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Royals

by Lorde • Lesson #5 • Nov 12, 2013

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About this lesson

Here’s an acoustic guitar lesson teaching the song Royals, from Lorde’s 2013 debut album. I’ll break down the song and explain how you only need 3 chords to play the entire thing. As always, I hope you find this helpful!

Guitar Chords Used

This song uses three chords: D, C, and G. They’re played in the same exact progression the entire time – with the exception of the verse, which can alternatively be played using only the D chord. Below, I show a few different ways you might approach playing the D-C-G chords – these different positions might help you mix it up a bit to add variety. Ultimately, do what works for you – you can be quite flexible with this song, as the vocals carry the bulk of the weight.

e-|---2---0---3---   ---2----3----3---   ---10----8-----3---
B-|---3---1---0---   ---3----3----3---   ---10----8-----3---
G-|---2---0---0---   ---2----0----0---   ---11----9-----4---
D-|---0---2---0---   ---0----2----0---   ---12----10----5---
A-|-------3---2---   --------3----2---   ---12----10----5---
E-|-----------3---   -------------3---   ---10----8-----3---
      D   C   G         D    C9   G         D     C     G

Switching Chords During the Verse?

On a guitar, you can get away with playing the verse using only the D chord, as shown in this video.

Alternatively, you could use the D-C-G progression for the entire song, as heard here:

Chord progressions

VERSE, v1
"I've never seen a diamond in the flesh..."
| D . . . | . . . . | . . . . | . . . . | (repeat)

VERSE, v2
"I've never seen a diamond in the flesh..."
| D . . . | . . . . | C . . . | G . . . | (repeat)

PRE-CHORUS
"But every song's like gold teeth, Grey Goose..."
| D . . . | . . . . | C . . . | G . . . | (repeat)

CHORUS
"And we'll never be royals..."
| D . . . | . . . . | C . . . | G . . . | (repeat)

BRIDGE
"Ohhh, We're bigger than we ever dreamed..."
| D . . . | . . . . | C . . . | G . . . | (repeat)

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Royals

About this lesson

Guitar Chords Used

Switching Chords During the Verse?

Chord progressions

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Browse Related Lessons

Enjoy My Lessons? Show Your Support!

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