Let Her Go chords
by PassengerOriginal Published Key: G Major
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: 75 bpm
Guitar Tuning: E A D G B e
Skill Level: Beginner
Guitar Chords: G, C, D, Em, Bm, Dsus4
Play-Along Video & Chord Charts
Let Her Go
Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key Intro: 1. 2.
C D Em D C D Em D Em
| ♬♬‖: / / | / / | / / | / / :‖ ‖
C G
Chorus: Well you only need the light when it's burn-ing low
D Em
On-ly miss the sun when it starts to snow
C G D
On-ly know you love her when you let her go | | |
C G
On-ly know you've been high when you're feel-ing low
D Em
On-ly hate the road when you're mis-sing home
C G D
On-ly know you love her when you let her go | |
Em C D Bm Em C D Dsus4
And you let her go | - | - | - | / / |
Em C
1. Star-ing at the bot-tom of your glass
D Bm
Hop-ing one day you'll make a dream last
Em C D Dsus4
But dreams come slow and they go so fast | - |
Em C
You see her when you close your eyes
D Bm
May-be one day you'll un-der-stand why
Em C D Dsus4
Ev'-ry-thing you touch sure-ly dies | - |
C G
Chorus: But you on-ly need the light when it's burn-ing low
D Em
On-ly miss the sun when it starts to snow
C G D Dsus4
On-ly know you love her when you let her go | - |
C G
On-ly know you've been high when you're feel-ing low
D Em
On-ly hate the road when you're mis-sing home
C G D Dsus4
On-ly know you love her when you let her go | - |
Em C
2. Star-ing at the ceiling in the dark
D Bm
Same old emp-ty feel-ing in your heart
Em C D Dsus4
'Cause love comes slow and it goes so fast | - |
Em C
Well you see her when you fall a-sleep
D Bm
But ne-ver to touch and ne-ver to keep
Em C D Dsus4
'Cause you loved her too much and you dive too deep | - |
C G
Chorus: Well you only need the light when it's burn-ing low
D Em
On-ly miss the sun when it starts to snow
C G D Dsus4
On-ly know you love her when you let her go | - |
C G
On-ly know you've been high when you're feel-ing low
D Em
On-ly hate the road when you're mis-sing home
C G D Dsus4
On-ly know you love her when you let her go | - |
Em C D Dsus4
And you let her go... Oh oh oh... Oh | no - |
Em C D
And you let her go... Oh oh oh... Oh no
Em C D Bm Em C D Dsus4
Well you let her go | - | - | - | / / |
C G
Chorus: 'Cause you on-ly need the light when it's burn-ing low
D Em
On-ly miss the sun when it starts to snow
C G D Dsus4
On-ly know you love her when you let her go | - |
C G
On-ly know you've been high when you're feel-ing low
D Em
On-ly hate the road when you're mis-sing home
C G D Dsus4
On-ly know you love her when you let her go | - |
C G
Chorus: 'Cause you on-ly need the light when it's burn-ing low
D Em
On-ly miss the sun when it starts to snow
C G D
On-ly know you love her when you let her go | |
N.C.
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go...
Arrangement Details:
- Key Signature: G Major - 1 sharp (F#)
- Time Signature: 4/4 (four quarter-note beats per measure).
- Tempo: Moderately— Due to the tempo of the song, you would most likely count each bar as | 1& 2& 3& 4& |
- Metronome: q = 75 (q represents a quarter-note)
- Voice Range: D4 - E5
- Beginners: A good song for beginners to strum along to - a little harder if you want to replicate Passenger’s finger-picking technique. He uses a capo on the 7th fret and uses a slightly altered set of chords which compliments the sound very nicely.
If you're using a capo on the 7th fret, press 'C' on the Transposer — this will show the chord set: C, F, G, Am, Em, Gsus4. The actual sound remains in the key of G Major, and you'll be playing all open chords.
Just in case you're not familiar with Gsus4:
Gsus4: G-C-D 🎸 Frets Notes Fingers e|---3--- ← G 4th B|---3--- ← D 3rd G|---0--- ← G D|---0--- ← D A|---3--- ← C 2nd(1st) E|---3--- ← G 1st(2nd)
- Intro:
‖: :‖ denotes repeat marks.
On the first playthrough, play bars 1–4 (ending with Em–D).
Then go back to bar 1 and repeat bars 1–3.
Skip the 1st ending (bar 4), and instead play the 2nd ending, which ends cleanly on Em. - Timing Tip: The Intro might sound a little odd at first, but don’t worry — it falls into place once you get used to it. Just make sure you count the beats carefully as you play along with the video. Use a steady rhythm like:
1& 2& 3& 4& and the chords will line up naturally with the music. - Note: The song begins with a 4 sixteenth-note lead-in on the 4th beat before the first full bar. This is technically called an anacrusis — a note or series of notes that comes before the first complete bar of music. The pickup notes are: A – B – A – G.
- | C / / D | means you play the C chord for 3 beats and the D chord for 1 beat
- | Em / D / | means you play the Em chord for 2 beats and the D chord for 2 beats
- | Em – C | means you play Em for 2 beats and C for 2 beats. This could also be written as | Em / C / |
- N.C. represents 'No Chord'... vocals only.
Song Details:
- Songwriter: Mike Rosenberg (Passenger)
- Lyrics Begin: Well you only need the light when it's burning low, only miss the sun when it starts to snow, only know you love her when you let her go.
- Genre: Folk rock, soft rock
- Featured Artist: Passenger
- Album: All the Little Lights
Recorded: March 2011
Released: 24 February 2012 - Single:
Recorded: 2011
Released: 24 July 2012
