Billy Joel - Shades of Grey: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Shades of Grey" 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.

Em           D                  C
Some things were perfectly clear,
              Bm        Em
seen with the vision of youth
Em             D            C
No doubts and nothing to fear,
               Bm        Em
I claimed the corner on truth
Em         D                 C
These days it's harder to say
            Bm           Em
I know what I'm fighting for
Em           D         C
My faith is falling away
              G
I'm not that sure anymore

Chorus:
  G         C      Em      D
Shades of grey wherever I go
     G      C            D           Em
The more I find out the less that I know
  G         C       Em            D
Black and white is how it should be
      G         C           D        E
But shades of grey are the colors I see

Once there were trenches and walls
And one point of every view
Fight till the other man falls
Kill him before he kills you
These days the edges are blurred
I'm old and tired of war
I hear the other man's words
I'm not that sure anymore

Chorus:
Shades of grey are all that I find
When I look to the enemy line
Black and white was so easy for me
But shades of grey are the colors I see

Now with the wisdom of years
I try to reason things out
And the only people I fear
Are those who never have doubts
Save us all from arrogant men
And all the causes they're for
I won't be righteous again
I'm not that sure anymore

Chorus:
Shades of grey are all that I find
When I look to they enemy line
There ain't no rainbows shining on me
Shades of grey are the colors I see
Shades of grey wherever I go
The more I find out the less that I know
There ain't no rainbows shining on me
Shades of grey are the colors I see


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

Bm

Guitar chord Bm

C

Guitar chord C

D

Guitar chord D

E

Guitar chord E

Em

Guitar chord Em

G

Guitar chord G

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 "Shades of Grey" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Shades of Grey" by Billy Joel.

Billy Joel Song List