Copacabana (at the copa) chords

by Barry Manilow

Song Key: Bb Major

Time Signature: 4/4

Tempo: 122 bpm

Guitar Tuning: E A D G B e

Skill Level: Intermediate 🟠

Guitar Chords: Bb11, Bb7, Bb7/F, Bbm9, Bm9, C7, C9, C11, Cm7, Cdim7, Cm9, D7b9, Dbm9, D7, D7/F#, Dm, Dm9, Ebmaj7, Fm7, Fm9, F#m9, Gm, Gm7, GmM7, Gm6, Gm9, Abm9, Am7b5, Am9

Play-Along Video
R-H Chord Charts Chord Chart Legend
Fm7 Bb11 C11 Ebmaj7 Am7b5 D7 Gm(maj7) Gm7 Gm6 Cdim7 D7b9 Gm Cm7 Dm D7/F# Bb7/F Bb7 C7 C9
L-H Chord Charts Lefties Chord Chart Legend
Fm7-LH Bb11-LH C11-LH Ebmaj7-LH Am7b5-LH D7-LH Gm(maj7)-LH Gm7-LH Gm6-LH Cdim7-LH D7b9-LH Gm-LH Cm7-LH Dm-LH D7/F#-LH Bb7/F-LH Bb7-LH C7-LH C9-LH
Speed: x0.1

Copacabana

Intro: 4/4 | Percussion |      %      |      %      |      %      |
      
          Gm9     F#m9    Fm9     F#m9    Gm9      F#m9    Fm9     F#m9
Timing: | 1+2+3+4 +     | 1+2+3+4 +     | 1+2+3+4  +     | 1+2+3+4 +     |
                
          Gm9     F#m9    Fm9     F#m9    Gm9      F#m9    Fm9   F#m9  Gm9
        | 1+2+3+4 +     | 1+2+3+4 +     | 1+2+3+4  +     | 1+    2     +  3 + 4 +  |
                                                                       (Her name was)

                Fm7  Bb11          Ebmaj7
1. Her name was Lo-la    She was a show-girl
               Am7b5            D7         GmM7       Gm7     Gm6
   With yellow feath-ers in her hair and a dress  cut down to there
                 Fm7   Bb11           Ebmaj7
   She would mer-en-gue    And do the Cha - Cha
                 Am7b5         D7            Gm7
   And while she tried to be a star    To-ny al-ways tend-ed bar
               Cdim7    Gm                      Cdim7   D7b9  Gm
   A-cross the crowd-ed floor, they worked from eight   to    four
             Cm7                     D7                  Gm   D7/F#  Bb7/F
   They were young and they had each oth-er    Who could ask  for    more?


               Fm7      Bb11                Ebmaj7
Chorus: At the Co - pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na (Copacabana)
            Fm7           Bb11          Ebmaj7
        The hot-test spot north of Ha - va - na (here)
        C11  C7   Fm7    Bb11                C11   C7
        At   the  Co-pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba  - na
        Fm7        Bb7           Cm7        C9
        Mu-sic and pas-sion were al-ways in fash-ion
               Fm7    D7b9                Gm9   F#m9  
        At the Co - pa.... they fell in | love (Co-pa) |
        Fm9      F#m9    Gm9     F#m9    Fm9  F#m9  Gm9
      |    Co-pa-ca  - | ba - na       |               (His name was) |


                Fm7  Bb11          Ebmaj7
2. His name was Ri-co    He wore a dia-mond
             Am7b5          D7             GmM7      Gm7       Gm6
   He was es-cort-ed to his chair, he saw  Lo-la     danc-ing  there
                Fm7      Bb11              Ebmaj7
   And when she fin-ished    He called her o-ver
             Am7b5             D7           Gm7
   But Ri-co went  a  bit  too far    To-ny sailed a-cross the bar
                Cdim7    Gm                   Cdim7    D7b9  Gm
   And then the punch-es flew and chairs were smashed  in    two
             Cm7                D7                   Gm    D7/F#  Bb7/F
   There was blood and a single gun shot    But just who   shot   who?


