Tears for Fears - Start of the Breakdown: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Start of the Breakdown" 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.

Dm
Scratch the ice, let the telephone ring
Sense of time is a powerful thing
    A#         Gm              A#
And we love to laugh, love to cry
       Gm           Dm
Half alive we love to
Go slow when we're dancing for rain
Dry skin flakes where there's ice in the vein
And we love to cry, half alive

Chorus:
A#                        Dm      A#
Is this the start of the breakdown?

Scratch the earth, dig the burial ground
Sense of time won't be easily found
And ten out of ten for the ones
Who defend, pretend too
Breakdown is a final demand
We stand firm with our heads in our hands
As we love to cry, half alive

Chorus:
Is this the start of the breakdown?
I can't understand you
Is this the start of the breakdown?
I can't understand you
Is this the start of the breakdown?

Break, breakdown
Break, break

Chorus:
I can't understand you
Is this the start of the breakdown?
I can't understand you
Is this the start of the breakdown?
I can't understand you
Is this the start of the breakdown?
I can't understand you


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

A#

Guitar chord A#

Dm

Guitar chord Dm

Gm

Guitar chord Gm

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 "Start of the Breakdown" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Start of the Breakdown" by Tears for Fears.