Song chords
Brown Eyed Girl chords
Van Morrison
A I–IV–I–V verse and a chorus that walks down through the relative minor to a D7. That D7 is the whole reason the turnaround sounds like a 1967 record instead of a campfire song.
Before you start
The chords you need.
5 shapes covers the whole song. Tap any diagram’s play button to hear it, or open its page for every voicing on six instruments.
The chart
Section by section.
Key of G, no capo. Verse G–C–G–D; chorus C–D–G–Em, then C–D–G–D7. The seventh on the last chord pulls straight back into the G for the next verse. Hit play on any section to hear it walk through at 148 bpm.
Verse
4 barsChorus
8 barsWalks to the vi, then a D7 turns the phrase back around.
Need it in a different key, or without the capo? Run it through the transposer — move every chord by the same interval and the song is unchanged.
Playing it
What actually trips people up.
It sits near 150 bpm and the G→C change comes round every bar. Get that pair clean on its own before you attempt the intro riff over the top of it.
The chart above is the commonly played arrangement — the version a competent player would hand you, not a bar-for-bar transcription of a specific master. Section labels are there to orient you; live and studio versions repeat, extend and drop sections freely, and none of that changes which chords you need.
About this page
Chord names and song structure are facts; for lyrics and official notation, support the artist. This page carries no lyrics on purpose — Brown Eyed Girl was written and recorded by Van Morrison, and the words belong to them. What you get here is the harmony: the key, the capo, the tempo, and which chord goes where.
Next
Songs that sit near this one.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask.
What key is Brown Eyed Girl in?
Brown Eyed Girl is in G Major, and it is played in that key with no capo — the chords you read here are the chords you hear.
Do I need a capo for Brown Eyed Girl?
No. Brown Eyed Girl is played open in G Major. A capo will only move it out of the recorded key, which matters if you are playing along with the record.
What chords are in Brown Eyed Girl?
G, C, D, Em and D7 — 5 chords across 2 sections. Key of G, no capo. Verse G–C–G–D; chorus C–D–G–Em, then C–D–G–D7. The seventh on the last chord pulls straight back into the G for the next verse.
What is the easiest way to play Brown Eyed Girl?
Beginner overall. It sits near 150 bpm and the G→C change comes round every bar. Get that pair clean on its own before you attempt the intro riff over the top of it.
How fast is Brown Eyed Girl?
About 148 bpm. Every section on this page plays back at that tempo, so you can hear how long each chord is meant to be held before you try it yourself.
Can I play Brown Eyed Girl in a different key?
Yes — the progression is the song, not the letters. Move every chord by the same number of semitones and it still works. The transposer will do the arithmetic, or you can move the capo and keep these shapes.