audio)

From Emerson, Lake and Palmer on YouTube. Play along with the chords above.

How to play Give Me A Reason To Stay: key, chords and progression

These are Give Me A Reason To Stay chords by Emerson, Lake & Palmer on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar, and Keyboard.

Give Me A Reason To Stay by Emerson, Lake, Palmer keeps coming home to A major (three sharps: F♯, C♯, G♯). You need 21 chords: A, E, G, D, Esus4, B7, Bm, Dbm, Dm, C#sus4, C# and F# and 9 more.

Listen for F# – D#m – B – D (VI – ♯iv – II – IV in A major): the song comes back to it again and again. Once these 4 changes are comfortable, most of the song is done.

Easier on guitar: put a capo on the 2nd fret and play the shapes G, D, F, C, Dsus4, A7, Am, Bm, Cm, Bsus4 (62% of the chords become easy open shapes, against 38% without a capo). It sounds exactly the same.

Chord diagrams

Esus4 chord on guitar (022200) — Esus4E A B

B7 chord on guitar (x21202) — B7B D♯ F♯ A

Dbm chord on guitar (x46654) — D♭mD♭ F♭ A♭

C#sus4 chord on guitar (x46674) — C♯sus4C♯ F♯ G♯

C# chord on guitar (x46664) — C♯C♯ E♯ G♯

F# chord on guitar (244322) — F♯F♯ A♯ C♯

D#m chord on guitar (x68876) — D♯mD♯ F♯ A♯

Bm7 chord on guitar (x24232) — Bm7B D F♯ A

F#m chord on guitar (244222) — F♯mF♯ A C♯

F#m7 chord on guitar (242222) — F♯m7F♯ A C♯ E

Need another chord or a different shape? Feel free to use our free Chord Shape Generator.

Give Me A Reason To Stay chords: questions

What key is Give Me A Reason To Stay in?

Give Me A Reason To Stay by Emerson, Lake, Palmer is centred on A major (three sharps: F♯, C♯, G♯).

What chords are in Give Me A Reason To Stay?

Give Me A Reason To Stay uses 21 chords: A, E, G, D, Esus4, B7, Bm, Dbm, Dm, C#sus4, C#, F# and 9 more.

What is the chord progression of Give Me A Reason To Stay?

The main progression is F# – D#m – B – D (VI – ♯iv – II – IV).

Is Give Me A Reason To Stay easy to play on guitar?

Yes, with a capo: put a capo on the 2nd fret and play the shapes G, D, F, C, Dsus4, A7, Am, Bm, Cm, Bsus4 (62% of the chords become easy open shapes, against 38% without a capo).

Watch: Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Give Me A Reason To Stay (Official Audio)

How to play Give Me A Reason To Stay: key, chords and progression

Chord diagrams

Give Me A Reason To Stay chords: questions

New chords in your inbox