Spooky Girlfriend Chords

KeyF#m CapoNone TuningStandard Difficulty Plays425

Spooky Girlfriend by Elvis Costello is a moderately challenging guitar song played in the key of F#m. It uses the chords F#m, C#7, A, D and E. Use the transpose and diagram tools on this page to change the key, see each shape, or simplify the chords.

Transpose
F#m
Text
16
Speed
  			Many of the chords are implicit. 
 
F#m C#7 x2 
 
F#m              C#7 
I want a girl to make a mess 
F#m                A 
To do no wrong she must confess 
F#m                    C#7 
And then perhaps hitch up her dress 
D             A            E 
'Cos when the flashbulbs explode 
D            A         E 
She's such a sensitive soul... 
 
F#m C#7 x2 
 
F#m                  C#7 
I want a girl who is helpless and frail 
F#m                  A 
Who won't pull on my ponytail 
F#m               C#7 
I want a girl who has no past 
F#m 
She's made up now 
    A 
But that won't last 
D             A          E 
'Cos when she sits on my knee 
D            A           E 
And then she whispers to me 
 
           F#m 
"Can't you see 
I could be 
        C#7 
I could be 
            F#m         C#7 
Your spooky girlfriend" 
         F#m 
"I could be 
        C#7 
I could be     
            F#m          C#7 
Your spooky girlfriend" 
 
F#m C#7 x2 
 
The broken toys are all scattered in the attic 
And the newspapers play with the words of the fanatic 
And the greeting cards are your most poetic lyric 
And the flat champagne is the sweet sugar syrup 
 
F#m C#7 
 
I want to paint you with glitter and with dirt 
Picture you with innocence and hurt 
The shutter closes 
Exposes the shot 
she says, "Are you looking up my skirt?" 
When you say "No" 
She says "Why not?" 
 
I want a girl to turn my screw 
To wind my watch, to buckle my shoe 
And if she won't her mother will do 
Cause when she does as she's told 
We'll all turn platinum and gold 
 
But when she sits on my knee 
I hear her whispers to me 
"Can't you see? 
"I could be your spooky girlfriend" (repeat with F#m C#7 and vocal harmonies) 

    	

Chord diagrams

Guitar tuner

--
Start the tuner and play a string

Reference tones

Standard tuning, lowest to highest. Click a string to play it; the string the mic hears is highlighted.

Click Start tuner and allow microphone access. The needle centers and turns green when a string is in tune (within 5 cents).
No microphone? You can still tap any string above to hear its exact reference pitch.

Metronome

100 BPM Andante