Let's Face the Music and Dance

Words & Music by Irving Berlin
Recorded by Nat King Cole, 1961


Am    A9  Am  Dm7  Bm7-5 Am   E7 
There may be trou - ble  a - head,

Am    A9    Am    Dm7     A        Bm7-5  E7
But while there's moon - light and   mu - sic,

   Asus4  A  A9    AM7
And love and ro - mance,

D6            Dm6   E7       Am     Bb9 E7
Let's face the mu - sic and dance.


Am    A9  Am  Dm7    Am   Bm7-5 E7
Be - fore the fid - dlers have fled,

F7             B7       Bm7-5     E7
Be - fore they ask us to pay the bill,

    C#m7-5    F#7             C#7
And while we still have the chance,

D6    Dm6    Fdim   E7       A 
Let's face the mu - sic and dance.



Bridge:

F    Dm7      C7      F       C7
Soon,   we'll be without the moon,

Dm7     C7 F         C7   F7   E7
Humming a different tune, and then,



Am    A9  Am  Dm7    Am  Bm7-5 E7
There may be tear - drops to  shed,

Am   A9    Am    Dm7     A        Bm7-5  E7
So while there's moon - light and   mu - sic,

   Asus4  A  A9    AM7
And love and ro - mance,

D6            Dm6   E7       Am     Dm7 Dm7-5 Bb9 AM7
Let's face the mu - sic and dance.

This song was introduced by Fred Astaire in the 1936 movie "Follow the Fleet" -- and in the minds of many, the song is his. I just happen to love what Cole did with his version.

As a performance note, the opening line can be drastically simplified, and played this way without losing too terribly much:


Am            Dm7          E7
There may be teardrops to shed

...but as always, I like to complicate my life whenever possible, and the version I show in the full chart comes pretty close to duplicating what Cole sings.

The lyric and guitar chord transcriptions on this site are the work of The Guitarguy and are intended for private study, research, or educational purposes only. Individual transcriptions are inspired by and and based upon the recorded versions cited, but are not necessarily exact replications of those recorded versions.