The Smiths - I Want the One I Can't Have: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "I Want the One I Can't Have" 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.

        C             D      Em Bm C D G
On the day that your mentality
   C         D Bm       C             D  Em Bm C D
Decides to try to catch up with your biology
      Em Bm C D
Come round

Chorus:
          Am             Bm
'Cause I want the one I can't have
C                 D
And it's driving me mad
         Am                  Bm    C  D  Em
It's all over, all over, all over my face

        C             D      Em Bm C D
On the day that your mentality
 C                    D    Em Bm C D
Catches up with your biology

Chorus

G         C
A double bed
       D                  Bm
And a stalwart lover for sure
  C            D             Em Bm C D
These are the riches of the poor
G         C
A double bed
        D                 Bm
And a stalwart lover for sure
  C            D             Em Bm C D
These are the riches of the poor

Chorus

A tough kid who sometimes swallows nails
Raised on Prisoner's Aid
He killed a policeman when he was thirteen
And somehow that really impressed me
And it's written all over my face
Oh, these are the riches of the poor
These are the riches of the poor

Chorus:
And I want the one I can't have
And it's driving me mad
It's written all over my face

On the day that your mentality
Catches up with your biology

And if you ever need self-validation
Just meet me in the alley by the Railway station
It's all over my face



You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

A

Guitar chord A

Am

Guitar chord Am

C

Guitar chord C

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 "I Want the One I Can't Have" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "I Want the One I Can't Have" by The Smiths.