Led Zeppelin - That's the Way: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "That's the 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# G#m  A#m   C#      B     G#m F#
I don't know how I'm gonna tell you
I can't play with you no more
I don't know how I'm gonna do what mama told me
My  friend, the boy next door

I can't believe what people saying
You're gonna let your hair hang down
I'm satisfied to sit here working all day long
You're in the darker side of town

And when I'm out I see you walking
Why don't your eyes see me
Could it be you've found another game to play
What did mama say to me?

Chorus:
A
That's the way,
                F#
Oh, that's the way
it ought to be
             A
Yeah, yeah, mama say that's the way
              C#
it ought to stay

And yesterday I saw you standing by the river
And weren't those tears that filled your eyes
And all the fish that lay in dirty water dying
Had they got you hypnotized?

And yesterday I saw you kissing tiny flowers
But all that lives is born to die
And so I say to you that nothing really matters
And all you do is stand and cry

I don't know what to say about it
When all you ears have turned away
But now's the time to look and look again at what you see
Is that the way it ought to stay?

Chorus:
That's the way
That's the way
it ought-ta be
Oh, don't you know now, mama said
That's the way it's going to stay, yeah


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

A

Guitar chord A

A#m

Guitar chord A#m

C#

Guitar chord C#

F#

Guitar chord F#

G#m

Guitar chord G#m

B

Guitar chord B

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 "That's the Way" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "That's the Way" by Led Zeppelin.