               Fm7      Bb11                Ebmaj7
Chorus: At the Co - pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na (Copacabana)
            Fm7           Bb11          Ebmaj7
        The hot-test spot north of Ha - va - na (here)
        C11  C7   Fm7    Bb11                C11   C7
        At   the  Co-pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba -  na
        Fm7        Bb7           Cm7        C9
        Mu-sic and pas-sion were al-ways in fash-ion
               Fm7     D7b9               Gm9   F#m9
        At the Co - pa.... she lost her | love (Co-pa) |
        Fm9      F#m9    Gm9     F#m9    Fm9  F#m9  Gm9
      |    Co-pa-ca  - | ba - na       |                |


           Gm9         Abm9      Am9  Bbm9
Interlude: Co-pa       Co - pa - ca - ba - na
                  Bm9     Cm9     Dbm9
           Co  -  pa  -   ca  - | ba   - na |       
     Dbm9     Cm9  Bm9   Bbm9          Am9    Abm9   Gm9     F#m9
   |       Mu-sic  and | pas-sion | Al-ways   in   | fash  - ion...|


         Gm9    F#m9   Fm9    F#m9   Gm9    F#m9   Fm9  F#m9  Gm9   
Instr: |     -       |     -       |     -       |                |
                                                             (Her name is)

               Fm7  Bb11          Ebmaj7
3. Her name is Lo-la    She was a show-girl,
                Am7b5           D7             GmM7      Gm7    Gm6
   But that was thir-ty years a-go, when they  used  to  have a show
              Fm7   Bb11             Ebmaj7
   Now it's a dis-co    But not for  Lo - la,
            Am7b5             D7             Gm7
   Still in dress she used to wear    Fad-ed feath-ers in her hair
                     Cdim7    Gm                    Cdim7  D7b9   Gm
   She  sits  there  so  re - fined, and drinks her-self   half - blind
                Cm7                    D7                 Gm    D7/F#  Bb7/F
   She lost her youth and she lost her To-ny    Now she's lost  her    mind


               Fm7      Bb11                Ebmaj7
Chorus: At the Co - pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na (Copacabana)
            Fm7           Bb11          Ebmaj7
        The hot-test spot north of Ha - va - na (here)
        C11  C7   Fm7    Bb11                C11  C7
        At   the  Co-pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na
        Fm7        Bb7           Cm7        C9
        Mu-sic and pas-sion were al-ways in fash-ion
               Fm7     D7b9                     Gm9      F#m9 
        At the Co - pa....      don't fall in | love (Co-pa) |
        Fm9      F#m9    Gm9     F#m9     Fm9  F#m9  Gm9 
      |    Co-pa-ca  - | ba - na       |                  |


               Fm7     Bb11                 Ebmaj7
Chorus: At the Co - pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na (Copacabana)
            Fm7           Bb11          Ebmaj7
        The hot-test spot north of Ha - va - na (here)
        C11  C7   Fm7    Bb11                C11  C7
        At   the  Co-pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na
        Fm7        Bb7           Cm7        C9
        Mu-sic and pas-sion were al-ways in fash-ion
               Fm7     D7b9 
        At the Co - pa....


               Fm7      Bb11                Ebmaj7
Chorus: At the Co - pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na (Copacabana)
            Fm7           Bb11          Ebmaj7
        The hot-test spot north of Ha - va - na (here)
        C11  C7   Fm7    Bb11                C11  C7
        At   the  Co-pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na  
        Fm7        Bb7           Cm7        C9
        Mu-sic and pas-sion were al-ways in fash-ion 
               Fm7     D7b9                Gm9   F#m9
        At the Co - pa.... don't fall in | love (Co-pa) |
     Fm9                F#m9   Gm9     F#m9
   |    Don't  fall   in     | love          |         
     Fm9          F#m9   Gm9      F#m9   Fm9  F#m9  Gm9
   |   (Co - pa - ca - | ba - na)      |             𝄐   |

Arrangement Details:

  • Key Signature: Bb Major - 2 flats (Bb, Eb)
  • Time Signature: 4/4 — Four quarter-note beats per measure
  • Tempo: Latin Feel
  • Metronome: ♩ = 122
  • Voice Range: A3 - A5

m9 chords made easy

The m9 chords all share the same barre chord shape, and are determined by the root note on the 6th string, e.g. if you barre the 3rd fret - the 6th string on the 3rd fret is G, therefore you are playing Gm9. The same principle applies to all the m9 chords here. There are 9 x minor 9th chords in total - once you can play one, you can play them all.

