Songnotes

the hand-crafted music library of @davidpots

  

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Don't Stop Believin'

Journey

from the album Escape released in 1981

jump to: lyrics / notes & tabs / chord progressions / song info

Lyrics

Intro

    | E . . . | B . . . | C#m . . . | A . . . |
    | E . . . | B . . . | G#m . . . | A . . . |


Verse

    E        B               C#m             A 
      Just a small town girl...  living in a lonely world
    E              B                     G#m        A 
      She took the midnight train, going anywhere

      Just a city boy
      Born and raised in south Detroit
      He took the midnight train
      Going anywhere

      (intro chords x1)

      A singer in a smoky room
      A smell of wine and cheap perfume
      For a smile they can share the night
      It goes on and on and on and on
	

Chorus

          A                   E 
          Strangers, waiting... up and down the boulevard
                A                           E 
          Their shadows, searching in the night
          A                   E 
          Streetlight, people... living just to find emotion
          A                        B 
          Hiding, somewhere in the night...
                                         E  B  C#m  A 

      Working hard to get my fill
      Everybody wants a thrill
      Paying anything to roll the dice
      Just one more time

      Some will win, some will lose
      Some were born to sing the blues
      Oh the movie never ends
      It goes on and on and on and on

          Strangers, waiting... up and down the boulevard
          Their shadows, searching in the night
          Streetlight, people... living just to find emotion
          Hiding, somewhere in the night
    
      (intro chords x1, with solo)
        

Finale

              E            B        C#m                   A 
              Don't stop believing....... hold on to that feeling
              E           B         G#m       A 
              Streetlight people, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

              Don't stop believing....... hold on to that feeling
              Streetlight people, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

              Don't stop believing....... hold on to that feeling
              Streetlight people, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Notes & Tabs

Basic Chords Used

This song uses the following chords. For the E, A, and B I show a few different ways to play them (each at different a position on the fretboard)... use these as desired, if at all. Take note that the intro, verse, and finale (as I name these sections above) all use the exact same chord progression. As such, if you're playing this by yourself you'll likely want to find a way to change up the dynamics (to build things up for the finale, etc).

e-|----0-----2-----4------4------5-----
B-|----0-----4-----5------4------5-----
G-|----1-----4-----6------4------6-----
D-|----2-----4-----6------6------7-----
A-|----2-----2-----4------6------7-----
E-|----0------------------4------5-----
       E     B    C#m    G#m     A

For Additional Strumming Power...

When playing the primary chord progression (in the verse / solo / finale), I like to sometimes play the chords as follows. This gives a fuller sound, since significantly more open strings are used in these versions of the chords -- mainly, the top and even bottom E strings. Very good to save for the finale, while strumming at full power.

e-|----0-----0-----0-----0-----
B-|----0-----0-----5-----2-----
G-|----1-----4-----6-----2-----
D-|----2-----4-----6-----2-----
A-|----2-----2-----4-----0-----
E-|----0----(0)---(0)---(0)----
       E     B    C#m    A

Optional Chorus Riff

When playing this song alone, I like to play the chorus section with the following chords & riff. It helps imitate the sound of the full band version of the song. The main thing to note here is the notes played on the high E (1st) string, which emulate the instrumental melody heard at this part of the song. If you can, give the high E string some extra oomph when strumming along (to make the melody stand out a bit more).

e-|---2------0----2----4--------2----4--------------------2----4-------|--
B-|---2------2----2----2--------0----0--------------------0----0-------|-- 
G-|---2------2----2----2--------1----1--------------------1----1-------|--  
D-|---2------2----2----2--------2----2--------------------2----2-------|--   etc.
A-|---0------0----0----0--------x----x---------------------------------|--
E-|----------------------------(0)--(0)--------------------------------|--
      A                         E 
     "Strang-ers, wait-ing...          ...up and down the boulevard..."

Chord Progressions

Intro

| E . . . | B . . . | C#m . . . | A . . . |
| E . . . | B . . . | G#m . . . | A . . . |

Verse

"Just a small town girl... living in a lonely world..."
| E . . . | B . . . | C#m . . . | A . . . |
| E . . . | B . . . | G#m . . . | A . . . |

Chorus

"Strangers, waiting... up and down the boulevard..."
| A . . . | A . . . | E . . . | E . . . |
| A . . . | A . . . | E . . . | E . . . |
| A . . . | A . . . | E . . . | E . . . |
| A . . . | A . . . | B . . . | B . . . |

Finale

"Don't stop believing..."
| E . . . | B . . . | C#m . . . | A . . . |
| E . . . | B . . . | G#m . . . | A . . . |

Song Info

Song: Don't Stop Believin'
Artist: Journey
Album: Escape
Year: 1981
Label: Columbia

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About

My name is David Potsiadlo, and I created Songnotes to share my collection of guitar tabs, chords, and lyrics for my favorite songs.

Since I started playing guitar over 10 years ago, I've often been frustrated by the preponderance of mediocre and incomplete song tabs littered across the internet. To combat this, I started keeping my own collection of notes for each song I learn -- always taking the extra time to make sure accuracy and completeness are never compromised. Years later, my collection grew to the point where I knew I had to share it online with fellow aspiring musicians.

In December 2012, I began designing & developing a website that became Songnotes. Here, I share my personal collection of hand-crafted music notation with all those online. I hope you enjoy.

You can also view my personal website or follow me on Twitter / Dribbble / GitHub / LinkedIn.