Beginner Guitar Songs

Help I’m Alive by Metric was first recorded as a full sound song with drums and synthesizers, but the acoustic version shows the raw emotion of the hit song, and the haunting melody breaks into a classic hook driven song that is becoming a signature of the band from Canada.

The video shows songwriter Emily Haines and guitarist James Shaw performing the song in the studio, and you really get a sense of the emotion that does go into songwriting.

This song at first looks to be in the is in the key of Bb or A#, they are pretty much the same depending on how technical you want to get about it, but when you jam along in the minor pentatonic scale you find that it is actually in the key of G.

To make things simpler, you can put a capo on the third fret and play some open chords to make it less demanding for the beginning guitarist, and also to make it easier if you are going to also be the vocalist.

As a beginner guitarist you should play along to the song until you get a feel of the progression, and then start to add in some of the fill notes as you get familiar with the chord structure. This is a fun song to play once you have it figured out.

CAPO III Fret
Standard Tuning

         G  Asus2  Em  C
I tremble    
                          G  Asus2  Em  C
They’re gonna eat me alive
            G  Asus2  Em  C
If I stumble
                          G  Asus2  Em  C
They’re gonna eat me alive
                      Em (listen to the song for this part)
Can you hear my heart beating like a hammer?
Beating like a hammer? Beating like a hammer? Beating like a hammer?
G           C         D         Em
Help, I’m alive, my heart keeps beating like a hammer
G          C
Hard to be soft
D           Em
Tough to be tender
     G       C          D            Em
Come take my pulse, the pace is on a runaway train
G           C         D         Em
Help, I’m alive, my heart keeps beating like a hammer
Beating like a hammer. Beating like a hammer. Beating like a hammer

G D Asus2
(The C kinda sneaks in, again listen to the song)
                C G D Asus2 
If you’re still alive
           C    G D Asus2 
My regrets are few
           C   G D Asus2 
If my life is mine
               C  G D Asus2 
What shouldn’t I do?
                  C G   D Asus2 
I get wherever I’m going
               C  G D Asus2 
I get whatever I need
                  C      G    D Asus2  
While my blood’s still flowing
                     Em
And my heart still beats…
Beating like a hammer
Beating like a hammer
Beating like a hammer
Beating like a hammer

G           C         D         Em
Help, I’m alive, my heart keeps beating like a hammer
G          C
Hard to be soft
D           Em
Tough to be tender
     G       C          D            Em
Come take my pulse, the pace is on a runaway train
G           C           D       Em
Help, I’m alive, my heart keeps beating like a hammer
Beating like a hammer. Beating like a hammer. Beating like a hammer.

G D Asus2
(The C kinda sneaks in, again listen to the song)
                C G D Asus2 
If you’re still alive
           C    G D Asus2 
My regrets are few
           C   G D Asus2 
If my life is mine
               C  G D Asus2 
What shouldn’t I do?
                  C G   D Asus2 
I get wherever I’m going
               C  G D Asus2 
I get whatever I need
                  C      G    D Asus2  
While my blood’s still flowing
                     Em
And my heart still beats…
Beating like a hammer
Beating like a hammer
Beating like a hammer
Beating like a hammer

G  Asus2  Em  C

         G  Asus2  Em  C
I tremble    
                          G  Asus2  Em  C
They’re gonna eat me alive
            G  Asus2  Em  C
If I stumble
                          G  Asus2  Em  C
They’re gonna eat me alive
                      Em (End)
Can you hear my heart beating like a hammer?

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