Jun122020

Ruth B. – If I Have A Son Piano & Ukulele Chord Progression and Tab

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This is the chords of If I Have A Son by Ruth B. on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar and Keyboard.

[Intro]
Em7 Cmaj7 G x2

[Verse 1]
Em7 Cmaj7 G
If I have a son I’ll teach him to be brave
Em7 Cmaj7 G
Cuz if I have a son he’s never really safe
Em7 Cmaj7
And when you run to the corner store for a snack
G Em7
I wanna know that you’ll make it back home
Cmaj7 G
Ho-o-ome.

[Chorus]
Em7 Cmaj7 G
Your skin, it glitters like gold
Em7 Cmaj7 G
There’s love inside of your soul
Em7 Cmaj7
But no matter what you say, no matter what you do
G
This world will never be as friendly to you
Em7 Cmaj7
I wanna keep you close, I wanna keep you safe
G Em
I hope I see the day where I don’t have to pray
Cmaj7 G
Every time you go
Em7 Cmaj7 G Em7 Cmaj7 G
Every time you go

[Verse 2]
Em7 Cmaj7 G
And if I have a girl I’ll teach her to be strong
Em7 Cmaj7 G
Cuz even when you’re right, they’ll tell you that you’re wrong
Em7 Cmaj7
And if you want something you’ll work twice as hard
G Em
Cuz that’s the only way we get far
Cmaj7 G
Fa-a-ar

[Bridge]
Em7 Cmaj7
I saw a man lose his life
G
All cuz his skin looked like mine
Em7 Cmaj7 G
Em7 Cmaj7
I hope the world makes a change
G
So when you get here it’s not the same
Em7 Cmaj7 G
Sa-a-ame

[Outro]
Em7 Cmaj7 G
If I have a son I’ll teach him to be brave
Em7 Cmaj7 G
Cuz if I have a son he’s never really safe

How to play If I Have A Son: key, chords and progression

If I Have A Son by Ruth B. is centred on C major (no sharps or flats). The song uses 4 chords: Em7, Cmaj7, G and Em.

The backbone of the song is Cmaj7 – G – Em7 – Cmaj7 (Imaj7 – V – iii7 – Imaj7 in C major). In solfa, that is doh – soh – mi – doh. Practise these 4 changes until they feel natural and you can play most of it.

Beginner-friendly: on guitar every chord is an open shape, which makes this a good song to learn early on.