Blue Skies chords

by Willie Nelson

Blue Skies was written by Irving Berlin in 1926
Willie Nelson's recording of the song became a No. 1 country music hit in 1978 from the album - Stardust
Recorded: December 3 - 12, 1977
Released: April 1978

Music: Key of B Minor in 4/4 time at 84 bpm (♩)
Chords: Bm, BmM7, Bm7, Bm6, D, A7, F#7, D, D(alt), Eb7/D, F#7/C#, F#, G7, Cm, CmM7 Cm7, Cm6, Eb, Bb7, Ab, Fm7
mM7 chords are minor major 7th chords - a root, a minor third, a perfect fifth and a major seventh.
They can also be written as mΔ7, −Δ7, mM7, m/M7, m(M7), minmaj7, m⑦, m♮7, m7+.
Level: Intermediate - lots of Jazzy chords

Blue Skies by Willie Nelson

The Relative Major Key of Bm is highlighted - Transpose to any other key.

 
               Bm   BmM7     Bm7   Bm6
Intro: 4/4 ‖:             |             :‖


          Bm        BmM7             Bm7
Chorus 1: Blue skies     smil-in' at me
       Bm6              D            A7        D      F#7
          Noth-in' but  blue___skies    do I | see -      |
          Bm        BmM7           Bm7
          Blue-birds    sing-in' a song
        Bm6             D            A7          D
          Noth-in' but  blue___skies    from now on

          D                  Eb7/D       D
Bridge: I ne-ver saw the sun shin-in' so bright
        Eb7/D        D          Eb7/D       D
        Ne-ver  saw  things___  go-in'  so  right
        D                   Eb7/D      D
        No-ti-cing the days hur-ry-ing by
        Eb7/D          D      Eb7/D           D   F#7/C#
        When you're in love___my    how they  fly by

          Bm         BmM7              Bm7
Chorus 2: Blue days,       all of them gone
        Bm6             D            A7            D     F#7
          Noth-in' but  blue___skies    from now | on -      |

Instr: Repeat Chorus 1 / Bridge / Chorus 2

         Bm           BmM7             Bm7
Chorus 3: Blue skies       smil-in' at me
        Bm6             D             A7        D      F#7
          Noth-in' but  blue___ skies    do I | see -      |
          Bm          BmM7            Bm7
          Blue days,      all of them gone
       Bm6              D            A7           D     F#  G7 
          Noth-in' but  blue___skies   from now | on /          |
                                                       (key change +1)

          Cm         CmM7               Cm7
Chorus 4: Blue skies___  smil-in'___ at me
        Cm6                Eb         Bb7          Eb     G7
          Noth-in'___ but  blue skies___ do I___ | see -      |
          Cm   CmM7                 Cm7
          Blue days,  all___ of them  gone
        Cm6             Eb          Bb7              Eb     G7 
          Noth-in' but  blue___skies___from now___ | on  -      |

          Cm   CmM7               Cm7
Chorus 4: Blue skies  smil-in' at me
      Cm6               Eb            Bb7        Eb     G7
          Noth-in' but  blue___ skies___ do I  | see -      |
          Cm   CmM7                 Cm7      Cm6 
          Blue days,  all of them | gone  -       |
                        Eb        Bb7          Ab    Fm7    Eb
          Noth-in' but  blue skies    from now on  |     |      |...

Key, note & chord transposition chart
Reading the Song Charts - a closer look at reading the charts on this site
Sheet Music at MusicNotes.Com - Various Scores

Chord Charts 🗝 Bm & Cm

Numbered Circles: Fingers used to play chords O: Optional Note
Barre Line: One finger holds down multiple strings R: Root Note
Unmarked strings: Play open X: Don't play string B: Bass Note

Right Handed Charts:

Notes:

Many chords are played in a jazz-like fashion whereby some typical barre chords are played open using a mini-barre and omitting strings 5 & 6 or 1 & 6.

You don't have to play the jazz version of these chords, but if you want to sound like the recording, it is worth the extra effort to learn these chords and add to your chord repertoire.

Learn all the chords first before playing, as the song moves along at a fair pace in relation to chord changes.

Left Handed Charts: