Althea chords by
Grateful Dead (Official Version)
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1980Rock1.6K views

Key: A majorDifficulty: Intermediate

Intro 1

Cm

Bb

F7

Bb

Cm

Bb

F7

Cm

Bb

F7

Bb

Cm

Bb

F7

Verse 1
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
Bb Bb 
 
I told Althea I was feeling lost
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
Lacking in some direction
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
Bb Bb 
 
Althea told me  upon scrutiny
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
That my  back might need protec tion
Bb Bb 
 
Dm Dm 
 
I told Althea that treachery
Eb Eb 
 
Bb Bb 
 
Was tearing me limb from limb
Dm Dm 
 
F F 
 
Althea told me, now cool down boy
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
Settle back easy, Jim

Interlude 1

Cm

Bb

F7

Bb

Cm

Bb

F7

Cm

Bb

F7

Bb

Cm

Bb

F7

Verse 2
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
Bb Bb 
 
You may be Saturday's child all grown
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
Moving with a   pinch of grace
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
Bb Bb 
 
You may be a clown in the burying ground
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
Or just another  pretty face
Bb Bb 
 
Dm Dm 
 
You may be the fate of Ophelia
Eb Eb 
 
Bb Bb 
 
Sleeping and perchance to dream
Dm Dm 
 
F F 
 
Honest to the point of recklessness
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
Self-centred to the extreme

Interlude 2

Cm

Bb

F7

Bb

Cm

Bb

F7

Cm

Bb

F7

Bb

Cm

Bb

F7

Verse 3
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
Bb Bb 
 
Ain't nobody messin' with you but you
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
Your friends are getting most concerned
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
Bb Bb 
 
Loose with the truth, maybe its your fire
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
Baby don't get burned
Bb Bb 
 
Dm Dm 
 
When the smoke has cleared, she said
Eb Eb 
 
Bb Bb 
 
That's what she said to me
Dm Dm 
 
F F 
 
Gonna want a bed to lay your head
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
And a little sympathy

Interlude 3

Cm

Bb

F7

Bb

Cm

Bb

F7

Cm

Bb

F7

Bb

Cm

Bb

F7

Bridge 1
Eb Eb 
 
Ab Ab 
 
There are things you can replace
F7 F7 
 
And others you cannot
Eb Eb 
 
Ab Ab 
 
The time has come to weigh those things
F7 F7 
 
This space is gettin' hot
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
You know this space is gettin' hot

Interlude 4

Cm

Bb

F7

Bb

Cm

Bb

F7

Cm

Bb

F7

Bb

Cm

Bb

F7

Verse 4
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
Bb Bb 
 
I told Althea, I'm a roving son
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
That I was born to be a ba  chelor
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
Bb Bb 
 
Althea told me, OK   that's fine
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F7 F7 
 
So now I'm trying to catch her
Bb Bb 
 
Dm Dm 
 
Can't talk to you without talking to me
Eb Eb 
 
Bb Bb 
 
We're guilty of the same old things
Dm Dm 
 
F F 
 
Thinking a lot about less and less
Cm Cm 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
And forgetting the love we bring

Outro 1

Cm

Bb

F7

Bb

Cm

Bb

F7

[Repeat and fade]

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TunerE A D G B E

ChordsCm Bb F7 Dm Eb...

Chords

Cm
Bb
F7
Dm
Eb
F
Ab

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

Cm: x-3-5-5-4-x
Bb: x-1-3-3-3-x
F7: 1-3-1-2-1-1
Dm: x-x-0-2-3-1
Eb: x-6-8-8-8-x
F: x-3-3-2-1-x
Ab: 4-6-6-5-4-4

Capo: No capo

Transpose: 1

1

Accurately transcribed by the GuitarTuna team.

F is one of the chords beginners ask about the most. A short walkthrough on how to fret it cleanly and switch in and out of it. Learn the F chord

Barre chords ask a lot of the fretting hand. The barre course walks through hand position, pressure, and the cleanest way to land each shape. Practice barre chords

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 is designed for guitarists ready to move past the basics and capture the true feel of Grateful Dead's performance.

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