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

Key: A majorDifficulty: Intermediate

Intro 1

Gm

F

C7

F

Gm

F

C7

Gm

F

C7

F

Gm

F

C7

Verse 1
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
I told Althea I was feeling lost
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
Lacking in some direction
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
Althea told me upon scrutiny
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
That my  back might need protec tion
F F 
 
Am Am 
 
I told Althea that treachery
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
Was tearing me limb from limb
Am Am 
 
C C 
 
Althea told me, now cool down boy
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C C 
 
Settle back easy, Jim

Interlude 1

Gm

F

C7

F

Gm

F

C7

Gm

F

C7

F

Gm

F

C7

Verse 2
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
You may be Saturday's child all grown
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
Moving with a  pinch of grace
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
You may be a clown in the burying ground
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
Or just another pretty face
F F 
 
Am Am 
 
You may be the fate of Ophelia
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
Sleeping and perchance to dream
Am Am 
 
C C 
 
Honest to the point of recklessness
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C C 
 
Self-centred to the extreme

Interlude 2

Gm

F

C7

F

Gm

F

C7

Gm

F

C7

F

Gm

F

C7

Verse 3
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
Ain't nobody messin' with you but you
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
Your friends are getting most concerned
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
Loose with the truth, maybe its your fire
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
Baby don't get burned
F F 
 
Am Am 
 
When the smoke has cleared, she said
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
That's what she said to me
Am Am 
 
C C 
 
Gonna want a bed to lay your head
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C C 
 
And a little sympathy

Interlude 3

Gm

F

C7

F

Gm

F

C7

Gm

F

C7

F

Gm

F

C7

Bridge 1
Bb Bb 
 
Eb Eb 
 
There are things you can replace
C7 C7 
 
And others you cannot
Bb Bb 
 
Eb Eb 
 
The time has come to weigh those things
C7 C7 
 
This space is gettin' hot
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
You know this space is gettin' hot

Interlude 4

Gm

F

C7

F

Gm

F

C7

Gm

F

C7

F

Gm

F

C7

Verse 4
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
I told Althea, I'm a roving son
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
That I was born to be a ba  chelor
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
Althea told me, OK   that's fine
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C7 C7 
 
So now I'm trying to catch her
F F 
 
Am Am 
 
Can't talk to you without talking to me
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
We're guilty of the same old things
Am Am 
 
C C 
 
Thinking a lot about less and less
Gm Gm 
 
F F 
 
C C 
 
And forgetting the love we bring

Outro 1

Gm

F

C7

F

Gm

F

C7

[Repeat and fade]

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TunerE A D G B E

ChordsGm F C7 Am Bb...

Chords

Gm
F
C7
Am
Bb
C
Eb

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

Gm: 3-5-5-3-3-3
F: x-3-3-2-1-x
C7: x-3-2-3-1-x
Am: x-0-2-2-1-0
Bb: x-1-3-3-3-x
C: x-3-2-0-1-0
Eb: x-6-8-8-8-x

Capo: No capo

Transpose: 8

8

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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