Skip to song content

Carole King - You’ve Got A Friend Chords

ChordsG, C, A, B7, Em, Em7, Am, G7, Bm, Am7, D7, F, F7
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

Before you play, tune your guitar and use the tools below to set up your view and flow.

GCGGAB7
Whenyou’reEmdownandB7troubled
AndyouEmneedsomeB7loveandEmcareEm7
AndAmnothin’Cnothin’isgoingGrightG7
B7CloseyoureyesandB7thinkofme
AndEmsoonIB7willbeEmthereEm7
ToAmbrightenupBmevenyourdarkestAm7nightD7
YoujustGcalloutmyGnameandyouCknowwherever
ICamI’llcomeGrunningGtoseeyouaCgain
AmAm7D7
GWinterspringsummerorGfall
CallyouhavetodoiscallAmAndI’ll
GbethereBmyou’veAmgotAm7aGfriendG
G/C/GGAB7
IftheEmsky B7aboveyou
GrowsEmdarkandB7fullofEmcloudsEm7
AndthatAmoldnorthCwindbeginstoGblowG7
B7KeepyourheadtoB7gether
AndEmcallmyB7nameoutEmloud
AmSoonyou’llhearmeBmknockingatyourAm7door
YoujustGcalloutmyGnameandyouCknowwherever
ICamI’llcomeGrunning
GtoseeyouaCgainAmAm7D7
GWinterspringsummerorGfall
CallyouhavetodoisAm7callAndI’llBmbethere
yesIAmwill.
NowFain’titgoodtoknowthatCyou’vegotafriend
WhenGpeoplecanbesoGcold
They’llChurtyouyesanddeF7sertyou
AndEm7takeyoursoulifyouAletthem
OhbutCdon’tyouletthemGD7
YoujustGcalloutmyGnameandyouCknowwhereverIamC
I’llcomeGrunningrunningyeahyeahGtoseeyouaCgainD7
GWinterspringsummerorGfallCallyouhavetodoiscallAm7
AndI’llBmbethereAmyesIAmwillyou’vegotaGfriendC
You’vegotaGfriend
ain’titCgoodtoknowyougotaGfriendCG
AlbumTapestry
GenresPop, Soul
Year1971
KeyEm
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play You've Got A Friend on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Carole King - You've Got A Friend on guitar requires 13 chords and 26 core chord transitions. You can find the full step-by-step guide below. Before you start, tune your instrument. The song uses the ↓-↓↑-↑↓↑ pattern; practice it muted first, or simplify to downstrokes while you learn the changes.

You've Got A Friend uses these transitions most often: G → C (15), C → G (12), and B7 → Em (10). These transitions may feel a little challenging at first, but with steady practice you can play this song quickly.When you are ready, begin with G - C chord transition.

1. G → C chord transition

To move from G to C:

  1. Lift your index finger from A string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to D string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from E string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 15 times.

G to C

2. G → A chord transition

Switching from G to A:

  1. Lift your index finger from A string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to G string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from E string fret 3 and place it on B string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

G to A

3. A → B7 chord transition

Switching from A to B7:

  1. Slide your index finger on D string from fret 2 to fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to A string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 2.
  4. Place pinky on E string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

A to B7

4. B7 → Em chord transition

Here's how to move from B7 to Em:

  1. While playing B7, first lift your index finger and pinky.
  2. Keep middle finger on A string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 10 times.

B7 to Em

5. Em → Em7 chord transition

Here's how to move from Em to Em7:

  1. While playing Em, lift your ring finger from D string fret 2.
  2. Keep middle finger on A string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

6. Em7 → Am chord transition

Switching from Em7 to Am:

  1. Lift your middle finger from A string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 2.
  2. Place index finger on B string fret 1.
  3. Place ring finger on G string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

7. Am → C chord transition

Here's how to move from Am to C:

  1. Keep index finger on B string fret 1.
  2. Keep middle finger on D string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

8. G → G7 chord transition

To move from G to G7:

  1. Keep index finger on A string fret 2.
  2. Keep middle finger on E string fret 3.
  3. Slide your ring finger on E string from fret 3 to fret 1.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

9. G7 → B7 chord transition

Switching from G7 to B7:

  1. Lift your index finger from A string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to A string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from E string fret 1 and place it on G string fret 2.
  4. Place pinky on E string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

10. Am → Bm chord transition

Switching from Am to Bm:

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to B string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 4.
  4. Place pinky on G string fret 4.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

11. Bm → Am7 chord transition

Here's how to move from Bm to Am7:

  1. While playing Bm, first lift your ring finger and pinky.
  2. Lift your index finger from E string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 1.
  3. Slide your middle finger from B string fret 3 to D string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

12. Am7 → D7 chord transition

Switching from Am7 to D7:

  1. Keep index finger on B string fret 1.
  2. Lift your middle finger from D string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 2.
  3. Place ring finger on E string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.

13. D7 → G chord transition

To move from D7 to G:

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Slide your ring finger on E string from fret 2 to fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

14. Am → Am7 chord transition

Switching from Am to Am7:

  1. While playing Am, lift your ring finger from G string fret 2.
  2. Keep index finger on B string fret 1.
  3. Keep middle finger on D string fret 2.

This transition appears in the interlude, played 3 times.

15. Am → G chord transition

To move from Am to G:

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

16. G → Bm chord transition

Switching from G to Bm:

  1. Lift your index finger from A string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to B string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from E string fret 3 and place it on D string fret 4.
  4. Place pinky on G string fret 4.

This transition appears in the verse.

17. Am7 → G chord transition

To move from Am7 to G:

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Place ring finger on E string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse.

18. Em → Am chord transition

Switching from Em to Am:

  1. Lift your middle finger from A string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 2.
  2. Slide your ring finger from D string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
  3. Place index finger on B string fret 1.

This transition appears in the verse.

19. C → Am7 chord transition

Here's how to move from C to Am7:

  1. While playing C, lift your ring finger from A string fret 3.
  2. Keep index finger on B string fret 1.
  3. Keep middle finger on D string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

20. Am → F chord transition

Here's how to move from Am to F:

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 3.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse.

21. F → C chord transition

Here's how to move from F to C:

  1. While playing F, lift your pinky from D string fret 3.
  2. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on B string fret 1.
  3. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to D string fret 2.
  4. Keep ring finger on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse.

22. C → F7 chord transition

Switching from C to F7:

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
  3. Keep ring finger on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse.

23. F7 → Em7 chord transition

To move from F7 to Em7:

  1. While playing F7, first lift your index finger and ring finger.
  2. Lift your middle finger from G string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse.

24. Em7 → A chord transition

Switching from Em7 to A:

  1. Lift your middle finger from A string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 2.
  2. Place index finger on D string fret 2.
  3. Place ring finger on B string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse.

25. A → C chord transition

To move from A to C:

  1. Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to D string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse.

26. C → D7 chord transition

Here's how to move from C to D7:

  1. Keep index finger on B string fret 1.
  2. Lift your middle finger from D string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger from A string fret 3 to E string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse.

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in You've Got A Friend.

  • You've Got A Friend includes 99 chord transitions, 26 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.03% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • You've Got A Friend contains 4 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how You've Got A Friend connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After G, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (25%), D (24%), and Am (13%).
    • G → C: 25%
    • G → A: 6%
    After C, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (35%), F (16%), and D (11%).
    • C → G: 35%
    • C → Am: 10%