Althea chords by
Grateful Dead (Official Version)
Print

1980Rock1.6K views

Key: A majorDifficulty: Easy

Intro 1

Bm

A

E7

A

Bm

A

E7

Bm

A

E7

A

Bm

A

E7

Verse 1
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
A A 
 
I told Althea I was feeling lost
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
Lacking in some direction
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
A A 
 
Althea told me upon scrutiny
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
That my  back might need protec tion
A A 
 
C#m C#m 
 
I told Althea that treachery
D D 
 
A A 
 
Was tearing me limb from limb
C#m C#m 
 
E E 
 
Althea told me, now cool down boy
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E E 
 
Settle back easy, Jim

Interlude 1

Bm

A

E7

A

Bm

A

E7

Bm

A

E7

A

Bm

A

E7

Verse 2
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
A A 
 
You may be Saturday's child all grown
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
Moving with a  pinch of grace
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
A A 
 
You may be a clown in the burying ground
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
Or just another pretty face
A A 
 
C#m C#m 
 
You may be the fate of Ophelia
D D 
 
A A 
 
Sleeping and perchance to dream
C#m C#m 
 
E E 
 
Honest to the point of recklessness
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E E 
 
Self-centred to the extreme

Interlude 2

Bm

A

E7

A

Bm

A

E7

Bm

A

E7

A

Bm

A

E7

Verse 3
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
A A 
 
Ain't nobody messin' with you but you
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
Your friends are getting most concerned
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
A A 
 
Loose with the truth, maybe its your fire
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
Baby don't get burned
A A 
 
C#m C#m 
 
When the smoke has cleared, she said
D D 
 
A A 
 
That's what she said to me
C#m C#m 
 
E E 
 
Gonna want a bed to lay your head
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E E 
 
And a little sympathy

Interlude 3

Bm

A

E7

A

Bm

A

E7

Bm

A

E7

A

Bm

A

E7

Bridge 1
D D 
 
G G 
 
There are things you can replace
E7 E7 
 
And others you cannot
D D 
 
G G 
 
The time has come to weigh those things
E7 E7 
 
This space is gettin' hot
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
You know this space is gettin' hot

Interlude 4

Bm

A

E7

A

Bm

A

E7

Bm

A

E7

A

Bm

A

E7

Verse 4
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
A A 
 
I told Althea, I'm a roving son
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
That I was born to be a ba  chelor
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
A A 
 
Althea told me, OK   that's fine
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E7 E7 
 
So now I'm trying to catch her
A A 
 
C#m C#m 
 
Can't talk to you without talking to me
D D 
 
A A 
 
We're guilty of the same old things
C#m C#m 
 
E E 
 
Thinking a lot about less and less
Bm Bm 
 
A A 
 
E E 
 
And forgetting the love we bring

Outro 1

Bm

A

E7

A

Bm

A

E7

[Repeat and fade]

How did you like the song?

5.0 (7)

You need to to leave a rating.

TunerE A D G B E

ChordsBm A E7 C#m D...

Chords

Bm
A
E7
C#m
D
E
G

Finger positions, low to high (E A D G B e). 0 is open, x is muted.

Bm: x-2-4-4-3-x
A: x-0-2-2-2-0
E7: 0-2-0-1-0-0
C#m: x-4-6-6-5-x
D: x-x-0-2-3-2
E: 0-2-2-1-0-0
G: 3-2-0-0-0-3

Capo: No capo

Transpose: 0

0

Accurately transcribed by the GuitarTuna team.

Most chord-change problems come from the strumming hand, not the fretting hand. The basic strumming course covers the patterns and timing that make any chord progression easier to play. Practice basic strumming

This is the definitive original version of Althea by Grateful Dead, transcribed exactly as it was recorded in the studio. Unlike our simplified arrangement, this chart preserves the precise chord voicings and progressions in the original key of A major. It suits players who want to learn Althea the way Grateful Dead intended, without oversimplifying the arrangement.

More songs by Grateful Dead

Discover chords for more songs to play

Friend Of The Devil

4.8

10.4K

Ripple

5.0

4.6K

Dire Wolf

3.8

1.4K

Brokedown Palace

5.0

1.2K

Brown-Eyed Woman

4.5

1.4K

Box Of Rain

5.0

1.3K

Uncle John's Band

4.8

2K

Related songs

Discover chords for more songs to play

Friend Of The DevilTabs

Grateful Dead

4.8

10.4K

Let It BeTabs

The Beatles

4.9

5.6M

7 Years

Lukas Graham

4.7

4.5M

ZombieTabs

The Cranberries

4.8

11.9M

I'm YoursTabs

Jason Mraz

4.8

5.4M

Ripple

Grateful Dead

5.0

4.6K

Drivers License

Olivia Rodrigo

4.8

4.7M

Popular chords globally

Most played chords & tabs across all users

1

Perfect

Ed Sheeran

4.8

48.7M

2

CreepTabs

Radiohead

4.9

29.4M

3

YellowTabs

Coldplay

4.8

17.9M

4

Boulevard Of Broken DreamsTabs

Green Day

4.8

12.5M

5

ZombieTabs

The Cranberries

4.8

11.9M

6

Wonderwall

Oasis

4.8

8.3M

7

Knockin' On Heaven's Door

Bob Dylan

4.8

6.4M

Recently added

Recently added chords & tabs

Dracula

Tame Impala

Stay Country Or Die Tryin’

Blake Shelton

Yo te necesito

Marca MP

5.0

92

Fast

Juice WRLD

5.0

29

Mr Red White And Blue

Coffey Anderson

20

Todo va estar bien

Barak

5.0

30

Station To Station

David Bowie

1.0

61