KILLING ME SOFTLY

Roberta Flack

(Any copyright which may be vested in the original author of the song used in this lesson is acknowledged. Portions of the song are used here solely for educational purposes. Copyright in the material used in this lesson vests in the author of the material.) 

CHORUS:
    Em/                        Am7/
    Strumming my pain with his fingers
    D7/                      G/
    Singing my life with his words
    Em/                        A7/
    Killing me softly with his song
               D/              C/
    Killing me softly with his song
               G/                  C/
    Telling my whole life with his words
               Em/    Emsus/          E/   /
    Killing me softly        with his song.

Am7/           D7/              G/            C/
    I heard he sang a good song,   I heard he had a style
Am7/         D7/                 Em/          /
    And so I came to see him and listen for a while
Am7/             D7/                G/            B7/
    And there he was this young boy,   a stranger to my eyes

CHORUS

Am7/           D7/                G/             C/
    I felt all flushed with fever,   embarrassed by the crowd
Am7/          D7/                  Em/               /
    I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud.
Am7/              D7/            G/             B7/
    I prayed that he would finish   but he just kept right on

CHORUS

Am7/           D7/          G/           C/
    He sang as if he knew me   in all my dark despair
Am7/            D7/                        Em/         /
    And then he looked right through me as if I wasn't there
Am7/            D7/            G/        B7/
    And he just kept on singing, singing clear and strong

CHORUS.

A7 chord - click to hear soundAm7 chord - click to hear soundB7 chord - click to hear soundC chord - click to hear soundD chord - click to hear soundD7 chord - click to hear soundE chord - click to hear soundEm chord - click to hear soundEm sus chord - click to hear soundG chord - click to hear sound 4/4 Long strum - click to hear

Instructions

The chords and strum you require for this song are shown above. Click on each of them to hear how they should sound.

Click here to hear the song itself.

Put your Em chord on and get a few strums going. Then start to sing. Don't strum too fast - this song should be played quite slowly.

Sometimes the beat comes before a word. For example, for the last line of the chorus, the strum will fit in like this: 

                                     C/
                                     1&2&
   …………………………………………………………………………………………words

                Em/      Emsus/           E/ 
    3   &   4&  1&2&3&4& 1&2&3&  4    &   1&2&3&4&
    Killing me  softly           with his song

If you find it difficult to learn the song with the new long strum, try it using thumb runs or the normal 4/4 strum initially. If you do this, remember that you will need two strums for each timing mark. 

Arrangement © 1997 Joni's Guitar School