Allister - I Want It That Way: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "I Want It That Way" on your guitar with our chord guide. This page provides everything you need to perform this song on the guitar, including lyrics integrated with chords, chord diagrams, and a key transposer to match your vocal range.

For easier playing, use our Simplify Chords feature to remove difficult chords like barre.

    F#m     D   A
You are my fire
    F#m    D   A
The one desire
  F#m        D  A
Believe when I say
F#m        E    A
I want it that way
    F#m      D
But we are two
 A       F#m
worlds apart
       D     A
Can't reach to
     F#m
your heart
      D   A
When you say
     F#m
That I want
     E   A
it that way

Chorus:
      D
Tell me why Ain't
               E    F#m
nothing but a heartache
          D
Tell me why Ain't
               E  F#m
nothing but a mistake)
          D
Tell me why I never
       E        A
wanna hear you say
F#m         E   A
I want it that way

   F#m    D   A
Am I your fire
     F#m   D   A
Your one desire
      F#m       D   A
Yes I know it's too late
    F#m       E    A
But I want it that way

Chorus:
     D
Tell me why Ain't
              E    F#m
nothing but a heartache
        D
Tell me why Ain't
              E  F#m
nothing but a mistake)
        D
Tell me why I never
      E        A
wanna hear you say
F#m       C#
I want it that way

F#m
Now I can see that
       E
we're falling apart
          D
From the way that
           Bm  E
it used to be (Yeah)
   F#m
No matter the distance
  E
I want you to know
      D                   E
That deep down inside of me

     D      E   F#m
You are my fire
    D      E   F#m
The one desire
    D
You are  You are
    E       A  F#m
You are You are
Bm
Don't wanna hear you

Chorus:
E
Ain't nothing
      F#   G#m
but a heartache
E
Ain't nothing
      F# G#m
but a mistake
(I never wanna
hear you say)
E
  I never wanna
F#       B
hear you say
G#m         E    B
I want it that way

Chorus:
      E
Tell me why Ain't
              F#   G#m
nothing but a heartache
          E
Tell me why Ain't
              F# G#m
nothing but a mistake)
          E
Tell me why I never
       F#       B
wanna hear you say
G#m       F#   B
I want it that way
    G#m        F#   B
coz I want it that way


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

A

Guitar chord A

Am

Guitar chord Am

B

Guitar chord B

Bm

Guitar chord Bm

C#

Guitar chord C#

D

Guitar chord D

E

Guitar chord E

F#

Guitar chord F#

F#m

Guitar chord F#m

G#m

Guitar chord G#m

Here you can see detailed diagrams for each guitar chord used in the song. Utilize our key transposer to adjust the chords to a key that better fits your singing range. Simply select the desired key, and the chords throughout this page will update automatically, ensuring you can play and sing comfortably.

If you are also interested in learning how to play "I Want It That Way" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "I Want It That Way" by Allister.