GUITAR / LOOPER-READY SHEET

Music When the Lights Go Out

The Libertines

Community-chart study · adapted harmony & rhythm

C major4/4A4 portrait

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Music When the Lights Go Out guitar song sheet

Sources & musical analysis

Guitar study of the song released on the 2004 self-titled album; source-chart synthesis, not a verified album transcription.

Complete harmonic families and sourced lead phrase, normalized as an explicitly timed practice study; no recording audition.

Research record Collected while preparing this sheet

Read the signed Hawkins tab and independently credited Bernardt chart during authoring; compared actual verse shapes and chorus sequences. Read ChordU metadata as supplemental only. Collected atomic evidence before rendering; no audio was auditioned.

Recording independently checked: No.

Passage fidelity

Intro / verse · Practice adaptation

Preserved: Ordered harmony of the cited verse cycle.

Changed: Explicit 4/4 practice durations and guitar shapes. Solo looping option sustains G instead of final F#; final C is described in technique rather than adding another cycle.

Checked: Compared chart chord order and computed every bar total as four quarters. Checked last-to-first connection: G→C.

harmony evidence · timing evidence

Chromatic link · Practice adaptation

Preserved: Ordered harmony of the cited chromatic link.

Changed: Explicit 4/4 practice durations and guitar shapes. Solo looping option sustains G instead of final F#; final C is described in technique rather than adding another cycle.

Checked: Compared chart chord order and computed every bar total as four quarters. Checked last-to-first connection: F#→F.

harmony evidence · timing evidence

Chorus A / solo bed · Practice adaptation

Preserved: Ordered harmony of the cited chorus half; solo bed has the same F C F C F D G sequence.

Changed: Explicit 4/4 practice durations and guitar shapes. Solo looping option sustains G instead of final F#; final C is described in technique rather than adding another cycle.

Checked: Compared chart chord order and computed every bar total as four quarters. Checked last-to-first connection: F#→F.

harmony evidence · timing evidence

Chorus B / return · Practice adaptation

Preserved: Ordered harmony of the cited second chorus half and G7 return.

Changed: Explicit 4/4 practice durations and guitar shapes. Solo looping option sustains G instead of final F#; final C is described in technique rather than adding another cycle.

Checked: Compared chart chord order and computed every bar total as four quarters. Checked last-to-first connection: G7→C. No recording audition.

harmony evidence · timing evidence

chromatic-response · Practice adaptation

Preserved: All three five-note ascents and all five notes of the descending answer in source order and register.

Changed: Four-bar even eighth-note practice grid with final two-beat holds; slide articulation omitted. No backing chord alignment asserted.

Checked: Read both tab segments including x3 and final G-string 2; computed standard-tuning pitches and note boundaries. End A3 to next E3 is a deliberate study repeat, not verified performance timing.

pitches evidence · timing evidence

Claim-level evidence

Song · key inferred

C is the tonal centre inferred from verse returns and G7–C resolution; ChordU explicitly labels C major. Same sounding and shape key in the chosen no-capo setup.

[2] Intro and Verso headings
Intro lists C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G twice; the verse follows those chords. No metrical durations supplied.

[2] Refrão heading and “solo guitarra-base” line
Chorus has G–F# approach, F C F C F D G, another G–F# approach, then F C F C F D G G7. Solo backing lists F C F C F D G.

[3] Top tuning/capo metadata and “Jam Along & Learn” paragraph
Displays standard EADGBE, capo +0, and key C Major. Algorithmic chart contains inconsistent chord/lyric detections.

Song · tuning supported

Standard EADGBE is explicitly stated by Hawkins and ChordU. Capo 0 is the selected arrangement, also shown by ChordU.

[1] Tuning line above main chord tab
Explicitly says Tuning: Standard.

[3] Top tuning/capo metadata and “Jam Along & Learn” paragraph
Displays standard EADGBE, capo +0, and key C Major. Algorithmic chart contains inconsistent chord/lyric detections.

Song · meter adapted

Choose a regular 4/4 practice grid. Neither manual chart supplies counted meter; no claim of verified recording meter is made.

[1] “The main chord part” six-string tab, immediately after Tuning: Standard
Printed shapes are x32010, x32000, x02210, xx0231 and 320003; second chord is labelled C(?). No metric bar divisions between its chords.

[2] Intro and Verso headings
Intro lists C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G twice; the verse follows those chords. No metrical durations supplied.

C · harmony inferred

C contains C E G; Roman I derives from C major. Quality follows the selected Bernardt accompaniment.

[2] Intro and Verso headings
Intro lists C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G twice; the verse follows those chords. No metrical durations supplied.

C · voicing adapted

Chosen low-to-high frets [None, 3, 2, 0, 1, 0] produce C E G in EADGBE. Authored playable voicing, not a claim of the recording’s exact fingering.

