Aug302022

Dean Lewis – How Do I Say Goodbye (Live) Chords on Piano & Ukulele

Updated January 8, 2026

KeyKeyCapo

View

[Intro]
G G G

[Verse 1]
      C      Em7
Early mornin', there's
  Am7
a message on my phone,
        F              C
It's my mother saying "Darlin',
            G
please come home",
           C     Em7
I fear the worst, but how
          Am7
could you leave us all behind?
           Dm
There's so much to say,
    C                 G
but there's so little time.

[Chorus]
            F       C
So how do I say goodbye,
   G                    Am
To someone's who's been with
          F          C
me for my whole damn life?
G           Am
You gave me my name and
    F             C
the color of your eyes,
           G                   Am
I see your face when I look at mine,
   F
So how do I, how do I,
C               G
how do I say goodbye?

Check out Musical Tips from our BLOG

[Verse 2]
       C      Em7
When I call you,
           Am7
you always saw the best in me,
F                   C
Right or wrong, you were
             G    Gadd11 G
always on my side,
    C     Em7      Am7
I'm scared of what life
without you's like,
      Dm              C
And I saw the way she looked
          G
into your eyes.

[Pre-Chorus]
      Dm              Am
And I promised if you go,
            G
I will make sure she's alright.

[[Chorus]
            F       C
So how do I say goodbye,
   G                    Am
To someone's who's been with
          F          C
me for my whole damn life?
G           Am
You gave me my name and
    F             C
the color of your eyes,
           G
I see your face when
          Am
I look at mine,
   F
So how do I, how do I,
C               G
how do I say goodbye?

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

[Bridge]
            Dm
And there's no way you
                C  Am
can ever let me down,
          C*
You wanna steal you some
time and start again,
       C*
You'll always be my closest friend,
    Dm
And some day,
                     C Am
we are gonna make it out,
              G
Just hold the light,
              E
just hold the light.

[Chorus]
            F       C
So how do I say goodbye,
   G                    Am             F          C
To someone's who's been with me for my whole damn life?
G           Am              F             C
You gave me my name and the color of your eyes,
           G                   Am
I see your face when I look at mine,
   F                   C               G
So how do I, how do I, how do I say goodbye?

[Outro]
   F                   C               G
So how do I, how do I, how do I say goodbye?

How to play How Do I Say Goodbye (Live): key, chords and progression

These are the chords for How Do I Say Goodbye (Live) by Dean Lewis on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar, and Keyboard

To play How Do I Say Goodbye (Live) by Dean Lewis, think in C major (no sharps or flats). It takes 9 chords: G, C, Em7, Am7, F, Dm, Am, Gadd11 and E.

The backbone of the song is F – C – G – Am (IV – I – V – vi in C major), a rotation of the four-chord pop progression that starts on the IV chord. In solfa, that is fah – doh – soh – lah. Practise these 4 changes until they feel natural and you can play most of it.

Good to know: F and Gadd11 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.