Many people who are looking for acoustic guitar songs to impress that special someone will often want to play Love Story by Taylor Swift. Written in the key of D major, Taylor Swift started out her career with this song. Fifteen years later she has proven she is both a superb singer and songwriter, often sharing with us lyrics that have a deep meaning and connection to her.
The song Love Story was featured on the 2008 album titled Fearless which was the first album for the songstress that reached notoriety. It’s still one of her most successful songs to this day and she talks about finding that one person in the world who is the most important to you. The song is very relatable to youngsters who are just starting out in the dating scene or perhaps experiencing their first breakup.
No matter what the song means to you, it’s a fun one to learn and play on the guitar. In this full guide we are going to give you the chords, the strumming pattern and then the full version of this song so that you can play it. If you get stuck at any point during the process, please feel free to refer to the video tutorial we have also included to help you along. Let’s get started.
Love Story Chords
As you can see from the chord charts we have provided you with above, the chords you will be using to play Love Story by Taylor Swift are C major, A minor, G major, F major, D major, A major and B minor. There are a couple of barre chords thrown in there just to spice things up but all of the rest are open chords which should be simple for you to play.
Love Story Strumming Pattern
In this song you will be using two different strumming patterns. The first one is a simple D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D. That’s right, it’s all downstrums but the trickier part is that you have to use your palm to mute the strings. This particular pattern is used in the intro of the song.
The second pattern you will need to learn for Love Story goes DD-DU-DU. This is a very common strumming pattern that is used in a lot of pop music as well as other music genres. You will be using this particular pattern in the rest of the sections of the song apart from the intro. If you need to heard what the strumming pattern is like when played then please refer to the video tutorial which we included for you at the beginning of this guide.
You can play this song without using your capo but you will need to put in the extra work to get the fingerstyling right. If you do choose to use a capo then it will need to be placed on the second fret. This will make it a lot easier if you are a beginner and want to be able to play the song right away.
Love Story Chords and Lyrics
Now that you have learned the different parts of the song you can try the piece in its entirety. Below are all of the lyrics for Love Story and the chords are included as well. You will notice that the chords are placed above the lyrics right at the place that the chord needs to be strummed. Listening to the original track and following along with these lyrics may be a helpful way to start so you know where the chord changes occur.
Intro
C G Am F
Verse 1
C
We were both young when I first saw you
F
I close my eyes, and the flashback starts
Am
I’m standing there
F
On a balcony in summer air
C
See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns
F
See you make your way through the crowd
Am
And say ‘Hello’
G
Little did I know
Pre-Chorus
F G
That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles
Am C
And my Daddy said, “Stay away from Juliet”
F
And I was crying on the staircase
G Am F G
Begging you please don’t go, and I said
Chorus
C
Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
G
I’ll be waiting, all there’s left to do is run
Am
You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess
F G C
It’s a love story, baby just say yes
Verse 2
C
So I sneak out to the garden to see you
F
We keep quiet ’cause we’re dead if they knew
Am
So close your eyes
G
Escape this town for a little while, oh, oh
Pre-Chorus
F G
‘Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter
Am C
And my Daddy said , “Stay away from Juliet”
F
But you were everything to me I was
G Am F G
Begging you please don’t go, and I said
Chorus
C
Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
G
I’ll be waiting, all there’s left to do is run
Am
You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess
F G C
It’s a love story, baby just say yes
C
Romeo save me, they’re trying to tell me how to feel
G
This love is difficult, but it’s real
Am
Don’t be afraid, we’ll make it out of this mess
F G
It’s a love story, baby just say yes
Solo
C G Am F G
Bridge
Am
I got tired of waiting
F C G
Wondering if you were ever coming around
Am F
My faith in you was fading
C G
When I met you on the outskirts of town
C
And I said, “Romeo save me, I’ve been feeling so alone
G
I keep waiting for you but you never come
Am
Is this in my head? I don’t know what to think”
F G
He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said
Chorus
D
“Marry me Juliet, you’ll never have to be alone
A
I love you and that’s all I really know
Bm
I talked to your Dad, go pick out a white dress
G A D
It’s a love story baby just say yes
Outro
A
Oh, oh
Bm
Oh, oh
G D
‘Cause we were both young when I first saw you
Conclusion
So that’s all you will need to know to play this Taylor Swift classic. There’s not much difficulty to it, the key is to get the strumming patterns and rhythms nailed first. Practice the chords separately and then try playing the song in smaller sections. This will help you learn the song in a way that won’t discourage you when you make a mistake. Once you feel confident in each section of the song, try putting them all together. You’ll soon have the whole piece nailed in no time at all.