Guitar lesson for

The Good Side

by Troye Sivan  •  Lesson #125

Video lesson


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Capo 2nd fret

I recommend playing this with capo 2nd fret, which is how Troye Sivan (or his guitarist) plays it. It allows you to capture the same “high E string left open” sound that is characteristic of this song. That said, I also show a no capo version in my video above.

Chord progression for the entire song

Quite simply, with capo on the 2nd fret, this progression is repeated for the whole song!

C   Em   F   G

Without a capo, these are:

D  F#m   G   A

Chords tabs w/ capo 2

Here’s how it’s played on the album - you can also see the guitarist using these chords during Sivan’s SNL performance from January 2018. The main thing to note here is the high E string is left open for all the chords. Also note how the G chord is a slid-up version of the F chord (i.e., slide up 2 frets using the same chord shape). For the F and the G, I wrap my thumb around to play the low E string for each chord. This isn’t required, but is nice if you can pull it off.

E –––0––––0–––––0––––0–––
B –––1––––0–––––1––––3–––
G –––0––––0–––––2––––4–––
D –––2––––2–––––3––––5–––
A –––3––––2–––––3––––5–––
E ––––––––0––––(1)––(3)––
     C    Em    F    G

If you have trouble with the F and G voicings above, try these variants:

E –––0––––0–––––0––––0–––
B –––1––––0–––––1––––3–––
G –––0––––0–––––2––––4–––
D –––2––––2–––––3––––5–––
A –––3––––2––––––––––––––
E ––––––––0––––––––––––––
     C    Em    F    G

Chords with no capo

If you want to play it without a capo, use the chords below – and note how the 2nd fret of the high E-string is used in all chords. Again, this matches the droning note you hear played on the album. Technically, the G is a Gmaj7, and the A is an Aadd6.

E –––2––––2–––––2––––2––––
B –––3––––2–––––0––––2––––
G –––2––––2–––––0––––2––––
D –––0––––4–––––0––––2––––
A ––––––––4–––––x––––0––––
E ––––––––2–––––3–––––––––
     D   F#m    G    A

Strumming pattern

I prefer a “DOWN down-up-down-up” that repeats 4 times for each chord. Then, switch to the next chord and repeat it again 4 times. You’ll want to accent the first down strum of each sequence. Here’s how I’d write it out:

1 + 2 + 3 +   1 + 2 + 3 +   1 + 2 + 3 +   1 + 2 + 3 +
D   d u d u   D   d u d u   D   d u d u   D   d u d u
>             >             >             >

If you have trouble, I recommend starting with playing only the first down strum of each 3-count sequence:

1 + 2 + 3 +   1 + 2 + 3 +   1 + 2 + 3 +   1 + 2 + 3 +   
D             D             D             D

And from there, if you want, you could also just do a “up down up” to end each 3-count sequence. Which would look like this:

1 + 2 + 3 +   1 + 2 + 3 +   1 + 2 + 3 +   1 + 2 + 3 +
D     u d u   D     u d u   D     u d u   D     u d u
>             >             >             >

Lyrics w/ chords

(capo 2nd fret)

INTRO
    C    Em    F    G

VERSE
    C
    I got the good side of things
    Em
    Left you with both of the rings
    F
    My fingers danced and swayed in the breeze
        G
    The change in the wind took you down to your knees

    C
    I got the good side of you
    Em
    Sent it out into the blue
    F   
    The people danced to the sound of your heart
        G
    The world sang along to it falling apart

CHORUS
               C                   Em
        But I... sympathize, and I.... recognize
                     F                          G                           C
        And baby, I apologize... that I got the good side, the good side of things

            [ solo riff, with C-E-F-G progression ]

    I got the good side of life
    Travelled the universe twice
    So many thoughts I wanted to share
    But I didn't call because it wouldn't be fair

    Then I got the good side of new
    Found arms to fall right into
    I know how it looked, it wasn't the plan
    And some day I hope that you'll understand

        That I sympathize, and I recognize
        And baby, I apologize
        That I got the good side
        The good side of things

    I'm sure we'll meet in the spring
    And catch up on everything
    I'll say I'm proud of all that you've done
    You taught me the ropes, and you taught me to love

        But I sympathize, and I recognize
        And baby, I apologize
        That I got the good side
        The good side of things

        Sympathize, recognize
        Apologize
        That I got the good side
        The good side of things

Good luck!

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or feedback.

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