Venus chords

by Shocking Blue

Song Key: E Minor (relative to G Major)

Time Signature: 4/4

Tempo: 130 bpm


Guitar Tuning: E A D G B e

Skill Level: Beginner (see charts below)

Guitar Chords: Em, A, Am, D, C, B, B7sus4

Extra: Strumming Pattern, Chord slides and helpful tips

Chord Chart Legend
Em A Major Am D Major D Major A Major Am B Major B Major barre chord B7sus4-LH B7sus4 barre chord C Major
Lefties Chord Chart Legend
Em-LH A Major-LH Am-LH D Major-LH D Major-LH A Major-LH Am-LH B Major B Major barre chord-LH B7sus4-LH B7sus4 barre chord-LH C Major-LH

Venus

Intro: 4/4
   |  B7sus4  |  B7sus4   | Em  -  A  |  Em  -  A  |
   |  B7sus4  |  B7sus4   | Em  -  A  |  Em  -  A  | Em  -  A  |  Em  -  A  |

     Em      -       A         Em  - A     Em      -       A       Em  -  A
1. A God-dess on the moun-tain top     Was burn-ing like a sil-ver flame
       Em    -    A           Em  - A      Em      -      A   |   Em   |
   The sum-mit of beau-ty and love     And Ve-nus was her name

              Am  -   D    Am  -  D           Em  -  A   | Em  - A  |
Chorus: She's got it   _     Yeah ba-by she's got it   _
             C                B7sus4                    Em   -  A  | Em  -  A  |
        Well  I'm your Ve-nus       I'm your fire    At your de-sire
             C                B7sus4                    Em   -  A  | Em  -  A  |
        Well  I'm your Ve-nus       I'm your fire    At your de-sire

Instr: ||:    Em  -  A   |   Em  -  A   |   Em  -  A   |   Em  -  A   :||  (8)

       Em       -        A        Em  - A    Em      -      A    Em  -  A
2. Her wea-pons were her crys-tal eyes       Ma-king ev’-ry man  mad
   Em    -      A          Em  -   A           Em    -     A      Em  
   Black as the dark night she was    Got what no-one else had    Wow!

              Am  -   D    Am  -  D           Em  -  A   | Em  - A  |
Chorus: She's got it   _     Yeah ba-by she's got it   _
             C                B7sus4                    Em   -  A  | Em  -  A  |
        Well  I'm your Ve-nus       I'm your fire    At your de-sire
             C                B7sus4                    Em   -  A  | Em  -  A  |
        Well  I'm your Ve-nus       I'm your fire    At your de-sire

                                                                            
Bridge: |  A  /  B    -    A  /  B   |  A  /  B   -    A  /  B  | 

        ||:  Em  -  A  | Em  -  A  | Em  -  A  | Em  -  A  :|| (8)
             Ah     ah   Ah      ah  Ah  ah  ah  Ah...


              Am  -   D    Am  -  D           Em  -  A   | Em  - A  |
Chorus: She's got it   _     Yeah ba-by she's got it   _
             C                B7sus4                    Em   -  A  | Em  -  A  |
        Well  I'm your Ve-nus       I'm your fire    At your de-sire
             C                B7sus4                    Em   -  A  | Em  -  A  |
        Well  I'm your Ve-nus       I'm your fire    At your de-sire

Outro: 
        |  A  /  B    -    A  /  B   |  A  /  B   -    A  /  B  |

        |  B7sus4  |  B7sus4  |  Em  -  A  |  Em  -  A  |
        
        |  B7sus4  |  B7sus4  |   Em  -  A  |  Em  -  A  | Em  -  A  | Em  -  A  |

        |  Em  -  A  |  Em  -  A  |  Em  -  A  | ... (fade out)

Chord Slides & Strumming Patterns

  • Level Of Ease: Easy once you get used to it.
  • Song Key: Em (1 sharp - F#) - relative to G major (share the same notes)
  • The intro starts with a B7sus4. Listen to the intro a few times till you get used to the strumming pattern. Play along with the guitarist... after a while it becomes very natural.
  • The intro to this song is like a great guitar riff except it takes the form of a strum pattern. It is a very famous intro, and many of you will have heard it in this version, or Bananarama's version of the song.
  • The | A/B A/B | means you slide from A to B (2x) in the bar
  • If you are counting each bar as | 1& 2& 3& 4& |:
    beat 1 - strum A and slide on the &, so that on beat 2 you are on B (2&);
    beat 3 - strum A and slide on the &, so that on beat 4 you are on B (4&)... you will hear this as you play along.
  • The slide from A to B happens 2x in each bar... with 2 bars there are 4 slides in total. This occurs in the Bridge, and again in the Outro.
  • The hyphen between 2 chords means the bar count is split in half, therefore in this song, | Em - A | means 2 beats on Em and 2 beats on A.
  • As you play the | Em - A | progression throughout the song, be sure to dampen each chord immediately after playing it. If you're counting each bar as | 1& 2& 3& 4& |, try the following technique:
1 - down stroke on the Em
& - up stroke on the Em
2& - dampen (as you strum down, place your hand on the strings to stop the sound
3 - down stroke on the A
& - up stroke on the A
4& - dampen
  • At the start of each chorus with the lyrics "She's Got it" and chords | Am - D | Am - D |, they can be played as barre chords starting on the 5th fret... see charts above.
  • The dynamics work very well, with slides, guitar riffs, strum riffs... it's all happening!
  • This song is pretty straight forward once you get the hang of the strum pattern, slides and string dampening... enjoy.

Song Details:

Single Cover
Venus - Single Cover
  • Songwriter: Robbie van Leeuwen
  • Lyrics Begin: A goddess on a mountain top was burning like a silver flame.
  • Performing Artists: Shocking Blue
  • Single:
    Released: 14 July 1969
    B-side: Hot Sand
  • Genre: Country rock, dance-rock, psychedelic rock, pop rock
  • Album: At Home
    Released: 1969
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