Lewis Capaldi - The Pretender: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "The Pretender" on your guitar with our detailed chord guide and lyrics. 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.

Learn The Pretender Guitar Chords and Lyrics by Lewis Capaldi

This section will guide you through each part of the song, providing the guitar chords placed directly above the lyrics for easy playing. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, these elements will help you perform "The Pretender" smoothly on your guitar.

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

A
I will be your shoulder to cry on
F#m
I will make you laugh if you need
E
I will play the part if you say so
      D
Yeah, I'll be anybody but me

A                             E
To tell you the truth, I'm a mess, I'm a fool
           D        E
You don't know that
    F#m
And you never will
       E                            D
In my mind, it's instilled not to show that

Chorus:
A
I spend almost all of my time
                 A/E
Feeling like I'm falling even further behind
      F#m       D
And I know I'm so good at seeming
A/E
Like I'm not on the edge of a knife
            D                  F#m
I'm the pretender, what can I tell ya?
             A/E
Designed to deceive
    D                          A
So tell me who you want me to be

I can wear a million faces
'Cause I don't like the one underneath
Always found it easy to fake it
Yeah, I'll be anybody but me

To tell you the truth, I'm the fraud in the room
And I know that
But you never will
In my mind, it's instilled not to show that

Chorus:
I spend almost all of my time
Feeling like I'm falling even further behind
And I know I'm so good at seeming
Like I'm not on the edge of a knife
I feel like everything I do is a lie
And all the words just further pull
the wool over eyes
I know I'm no good at being who
I am away from the light
I'm the pretender, what can I tell ya?
Designed to deceive
So, tell me who you want me to be

          E
And I'll be
       D                                       F#m
Be my best impression of what you expect from me
          E         D
But what you don't see is

Chorus:
I spend almost all of my time
Feeling like I'm falling even further behind
I know I'm so good at seeming
Like I'm not on the edge of a knife
I feel like everything I do is a lie
And all the words just further
pull the wool over eyes
I know I'm no good at being who
I am away from the light
I'm the pretender, what can I tell ya?
And I'm an imposter, but Hell is a mender
I'm the pretender, what can I tell ya?
Designed to deceive
So, tell me who you want me to be


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

E

Guitar chord E

F#m

Guitar chord F#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 "The Pretender" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "The Pretender" by Lewis Capaldi.