alt-J - Portrait: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Portrait" 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.

Bm
Tell me how you wanna be portrayed, now
You can have it all,
you know that you can have it all
        A                 G       D
That I love you, yeah, I love you
Bm
Donatello, Frida Kahlo, Holbein
You can have it all,
you know that you can have it all
        A                G       D
That I love you, yeah I love you

    Bm
Now paint me a picture
                                      D
And draw yourself drawing a piece of paper
with pencil
                                        Em
‘Cause you can’t afford to misrepresent me
                         G
I want an imitation of reality

Bm
Gather all your kings and other things
That you know my good
You might tell me what, ‘cause
    D                                Em
Do you think that these are my good nature
                         G
You establish this good nature

G
Buy me aristocracy
Now listen to me, yeah,
       D
Your whores come and go to sit with me
            G
I wanna be seen in a hundred years
                             D
As you see me now, so don’t hesitate
                      A
Make my portrait made
So paint me now

Bm                   D                       Em
You didn’t want to know, you didn’t want to see
                                              Bm
You threw it in the fire, you threw it in the fire
                      D                     Em
And then you took my eyes, so I could never be
The painter of your boy
And then I go:
 G                   A
King, for king, oh, king, bring the guillotine

You didn’t want to know, you didn’t want to see
You threw it in the fire, you threw it in the fire
And then you took my eyes, so I could never be
The painter of your boy
And then I go:
King, for king, oh, king, bring the guillotine
Bring the guillotine


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

A

Guitar chord A

D

Guitar chord D

Em

Guitar chord Em

G

Guitar chord G

Bm

Guitar chord Bm

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 "Portrait" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Portrait" by alt-J.