True Colors chords

by Cyndi Lauper
  • True Colors was written by Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg.
  • Recorded: March 3rd, 1986
  • Released: July 25th, 1986 from the album of the same name.
  • Producers: Cyndi Lauper, Lennie Petze
  • Music: Key of A Minor in 4/4 time at 85 bpm (♩)
  • Chords: Am, G, C, CaddG, Dm, Dsus4, F
Thumbnail
Chord Chart Legend
Am Am7 G major F major F major barre C major CaddG Dm Dsus4
Am Am7 G major F major F major barre C major CaddG Dm Dsus4

True Colors

The Relative Major Key of Am is highlighted - Transpose to any other key.
 
               Am     G     C     F     Am     G     C     F
Intro: 4/4  ‖      -     |     -     |      -     |     -     ‖

                Am  G       C            F
1. You with the sad eyes    Don't be  dis-cour-aged
        C     F           Am           G
   Oh I rea - lize    Its hard to take cour-age
        C             Dm             C              F
   In a world full of peo-ple    You can lose sight of it all
           Am           G                        F       C
   And the dark-ness in-side you    Can make you feel so small

                       F    C       G
Chorus: But I see your true col-ors shin-ing through
                   F    C              F            G
        I see your true col-ors    And that's why I love you
           F          C        F        Am
        So don't be a-fraid to let them show
             F    C          F    C
        Your true col-ors    True col-ors
            G                      Am     G    C     F    Am     G    C     F
        Are beau-ti-ful    Like a |rain-bow  |    -     |     -     |    -     |

          Am     G     C     F     Am     G     C     F
       ‖     -      |     -     |      -     |     -     ‖

             Am    G       C           F
2. Show me a smile then    Don't be un-happy
               C         F         Am           G
   Can't  re - mem - ber when    I last saw you laugh-ing
      C                    Dm                   C              F
   If this world makes you cra-zy    And you've tak-en all you can bear
       Am      G                  F            C
   You call me up    Be-cause you know I'll be there

                          F    C       G
Chorus: And I’ll see your true col-ors shin-ing through
                   F    C              F            G
        I see your true col-ors    And that's why I love you
           F          C        F        Am
        So don't be a-fraid to let them show
             F    C          F    C
        Your true col-ors    True col-ors
            G                      Am     G    C     F    Am     G    C     F
        Are beau-ti-ful    Like a |rain-bow  |    -     |     -     |    -     |
               
       Am    C    Am    C    Dsus4    Dm    Am      G
    ‖     -    |     -    |        -     |      -     ‖ 
                              (I  can’t   re-mem-ber when I last saw you laugh-ing...)

   C                   Dm                   C              F
3. If this world makes you cra-zy    You've ta-ken all you can bear
       Am      G                  F            C
   You call me up    Be-cause you know I'll be there

                          F    C       G
Chorus: And I’ll see your true col-ors shi-ning through
                   F    C              F            G
        I see your true col-ors    And that's why I love you
           F          C        F      Am
        So don't be a-fraid to let it show
             F    C          F    C
        Your true col-ors    True col-ors 
        F    C           G   
        True col-ors are shin-ing through
                   F    C              F            G
        I see your true col-ors    And that's why I love you
           F           C       F        Am
        So don't be a-fraid to let them show
             F    C          F    C
        Your true col-ors    True col-ors 
            G                                Am    G     C      F
        Are beau-ti-ful    Like a rain-bow ‖    -     |     -   𝄑  ‖... Drums

Notes:

  • Level Of Ease: Fairly - I have kept this version as simple as possible so that beginners can play as well.
  • Song Key: A Minor... no sharps or flats (relative minor of C Major)
  • The standard chord progression for A minor: Am - Bdim - C - Dm - Em - F - G . It's always interesting to look at the chords used in any song. All the chords in this song follow the standard chord progression for A minor, with some added 'usable' chords, i.e., CaddG and Dsus4.
  • On the 2nd line of verses 1 and 2, you can replace C with CaddG which is simply a C chord with an added 5th or G (1st string, 3rd fret).
  • Dsus4 is usually played with fingers 1, 3 and 4. In this song try playing the chord with fingers 2, 3 and 4 because the Dm follows the Dsus4 closely - simply take your pinkie off the 1st string (3rd fret) and add your index finger to the 1st string (1st fret) to play the Dm... very easy.
  • The hyphen between two chords simply means that the 2 chords share the bar equally. In this case the bar has 4 beats, so each chord will be played for 2 beats of the bar, e.g., | Am - G | means you play the Am for 2 beats and the G for 2 beats.
  • The fermata or pause symbol over the last chord of this song means the note is held for a duration that is left up to the discretion of the performer. You may want to stop abruptly or keep the chord hanging and let it fade naturally like the video, or you may want to play the chord for a few bars... the choice is yours.
  • You can replace the Am with an Am7 if you want.

Songs by Cyndi Lauper on this site:
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