How to Play Long Long Time Chords by Linda Ronstadt on Guitar

“Long Long Time” is a classic song by American singer Linda Ronstadt, released in 1970 as the third single from her album Silk Purse. The song was written by Gary White and features a beautiful melody and heartfelt lyrics about unrequited love. It is one of Ronstadt’s most popular songs and has been covered by many artists, such as Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, and Alison Krauss.

If you want to learn how to play “Long Long Time” by Linda Ronstadt on guitar, you will need to know some basic chords, strumming patterns, and capo positions. In this article, we will show you how to play the song in three different keys: A, G, and F. We will also provide you with some tips and tricks to make your playing sound more authentic and expressive.

Chord

[Intro]
C D Em C D Em
 
[Verse]
C  D         Em   C         D      G
  Love will abide, take things in stride
C   B7                Em              A7            D
  Sounds like good advice but there's no one at my side
    C  D          Em  C       D         G
And time washes clean love's wounds unseen
C  B7                 Em            A7                D
 That's what someone told me but I don't know what it means.
 
[Chorus]
       C               G             B7               Em   C
 Cause I've done everything I know to try and make you mine
      G        D      Em      C      G  D      G
And I think I'm gonna love you for a long long time
 
e|---------------|
B|---------------|
G|---------------|      C D    Em   C D   Em
D|---------------|
A|------0----2---|
E|--3------------|
 
[Verse]
C      D    Em     C        D         G
Caught in my fears Blinking back the tears
C  B7              Em               A7          D
   I can't say you hurt me when you never let me near
   C D      Em  C        D         G
And I never drew one response from you
C  B7                Em            A7             D
  All the while you fell all over girls you never knew
 
[Chorus]
       C               G          B7                   Em   C
 Cause I've done everything I know to try and make you mine
      G        D       Em     C      G  D     G
And I think it's gonna hurt me for a long long time
 
e|---------------|
B|---------------|
G|---------------|      C D    Em   C D   Em
D|---------------|
A|------0----2---|
E|--3------------|
 
[Verse]
C D            Em C         D   G
  Wait for the day You'll go away
C  B7                Em              A7                D
  Knowing that you warned me of the price I'd have to pay
     C   D         Em   C         D     G
And life's full of flaws Who knows the cause?
C  B7            Em          A7              D
  Living in the memory of a love that never was
 
[Chorus]
       C               G          B7                      Em   C
 Cause I've done everything I know to try and change your mind
      G        D      Em      C      G  D      Em    Em/D
And I think I'm gonna miss you for a long long time
 
(sung higher)
       C               G          B7                   Em   C
 Cause I've done everything I know to try and make you mine
      G        D      Em      C      G  D      G
And I think I'm gonna love you for a long long time
 
[Outro]
C D   Em  C D D7  G

Playing the Song in the Key of G

If you want to play the song in a lower key, you can transpose it to G. This means that you will need to use the following chords: G, C, D, Em, Am, Am7, D7, Bm, Bm7, C7, and Gm7. You can find the chord diagrams for these chords at the end of this article. You will also need to use a capo on the fourth fret of your guitar to match the pitch of Ronstadt’s voice.

The strumming pattern and the song structure are the same as in the key of A. The only difference is that you will need to change the chord names according to the transposition. Here is an example of how to play the intro, verse, and chorus in the key of G with capo on the fourth fret:

[Intro] G C Em G C Em e|—3—0—0—3—0—0—| B|—3—1—0—3—1—0—| G|—0—0—0—0—0—0—| D|—0—2—2—0—2—2—| A|—2—3—2—2—3—2—| E|—3——-0—3——-0—|

[Verse] G C Em G C D Love will abide, take things in stride G Am Em C7 D Sounds like good advice but there’s no one at my side G C Em G C D And time washes clean love’s wounds unseen G Am Em C7 D That’s what someone told me but I don’t know what it means

[Chorus] G D Am Em G Cause I’ve done everything I know to try and make you mine D C Em G D C D And I think I’m gonna love you for a long long time

Playing the Song in the Key of F

If you want to play the song in a higher key, you can transpose it to F. This means that you will need to use the following chords: F, Bb, C, Dm, Gm, Gm7, C7, Am, Am7, Bb7, and Fm7. You can find the chord diagrams for these chords at the end of this article. You will also need to use a capo on the first fret of your guitar to match the pitch of Ronstadt’s voice.

The strumming pattern and the song structure are the same as in the key of A. The only difference is that you will need to change the chord names according to the transposition. Here is an example of how to play the intro, verse, and chorus in the key of F with capo on the first fret:

[Intro] F Bb Dm F Bb Dm e|—1—3—1—1—3—1—| B|—1—3—3—1—3—3—| G|—2—3—2—2—3—2—| D|—3—5—0—3—5—0—| A|——-5——-5———–| E|——-6——-6———–|

[Verse] F Bb Dm F Bb C Love will abide, take things in stride F Gm Dm Bb7 C Sounds like good advice but there’s no one at my side F Bb Dm F Bb C And time washes clean love’s wounds unseen F Gm Dm Bb7 C That’s what someone told me but I don’t know what it means

[Chorus] F C Gm Dm F Cause I’ve done everything I know to try and make you mine C Bb Dm F C Bb C And I think I’m gonna love you for a long long time

Conclusion

“Long Long Time” by Linda Ronstadt is a beautiful song that you can learn to play on guitar with some basic chords, strumming patterns, and capo positions. You can choose to play the song in different keys depending on your preference and vocal range. We hope this article has helped you learn how to play “Long Long Time” by Linda Ronstadt on guitar and inspired you to explore more