White Queen (As it Began)
Words and music by Brian May
Piano Chords Transcribed by Shane McDonald : (shanemcd@shanemcdonald.org)
* Piano Riff 1
The main guitar riff at the start has been transcribed note by note for piano, please refer to the chords which are made up from these notes, highlighted by the * .
Play each note individually.
Am : E C E B E AAm7/G : E C E B E A
Fmaj7 -> F7 : E A D A C A Eb C B EE : E A EIntroduction
G D D Em G D D Em So sad her eyes smiling dark eyes
G D D Em G D D Am * Am7/G Fmaj7 -> F7 E
So sad her eyes as it began
Verses
Am *
On such a breathless night as this
Am7/G Upon my brow the lightest kiss
Fmaj7 -> F7 E I walked alone
Am *
And all around the air did sway
Am7/G My lady soon will stir this way
Fmaj7 -> F7 E In sorrow known
Am G The white queen walks
C G/B Am And the night grows pale
D Am D Stars of lovingness in her hair
G D D Em G D D Em Heeding un-heard pleading one word
G D D Em G D D Am *
So sad my eyes she cannot see
Am *
How did thee fare what have thee seen
Am7/G The mother of the willow green
Fmaj7 -> F7 E I call her name
Am *
And 'neath her window have I stayed
Am7/G I loved the footsteps that she made
Fmaj7 -> F7 E And when she came
A Dm F7 White queen how my heart did ache
Bb Esus4 E And dry my lips no word would make
Am So still I wait
Instrumental : Continues using the Riff Am * Am7/G Fmaj7 -> F7 E
(about 3 times while the accoustic guitar plays)
Electric Guitar section : G D D Em G D D Em
Solo Bit (Chords) : C G/B F/A C/G Bb Esus4 E7
Am G My goddess hear my darkest fear
C G/B Am I speak too late
D Am D A It's for evermore that I wait
G D D Em Dear friend goodbye
G D D Em No tears in my eyes
G D D Em So sad it ends
G D D Em As it began
About White Queen, As it Began
White Queen, As it Began is from the album Queen II which was Queen’s second album. Queen II was released in the UK on 8 March 1974 by EMI Records and in the US was released by Elektra Records. Queen II was recorded at Trident Studios from February to August 1973. Although Queen II is not a prog rock or concept album it does have an element or theme running through the album. The interesting thing about Queen II is that the two sides of the original album were labelled as Black and White sides.
White Queen (As it began) was written By Brian May in 1968, before Queen even existed. Apparently the song was inspired by a novel called The White Goddess by Robert Graves. Brian also had a crush on a woman who was a muse for this song. “White Queen” was performed regularly during the early days of Queen between 1974 and 1977. White Queen was last performed in London in 1978. It is actually played on a guitar, a Hairfred acoustic guitar to be exact, but the layout of the specific guitar meant the strings produce a buzzing effect almost like that of a sitar or other ethnic stringed instruments, giving the song a etherial quality.
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- Song Difficulty to Learn / Play 74%
The higher the number the more difficult the song is to learn or play.
