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Tattoo

Chords

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Gmajor

90BPM

Lyrics & ChordsClick chords to see diagrams

from live at leeds
Bb+b5        xx8760
        Fmaj7xx7560
        Cadd9xx5530
Bbadd9+b5    xx3310 (denoted by BbII below)
         D/C#x4x232 
         G6/Bx20032
 A6sus4(D/A) x00232 or x02232
        Dadd2xx0230
            Dxx0232
            G3x0033
           A5x02255
[intro and verse pattern]
|Bb+b5       |Fmaj7       |Cadd9       |Bbadd9+b5   |Bbadd9+b5   |
|---0-----0--|---0-----0--|---0-----0--|---0-----0--|---0-----0--|
|--6-6---6-6-|--6-6---6-6-|--3-3---3-3-|--1-1---1-1-|--1-1---1-1-|
|-7-----7----|-5-----5----|-5-----5----|-3-----3----|-3-----3----|
|8-----8-----|7-----7-----|5-----5-----|3-----3-----|3-----3-----|
|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|
|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|
Bb+b5                 |Fmaj7
Me and my brother were talking to each other
     |        Cadd9  BbII |        Dadd2|
About what makes a man a man
                        |---0----0----|
                        |--3-3--3-2---|
                        |-2----2------|
                        |0----0-------|
                        |-------------|
                        |-------------|
      |Bb+b5              |Fmaj7
Was it brain or brawn, the month you were born
  |         Cadd9  BbII|   Dadd2|D  
We just couldn't understand
   |              D           G|        D   D   Dsus4  D  
Our old man didn't like our appearance
            |          D          G|     Asus4Ano3
He said that only women wear long hair
  |Bb+b5                     |Fmaj7
So me and my brother borrowed money from mother
  |              Cadd9|BbII   Dadd2  
We knew what we had to do
  |Bb+b5                    |Fmaj7
We went downstairs, past the barber and gymnasium
   |          Cadd9|BbII   Dadd2|    D|
And got our arms tattooed
|             D         D|     D   Dsus   D|
 Welcome to my life, tattoo 
|----------------------|----2-3-2----|
|3-------------3-------|----3-3-3----|
|2-------------2-------|----2-2-2----|
|0-------------0-------|0---0-0-0----|
|---4----2--0-----4-2-0|-------------|
|----------------------|-------------|
     |        D          D|    D   Dsus4    D|
I'm a man now, thanks to you
     |     %            |      %       |
   |                   D  D/C#  
I expect I'll regret you
       |                       G6/B  A6sus4  
But the skin graft man won't get you
      |              G|A5*  |    A5|Bb+b5 | Fmaj7| Cadd9|BbII   |    |
You'll be there when I die       tattoo 
  [note: A5* played as Asus4 in stage versions]
My dad beat me 'cause mine said mother
But my mother naturally liked it and beat my brother
'Cause his tattoo was of a lady in the nude
And my mother thought that was extremely rude
Welcome to my life, tattoo
We've a long time together, me and you
I expect I'll regret you
But the skin graft man won't get you
You'll be there when I die, tattoo
Now I'm older, I'm tattooed all over
My wife is tattooed, too
A rooty-toot-toot, rooty-tooty-tooty-toot
Rooty-toodle-toodle tattoo too to you

All chords in this song (14)

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Tattoo

by The Who

Lyrics & chords · Original key

Chords in this song · guitar

Fmaj7

Cadd9

D/C#

G6/B

A6sus4

D/A

Dadd2

Dsus4

Asus4

Dsus

from live at leeds

Bb+b5 xx8760

Fmaj7

xx7560

Cadd9

xx5530

Bbadd9+b5 xx3310 (denoted by BbII below)

D/C#

x4x232

G6/B

x20032

A6sus4 D/A

() x00232 or x02232

Dadd2

xx0230

xx0232

3x0033

x02255

[intro and verse pattern]

|---0-----0--|---0-----0--|---0-----0--|---0-----0--|---0-----0--|

|--6-6---6-6-|--6-6---6-6-|--3-3---3-3-|--1-1---1-1-|--1-1---1-1-|

|-7-----7----|-5-----5----|-5-----5----|-3-----3----|-3-----3----|

|8-----8-----|7-----7-----|5-----5-----|3-----3-----|3-----3-----|

|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|

Bb+b5 |Fmaj7

Me and my brother were talking to each other

Cadd9 Bb Dadd2

| II | |

About what makes a man a man

|---0----0----|

|--3-3--3-2---|

|-2----2------|

|0----0-------|

|-------------|

|Bb+b5 |Fmaj7

Was it brain or brawn, the month you were born

Cadd9 Bb Dadd2 D

| II| |

We just couldn't understand

D G D D Dsus4 D

| |

Our old man didn't like our appearance

D G Asus4

| | Ano3

He said that only women wear long hair

|Bb+b5 |Fmaj7

So me and my brother borrowed money from mother

Cadd9 Bb Dadd2

| |II

We knew what we had to do

|Bb+b5 |Fmaj7

We went downstairs, past the barber and gymnasium

Cadd9 Bb Dadd2 D

| |II | |

And got our arms tattooed

D D D Dsus D

| | |

Welcome to my life, tattoo

|----------------------|----2-3-2----|

|3-------------3-------|----3-3-3----|

|2-------------2-------|----2-2-2----|

|0-------------0-------|0---0-0-0----|

|---4----2--0-----4-2-0|-------------|

|----------------------|-------------|

D D D Dsus4 D

| | |

I'm a man now, thanks to you

| % | % |

D D/C#

I expect I'll regret you

G6/B A6sus4

But the skin graft man won't get you

G A5 A5 Fmaj7 Cadd9 Bb

| |* | |Bb+b5 | | |II | |

You'll be there when I die tattoo

[note: A5* played as Asus4 in stage versions]

My dad beat me 'cause mine said mother

But my mother naturally liked it and beat my brother

'Cause his tattoo was of a lady in the nude

And my mother thought that was extremely rude

Welcome to my life, tattoo

We've a long time together, me and you

I expect I'll regret you

But the skin graft man won't get you

You'll be there when I die, tattoo

Now I'm older, I'm tattooed all over

My wife is tattooed, too

A rooty-toot-toot, rooty-tooty-tooty-toot

Rooty-toodle-toodle tattoo too to you

About Tattoo Chords by The Who

Learn how to play Tattoo by The Who with free guitar chords, lyrics, and interactive chord diagrams. Search for “Tattoo chords”, “Tattoo guitar chords”, or “The Who Tattoo 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 Tattoo chords and for experienced players who want accurate Tattoo lyrics and chords in one place. Common chords in this song include Bb, Fmaj7, Cadd9, Bbadd9, D/C#, G6/B.

FAQ — Tattoo by The Who

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What key is "Tattoo" in?

The chords for "Tattoo" show the original chord names (including Bb, Fmaj7, Cadd9, Bbadd9, D/C#, G6/B). Use transpose to move the song into any key that fits your voice or capo.