The Show Must Go On

Words and music by Queen

Chords Transcribed by Shane McDonald

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Performance Notes : The intro and the chords in the song all have a similar pattern.
For Example the Bm chord if played as Bm   Bmsus2   Bmsus4   Bm.
The pattern for the chords is simply that each chord variation is played 4 times.

The riffs are noted as * - so if you see Bm* play the Bm Riff below

Bm*	: Bm	Bmsus2	Bmsus4	Bm
G*	: G	Gdim	G6	G
Em*	: G/E	Gdim/E
F#*	: F#sus4  F#
C#m*	: C#m	C#msus2	C#sus4	C#m
A*	: A	Adim	A6	A
F#m*	: A/F#	Adim/F#
G#*	: G#sus4  G#

Intro : Bm*    G*   Em*    F#*   Em   Edim

      Bm*
Empty spaces, what are we living for?
	  G*
Abandoned places, I guess we know the score.
Em* 	        F#* 	                    Em        Edim 
On and on, does anybody know what we are looking for?
       Bm*	
Another hero, another mindless crime,
	   G*
Behind the curtain, in the pantomime,
Em*	            F#*	              Em     Edim
Hold the line, does anybody want to take it anymore?

	         Bm*
The show must go on,
	         G*
The show must go on.
  Em*
Inside my heart is breaking,
  F#*
My make-up may be flaking,
       Em  Edim          Bm	
But my smile still stays on.

         C#m*
Whatever happens, I'll leave it all to chance,
        A*
Another heartache, another failed romance.
F#m*	        G#*	                 F#m      F#dim
On and on, does anybody know what we are living for?
            C#m*
I guess I'm learning I must be warmer now,
	     A*
I'll soon be turning round the corner now,
  F#m*   	                  G#*	                      F#m      F#dim   Em
Outside the dawn is breaking, but inside in the dark I'm aching to be free.

	         Bm*
The show must go on,
	         G*
The show must go on.
   Em*
Inside my heart is breaking,
    F#m*
My make-up may be flaking,
       Em  Edim          Bm
But my smile still stays on.

Guitar Solo Chords : Bm*   G*   Em*   F#m*   Em Edim

F	    G	            Em	          Am  Am/G
My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies,
F	         G	      Em	     Am
Fairy-tales of yesterday will grow and never die,
      Edim    Dsus4 ``````` D
I can fly, my friends.

	         Bm*
The show must go on,
	         G*
The show must go on.
     Em*                     F#m*		       Em  Edim	Bm*   G*
I'll face it with a grin, I'm never giving in, on with show.
     Em*		                 F#m*		              Em  Em7	 Edim
I'll top the bill I'll overkill I have to find the will to carry on, with  the  show
         
with the show....	
                               Bm 
         .... The show must go on 

Outro : The words "Go On" is sampled and repeated to fade

Related Pages

How to Play Piano Chords

Full List of Piano Chords – The Chordmap

Full List of Basic Chords for Guitar