Real Love

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Original
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Artist's Name - John Lennon
Song Title - Real Love
Album - Acoustic
Approximate Song Length - 4 min 4 sec
Release Date - November 2, 2004
The Story Behind the Tab:
John Lennon is the man. End of story.
Notes:
Perhaps the most obvious thing that you will notice about the song is that it is
in flat tuning.
If you're unfamiliar with it, simply tune your guitar down half of a step, from an E to
Eb, an A to an Ab,
and so on. This flat tuning gives the song a somewhat haunting sound to it. This,
with the fact that
it was recorded as a homemade demo on old equipment made it fairly difficult to notate.
many demos, this
demo lacks symmetry. There are bridges, choruses, and verses thrown in all over the
After all, Lennon
was experimenting. And if you know anything about Lennon, you know that he if fond of
making up
lyrics as he goes along, and forgetting entire verses. One thing that he does is omit,
change, if only
subtly, chords. If you'll notice, he only plays a G/F# in the first and last verse. Go
Also, the G6
and A6 in the second chorus are substituted with an A* and G*. These are meant to
simple barre
chords. Besides the issue of sound quality, it should be noted that there is a fade in
the beginning and a
fade out at the end. This is one of my favorite songs of all time, I hope I do it
Please, feel free
to contact me!
Transcribed By: Nathan Bartman
E-mail Address: NateBartman@yahoo.com
AIM Name: Nate Bartman
[Intro] D  Dmaj7  
D Dmaj7
D C9 Asus4 A
[Verse 1] D  Dmaj7  
All your little boys and girls
Bm Faug
Living in this crazy world
G G/F# Em7 A
All they really needed from you
D C9 D
Is maybe some love
Dmaj7
All the little girls and boys
Bm Faug
Playin' with their little toys
G G/F# Em7 A
All they really needed from you
D C9 D
Is maybe some love
[Bridge] C9  
Why must they be alone
D Gm
Why must they be alone
[Chorus] D   Bm   G6  A6  
Yes it's real
D Bm G6 A6
Well it's real life
[Verse 2] D  Dmaj7  
(Whistled)
Bm Faug
(Whistled)
G Em7 A
(Whistled)
D C9 D
(Whistled)
[Bridge] D  C9  
I don't expect you to understand
D C9
The kingdom of Heaven is in your hand
D C9
I don't expect you to wait from your dreams
D C9
Too late for crying now it seems
[Verse 3] D  Dmaj7  
All your little plans and schemes
Bm Faug
Nothing but a bunch of dreams
G Em7 A
All you really needed to do
D C9 D
Is maybe some love
[Bridge] D  C9  
Why must we be alone
D Gm
Why must we be alone
[Chorus] D   Bm  G* A*
It's real life
D   Bm  G* A*
Yes it's real life
[Verse 4] D  Dmaj7  
All your little boys and girls
Bm Faug
Living in the crazy world
G G/F# Em7 A
All they really needed from you
D C9 D
Is maybe some love
Dmaj7
All the little girls and boys
Bm Faug
Playin' with their little toys
G G/F# Em7 A
All they really needed from you
D C9 D
Is maybe some love
[Bridge] D  C9  
Why must they be alone
D Gm
Why must they be alone
[Outro] D   Bm   G6  A6  
Yes it's real life
D Bm G6 A6
Well it's real life
"I haven't understood a bar of music in my life, but I have felt it."
- Igor Stravinsky

The story behind the song

"Real Love" was written by John Lennon, who recorded several demos of the song in 1979 and 1980. These demos merged with an earlier song titled "Real Life." One of these demos was later released posthumously in 1988 for the documentary soundtrack Imagine: John Lennon. In 1995, a different take of the song was completed by Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr as part of The Beatles Anthology project and was released as a Beatles single in 1996. The track also opened The Beatles' Anthology 2 album.

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About Real Love Chords by John Lennon

Learn how to play Real Love by John Lennon with free guitar chords, lyrics, and interactive chord diagrams. Search for “Real Love chords”, “Real Love guitar chords”, or “John Lennon Real Love chords” and you will find this page — transpose to any key, tap chords for diagrams, and use auto-scroll while you play. Perfect for beginners looking for easy Real Love chords and for experienced players who want accurate Real Love lyrics and chords in one place. Common chords in this song include E, Eb, A, Ab, G/F, G6.

FAQ — Real Love by John Lennon

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Yes. Use the transpose buttons on the song page to shift "Real Love" up or down by half-steps so it matches your vocal range or capo position.

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What key is "Real Love" in?

The chords for "Real Love" show the original chord names (including E, Eb, A, Ab, G/F, G6). Use transpose to move the song into any key that fits your voice or capo.