How to Play Fearless Chords by Pink Floyd on Guitar

Fearless is a song by the legendary British rock band Pink Floyd, from their sixth studio album Meddle, released in 1971. The song features acoustic guitar, slide guitar, and vocals by David Gilmour, as well as a sample of the Liverpool F.C. fans singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” at the end. The lyrics, written by Roger Waters, are about overcoming fear and being confident in one’s own way.

If you want to learn how to play Fearless by Pink Floyd on guitar, here are some tips and resources that can help you.

Chords

The song is in the key of G major and uses mainly open chords. The chords are G, C, Bb, A, and D. You can also add some embellishments to the chords, such as adding an E note to the C chord or playing a Dsus4 instead of a D. Here are the chord diagrams for the song:

[Intro]
D A Em G x2
 
[Verse 1]
D
  There's something 'bout the way
A                                 Em
  The street looks when it's just rained
                       G
There's a glow off the pavement
               D
Walk me to the car
                     A                      Em
And you know I wanna ask you to dance right there
                     G
In the middle of the parking lot
 
     D A    Em  G
Yeah     Oh yeah
 
D
  We're drivin' down the road
A                 Em
  I wonder if you know
                   G
I'm trying so hard not to get caught up now
D
  But you're just so cool
A                           Em
Run your hands through your hair
                G         A
Absent-mindedly making me want you
 
[Chorus]
D                      A                   Em
  And I don't know how it gets better than this
                             G           A
You take my hand and drag me head first, fearless
D                      A                Em
  And I don't know why but with you I'd dance
                 G           A
In a storm in my best dress, fearless
 
[Instrumental]
D A Em G
 
[Verse 2]
D                   A                   Em
  So baby drive slow till we run out of road
                  G
In this one horse town
                   D
I wanna stay right here 
                      A                      Em
in this passenger seat you put your eyes on me
                   G N.C.       A N.C.
In this moment now capture it remember it
 
[Chorus]
D                        A                   Em
  Cause I don't know how it gets better than this
                             G           A
You take my hand and drag me head first, fearless
D                      A                Em
  And I don't know why but with you I'd dance
                 G           A
In a storm in my best dress, fearless
 
[Solo]
Em G D A x2
 
[Bridge]
Cadd9                       D
 Well, you stood there with me in the doorway
    Em                D          G       A
my hands shake and I'm not usually this way but
Cadd9                      D
  you pull me in and I'm a little more brave
        Em               D                G       A
It's a first kiss, it's flawless, really something
          D   A
It's fearless
Em     G
Ohh..  yeah
 
[Chorus]
D                      A                   Em
  And I don't know how it gets better than this
                             G           A
You take my hand and drag me head first, fearless
D                      A                Em
  And I don't know why but with you I'd dance
                 G           A
In a storm in my best dress, fearless
 
D                      A                   Em
  And I don't know how it gets better than this
                             G           A
You take my hand and drag me head first, fearless
D                      A                Em
  And I don't know why but with you I'd dance
                 G           A
In a storm in my best dress, fearless
 
[Outro]
D      A      Em   G
  Woah-oh, oh yeah 

Strumming

The strumming pattern for the song is fairly simple and consistent throughout. You can use a down-up-down-up-down-up-down-up pattern for each chord, or vary it slightly depending on the feel of the song. The main thing is to keep a steady rhythm and accentuate the first and third beats of each measure. Here is an example of the strumming pattern for the first verse:

G C Bb Bb D U D U D U D U | D U D U D U D U | D U D U D U D U | D U D U D U D U |

You can also add some palm muting or percussive strums to create some dynamics and contrast in the song.

Slide Guitar

One of the distinctive features of Fearless is the slide guitar part played by David Gilmour. The slide guitar adds some melody and texture to the song, as well as some bluesy and psychedelic vibes. The slide guitar is played in open G tuning, which means you have to tune your guitar strings from low to high as follows:

D G D G B D

You also need a metal or glass slide that you can wear on your ring or pinky finger. The slide guitar part mainly follows the chord progression of the song, but also adds some notes from the G major pentatonic scale. Here is an example of the slide guitar part for the first verse:

e|—————–|—————–|—————–|—————–| B|—————–|—————–|—————–|—————–| G|—————–|—————–|—————–|—————–| D|-0/5–5/7–7/9—|-9/12–12/14–14-|-0/5–5/7–7/9—|-9/12–12/14–14-| G|-0/5–5/7–7/9—|-9/12–12/14–14-|-0/5–5/7–7/9—|-9/12–12/14–14-| D|-0/5–5/7–7/9—|-9/12–12/14–14-|-0/5–5/7–7/9—|-9/12–12/14–14-|

The slide guitar part also includes some bends, vibratos, and harmonics to create some expression and variation. You can listen to the original recording or watch some tutorials online to get a better idea of how to play the slide guitar part.

Conclusion

Fearless by Pink Floyd is a beautiful and inspiring song that you can learn how to play on guitar with some practice and patience. You need to know some basic chords, strumming patterns, and slide guitar techniques to play the song. You can also use a capo to make the chords easier or experiment with different tunings and embellishments to make the song your own. Fearless is a song that encourages you to be yourself and face your fears with courage and confidence.