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American Mary

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Letters immediately after a slash (/) are a bass notes.
So the “  C2/ C/  B  D/A” is  A   C2chord then  Cbass,  Bbass, 
then D chord with an A as the bass note.  There were a lot of
It's hard to hear exactly what notes are in the chords,
D=XX0232  D/A=X0023X  D4/B=X20032  D4/E=02003X
C2=X32033 Asus4=X02230  Em7=022030
                        D        D/A  D4/        B  D4/E  
   give my jewels to the army, my silverware and jeans 
                       D                 D/A  D4/      B  D4/E  
   give my love to your family; tell them anything.
                   D                D/A  D4/      B  D4/E  
   give yourself to anyone; give yourself away 
                      D        D/A  D4/              B  D4/E  
don't be a nightingale      for anyone's space to fill. 
  C2/ C/  B      D/A/ A/  B        C2/ C/  B        D/A/  A/B  
    if  i  could,           i'd be your star again 
  C2/ C/  B                        D/A  Asus4  
           fall across your falling sky... 
        D                          D/A  D4/         B  D4/E  
      it takes a lot of little rain           to make you feel like
        D                          D/A  D4/      B  D4/  E  
nothing. 
              D                    D/A  D4/            B  D4/E  
     anything, anything you can do,    do to me for everything 
                   D              D/A  D4/      B  D4/E  
i did for you:                  ...nothing. 
  C2/ C/     B      D/A/   A/   B           C2/ C/   B   D/A/  A/B  
    i  didn't try to take your love away 
  C2/ C/   B                D/A            Asus4  
    I  just never knew i had it.
     Em7there is C2nothing you can Dsay to Gever D/F#make me Em7want you C2  
    DAmerican.G  D/F#  
     Em7there is C2nothing you can Dsay to Gever D/F#make me Em7leave you C2  
          D         D  D/A      D4/        B  D4/E  
American.                                   American
                D        D/A  D4/        B  D4/E  
Mary
   Dif you kiss me D/Akiss me with your silver eyes 
D4/                     B  D4/E  
   don't look at me like someone you don't
              D        D/A  D4/                  B  D4/E  
recognize             I didn't try to do this.  
  C2/  C/   B      D/A/  A/  B        C2/   C/   B    D/A/  A/B  
        your arms around my shoulderblades 
  C2/ C/  B           D/A            Asus4  
       are useless. 
     Em7there is C2nothing you can Dsay to Gever D/F#make me Em7want you C2  
    DAmerican.G  D/F#  
     Em7there is C2nothing you can Dsay to Gever D/F#make me Em7leave you C2  
          D       D  D/A      D4/        B  D4/E  
American.                                        American
                D        D/A  D4/        B  D4/E  
Mary

All chords in this song (12)

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American Mary

by The National

Lyrics & chords · Original key

Chords in this song · guitar

D/A

Asus4

Em7

D/F#

Letters immediately after a slash (/) are a bass notes.

C2 C B D/A A C2 C B

So the “ / / ” is chord then bass, bass,

then D chord with an A as the bass note. There were a lot of

It's hard to hear exactly what notes are in the chords,

D D/A D4 B D4 E

=XX0232 =X0023X /=X20032 /=02003X

C2 Asus4 Em7

=X32033 =X02230 =022030

D D/A D4 B D4 E

/ /

give my jewels to the army, my silverware and jeans

D D/A D4 B D4 E

/ /

give my love to your family; tell them anything.

D D/A D4 B D4 E

/ /

give yourself to anyone; give yourself away

D D/A D4 B D4 E

/ /

don't be a nightingale for anyone's space to fill.

C2 C B D/A A B C2 C B D/A A B

/ / / / / / / /

if i could, i'd be your star again

C2 C B D/A Asus4

/ /

fall across your falling sky...

D D/A D4 B D4 E

/ /

it takes a lot of little rain to make you feel like

D D/A D4 B D4 E

/ /

nothing.

D D/A D4 B D4 E

/ /

anything, anything you can do, do to me for everything

D D/A D4 B D4 E

/ /

i did for you: ...nothing.

C2 C B D/A A B C2 C B D/A A B

/ / / / / / / /

i didn't try to take your love away

C2 C B D/A Asus4

/ /

I just never knew i had it.

Em7 C2 D G D/F# Em7 C2

there is nothing you can say to ever make me want you

D G D/F#

American.

Em7 C2 D G D/F# Em7 C2

there is nothing you can say to ever make me leave you

D D D D4 B D4 E

/A / /

American. American

D D/A D4 B D4 E

/ /

Mary

D D/A

if you kiss me kiss me with your silver eyes

D4 B D4 E

/ /

don't look at me like someone you don't

D D/A D4 B D4 E

/ /

recognize I didn't try to do this.

C2 C B D/A A B C2 C B D/A A B

/ / / / / / / /

your arms around my shoulderblades

C2 C B D/A Asus4

/ /

are useless.

Em7 C2 D G D/F# Em7 C2

there is nothing you can say to ever make me want you

D G D/F#

American.

Em7 C2 D G D/F# Em7 C2

there is nothing you can say to ever make me leave you

D D D D4 B D4 E

/A / /

American. American

D D/A D4 B D4 E

/ /

Mary

About American Mary Chords by The National

Learn how to play American Mary by The National with free guitar chords, lyrics, and interactive chord diagrams. Search for “American Mary chords”, “American Mary guitar chords”, or “The National American Mary 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 American Mary chords and for experienced players who want accurate American Mary lyrics and chords in one place. Common chords in this song include C2, C, B, D/A, A, D.

FAQ — American Mary by The National

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The chords for "American Mary" show the original chord names (including C2, C, B, D/A, A, D). Use transpose to move the song into any key that fits your voice or capo.