                    (Root-Note)
     Right Handers     Fret   Chord      Left Handers 
   e |-1-|---|-4-|       1    Fm9       |-4-|---|-1-| e
   B |-1-|---|---|       2    F#m9      |---|---|-1-| B
   G |-1-|---|---|       3    Gm9       |---|---|-1-| G
   D |-1-|---|---|       4    Abm9      |---|---|-1-| D
   A |-1-|---|-3-|       5    Am9       |-3-|---|-1-| A
   E |-1-|---|---|       6    Bbm9      |---|---|-1-| E
     Root                7    Bm9                Root 
     Note                8    Cm9                Note
     Fret                9    Dbm9               Fret

Mastering Complex Chords: Tips for Smooth Transitions

This song is very 'chord heavy', but don't be put off. Once you learn them, you will see certain patterns emerging making the process a whole lot easier.

  • The transition from GmM7 → Gm7 → Gm6 is very easy with the same barre position on the 3rd fret with simple alterations on the other strings. GmM7 can also be written as Gm(maj7).
  • Am7b5 is a half diminished 7th chord (formula 1-♭3-♭5-♭7).
    In this song the transition is always Am7b5 to D7. An easy way to remember the Am7b5, is to think of the D7 shape and play it with fingers 2, 3 and 4, except you will slide your pinkie (4th finger) on the 3rd fret (instead of 2nd fret) and add your first finger to the 4th string - first fret. When you play the D7 after it, you simply slide your pinkie back to the 2nd fret and take your 1st finger off the 4th string - and there you have it - D7. Try it... very easy. 😕
  • 11th chords:
    B♭11 can be played exactly the same way as C11 except on a different fret, although the alternative option for B♭11 (x11114) is effective... the choice is yours.
  • Gm (355333) → D7/F# (xx4535) → Bb7/F (xx3334)
    This transition occurs at the end of each verse. Simply hold the barre in place on the 3rd fret for all 3 chords. Play Gm then make the necessary adjustments for the other 2 chords making sure you don't hit the bottom 2 strings when you play D7/F# and Bb7/F.
  • dim7 chords:
    The shape stays the same - you just have to know which fret to start on... in this case, the Cdim7 is played on the 1st fret, although you can play it in many different positions. With this shape, as long as one of your 4 fingers is playing a C note, you are playing a Cdim7, or one of its inversions. It can also be played starting on the 4th, 8th and 10th frets. So why the 1st fret?

    The transition from Cdim7 starting on the 1st fret → D7b9 starting on the 4th fret is more in keeping with the dynamics of the song. If you were to play the Cdim7 starting on the 4th fret, it is almost the same as D7b9 with the addition of 1 note (sounding almost identical)... there needs to be a more significant change in the sound between the 2 chords, hence playing the Cdim7 starting on the 1st fret. If you do find the transition a little difficult, you can play both these chords as a Cdim7 starting on the 4th fret.
  • The video fades out towards the end. I have included an ending just in case.
  • If you transpose the song and come back to the original key, you may find some chords replaced with their enharmonic equivalents, e.g.,  F#m9 replaced with Gbm9 etc. To see the original chords, simply refresh the page.
  • Take the time to master this song, as it will unlock a new set of chords, elevate your playing to the next level, and you'll have a lot of fun in the process.
  • Take it slow. Begin by breaking the song up into sections and learn each set of chords accordingly. Slowly piece the sections together until you can play along with the video effortlessly... when you can do that, you need to give yourself a big pat on the back because this song is fairly 'trying' to say the least... good luck. Happy Quarter-Note

Song Details:

Album Cover
Album Cover
  • Composer: Barry Manilow
  • Lyricists: Bruce Sussman, Jack Feldman
  • Lyrics Begin: Her name was Lola; she was a showgirl with yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there.
  • Genre: Rockabilly
  • Featured Artist: Barry Manilow
  • Album: Even Now
    Recorded: July - November 1977
    Released: February 1978
  • Single:
    Recorded: 1978
    Released: June 1978 (U.S.), 1993 (UK, Australia)
    B-side: A Linda Song
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