Hey guys, I was wondering if anyone could lend a hand and help me with the chords to When The Time Comes. I really enjoy that song, and I've never seen a tab for it, nor the chords.

Any help would be appreciated .

Thanks!

Seltaeb, great song, huh? Here's my take on playing it. It's a little hard to convey, since it's not just a simple chord progression and the different guitars play different parts of partial chords. I'll start with the "chords" (chord names not totally accurate since there's a lot of leaving notes off, etc.)

When the Time Comes

Intro: E5 E7 E6 E5 (x2)

E5 E7
This might sound strange, it might seem dumb,
E6 E5
Depends on the side that you take it in from.
E5 E7
Depends on the time, depends on the day,
E6 E5
Depends on a lot of things, who can say?

A E A E A E B E
I just want… to let you know… that I will stand… by you.
A E A E
Through whatever might come, wherever you run,
A E B E
Will you stand by me when the time comes?


Baby, do you understand, am I making this clear,
Are you tuning me out 'cause I'm coming off weird?
Well I don't care, that's all right,
It's okay, I don't mind.

I just want… to let you know… that I will stand… by you.
Through whatever might come, wherever you run,
Will you stand by me when the time comes?

A5 A Asus2 Asus4 A A5 A Asus2 Asus4 A C#m
This ain't the right time to say what's on my mind, I know.
A5 A Asus2 Asus4 A A5 A Asus2 Asus4 A C#m
But I look in your eyes, and there's no real life at all,
B
Baby hold on!


And someday soon, you'll come around,
You know where I can be found.
When your heart feels right, seek me out,
We can talk more then babe, but right now.

I just want… to let you know… that I will stand… by you.
Through whatever might come, wherever you run,
Will you stand by me when the time comes?

How to play the intro parts:

Intro (guitar/left channel-tab; start with just
a drone on low E string)
x--------------------------------------------
x--------------------------------------------
x--------------------------------------------
x--------------------------------------------
x----------7-----5-----4-----2---------------
0----------0-----0-----0-----0---------------

Intro (guitar/right channel-tab)
x--------------------------------------------
x--5---5-----3---3-----2--2----0---0--------
x----4---4-----4---4----2--2----1---1--------
x--------------------------------------------
x--------------------------------------------
0--------------------------------------------

Basically, neither guitar really plays full chords throughout the song -- its just that 7th> 6th> 5th descending line over an E5 chord -- generally, I'd avoid the 3rd (G# on 3rd string).

On the bridge, you're looking at playing an A5 chord and moving the 2nd (B) string note around over it.

Are you looking to play it in a band/duo situation or as a solo song? If I were doing it solo, I might capo at 2nd fret and play it off the 4th fret D-shape, which would keep it in E, but give you different ways to voice the drone/descending line. I'd use a capo that let me keep the low E open maybe.

Hmmm. Now I'm gonna have to mess around with that tonight. Could be fun.

Okay, chords not in right position above lyrics, but if you know the song, you'll know where they fall.

Here's a single guitar arrangement. Sounds pretty good, nice droning/open sound you can really wail away on. You could ignore the capo, tune your low E down to D and play it that way in D if that works better for your voice. (Lower all fret #'s by 2, obviously.)

When the Time Comes (single guitar arrangement)

Guitar capoed, 2nd fret -- strings 1-5; string 6 (low E) Open
“2” in all tabs indicates capoed string

Intro:-E5----E7----E6----E5 played very ”drone-y” as:

-------X-----X-----X-----X----
-------X-----X-----X-----X----
-------9-----7-----5-----4---- (x2)
-------2-----2-----2-----2----
-------2-----2-----2-----2----
0------0-----0-----0-----0----

You could play the same thing for the verse, or change it up to:

-E5----E7----E6----E5

-X-----X-----X-----X----
-5-----3-----5-----5----
-4-----4-----6-----4----
-2-----2-----2-----2----
-2-----2-----2-----2----
-0-----0-----0-----0----

Verse 1:
E5--------------------------E7
This might sound strange, it might seem dumb,
--E6-------------------------E5
Depends on the side that you take it in from.
--E5-------------------E7
Depends on the time, depends on the day,
--E6------------------------E5
Depends on a lot of things, who can say?

Refrain:

Chord shapes are:
-A-----E-----B-----E

-X-----X-----X-----X----
-5-----5-----4-----5----
-2-----4-----4-----4----
-2-----2-----4-----2----
-4-----2-----2-----2----
-5-----0-----X-----0----


A------E--------A-------E----------A------E------B--E
I just want… to let you know… that I will stand… by you.
------------A----------E---------A--------E
Through whatever might come, wherever you run,
---------A--------E-----------B-----E
Will you stand by me when the time comes?


Verse/refrain 2:
Baby, do you understand, am I making this clear,
Are you tuning me out 'cause I'm coming off weird?
Well I don't care, that's all right,
It's okay, I don't mind.

I just want… to let you know… that I will stand… by you.
Through whatever might come, wherever you run,
Will you stand by me when the time comes?

Bridge:
Chord shapes are:
-A---Asus---C#m-----B5-

-X----X------4------7--
-5----3------5------7--
-2----2------6------4--
-2----2------6------4--
-4----4------4------2--
-5----5------X------X--

A--------------Asus—-A5-------A-------------Asus4 A----C#m
This ain't the right time to say what's on my mind, I know.
----A---------Asus—-A--------A----------Asus4-A------C#m
But I look in your eyes, and there's no real life at all,
----------B5
Baby hold on!

Verse/refrain 3:
And someday soon, you'll come around,
You know where I can be found.
When your heart feels right, seek me out,
We can talk more then babe, but right now.

I just want… to let you know… that I will stand… by you.
Through whatever might come, wherever you run,
Will you stand by me when the time comes?

Enjoy, and hope that helps. Let me know how they work out for you and/or if you have any questions.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Montben,

Thank you so much, Montben!!!! I really appreciate you taking the time to post this. I really like the chord voicings you've posted here.

I will be playing this in a band situation, and probably doing the singing. There will be 3 guitar players, so we can all use different positioning to get a fuller sound. Can't wait to try it. Great harmonies too in the chorus.

You're quite welcome, seltaeB. Thanks for making me remember the song. It's one I always wanted to sit down and figure out, but never think of when I have the time.

I'm gonna add the single-guitar version to an open mike set next week. I'm also trying to get a Petty band off the ground, so I'm sure we'll be adding it to the list once we've gotten through the basics.

Per usual for Tom and Mike, there are a bunch of guitars layered on the original track. Having 3 players should let you cover it pretty well. If I stumble upon specifics of the different parts as we proceed, I'll add 'em here.

Yes, this is quite a great song. I love the descending line throughout the verses.

I was wondering if you might be interested in helping me figure out Hometown Blues and Rockin' Around (With You)?

Those are two songs that I've also never seen tabbed, but would very much like to learn.

Sorry, seltaeB, I've been away and haven't checked in for a while. I'll give those two a shot over the next few days. I used to know Hometown Blues, so that should come back to me pretty quickly. Just hammering on the 6th, I think?

I did the single-guitar/acoustic version of When the Time Comes for some folks last week, went over well. Haven't tried it in a band setting yet.

That would be great! I'd appreciate that very much, and if you ever need help with a Beatles song or anything else, let me know... I might be able to return the favor .

I'm glad to hear that 'When The Time Comes' went over well. I can't wait to do that one someday. It's become one of my favorite Heartbreakers songs.