[2] Intro and Verso headings
Intro lists C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G twice; the verse follows those chords. No metrical durations supplied.

Em · harmony inferred

Em contains E G B; Roman iii derives from C major. Quality follows the selected Bernardt accompaniment.

[2] Intro and Verso headings
Intro lists C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G twice; the verse follows those chords. No metrical durations supplied.

Em · voicing adapted

Chosen low-to-high frets [0, 2, 2, 0, 0, 0] produce E G B in EADGBE. Authored playable voicing, not a claim of the recording’s exact fingering.

[2] Intro and Verso headings
Intro lists C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G twice; the verse follows those chords. No metrical durations supplied.

Am · harmony inferred

Am contains A C E; Roman vi derives from C major. Quality follows the selected Bernardt accompaniment.

[2] Intro and Verso headings
Intro lists C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G twice; the verse follows those chords. No metrical durations supplied.

Am · voicing adapted

Chosen low-to-high frets [None, 0, 2, 2, 1, 0] produce A C E in EADGBE. Authored playable voicing, not a claim of the recording’s exact fingering.

[2] Intro and Verso headings
Intro lists C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G twice; the verse follows those chords. No metrical durations supplied.

Am7 · harmony inferred

Am7 contains A C E G; Roman vi7 derives from C major. Quality follows the selected Bernardt accompaniment.

[2] Intro and Verso headings
Intro lists C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G twice; the verse follows those chords. No metrical durations supplied.

Am7 · voicing adapted

Chosen low-to-high frets [None, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0] produce A C E G in EADGBE. Authored playable voicing, not a claim of the recording’s exact fingering.

[2] Intro and Verso headings
Intro lists C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G twice; the verse follows those chords. No metrical durations supplied.

Dm7 · harmony inferred

Dm7 contains D F A C; Roman ii7 derives from C major. Quality follows the selected Bernardt accompaniment.

[2] Intro and Verso headings
Intro lists C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G twice; the verse follows those chords. No metrical durations supplied.

Dm7 · voicing adapted

Chosen low-to-high frets [None, None, 0, 2, 1, 1] produce D F A C in EADGBE. Authored playable voicing, not a claim of the recording’s exact fingering.

[2] Intro and Verso headings
Intro lists C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G twice; the verse follows those chords. No metrical durations supplied.

G · harmony inferred

G contains G B D; Roman V derives from C major. Quality follows the selected Bernardt accompaniment.

[2] Intro and Verso headings
Intro lists C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G twice; the verse follows those chords. No metrical durations supplied.

G · voicing adapted

Chosen low-to-high frets [3, 2, 0, 0, 0, 3] produce G B D in EADGBE. Authored playable voicing, not a claim of the recording’s exact fingering.

[2] Intro and Verso headings
Intro lists C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G twice; the verse follows those chords. No metrical durations supplied.

F · harmony inferred

F contains F A C; Roman IV derives from C major. Quality follows the selected Bernardt accompaniment.

[2] Refrão heading and “solo guitarra-base” line
Chorus has G–F# approach, F C F C F D G, another G–F# approach, then F C F C F D G G7. Solo backing lists F C F C F D G.

F · voicing adapted

Chosen low-to-high frets [1, 3, 3, 2, 1, 1] produce F A C in EADGBE. Authored playable voicing, not a claim of the recording’s exact fingering.

[2] Refrão heading and “solo guitarra-base” line
Chorus has G–F# approach, F C F C F D G, another G–F# approach, then F C F C F D G G7. Solo backing lists F C F C F D G.

D · harmony inferred

D contains D F# A; Roman V/V derives from C major. D is the secondary dominant of G.

[2] Refrão heading and “solo guitarra-base” line
Chorus has G–F# approach, F C F C F D G, another G–F# approach, then F C F C F D G G7. Solo backing lists F C F C F D G.

D · voicing adapted

Chosen low-to-high frets [None, None, 0, 2, 3, 2] produce D F# A in EADGBE. Authored playable voicing, not a claim of the recording’s exact fingering.

[2] Refrão heading and “solo guitarra-base” line
Chorus has G–F# approach, F C F C F D G, another G–F# approach, then F C F C F D G G7. Solo backing lists F C F C F D G.

F# · harmony inferred

F# contains F# A# C#; Roman #IV derives from C major. F# is a chromatic passing major chord, not diatonic IV.

[2] Refrão heading and “solo guitarra-base” line
Chorus has G–F# approach, F C F C F D G, another G–F# approach, then F C F C F D G G7. Solo backing lists F C F C F D G.

F# · voicing adapted

Chosen low-to-high frets [2, 4, 4, 3, 2, 2] produce F# A# C# in EADGBE. Authored playable voicing, not a claim of the recording’s exact fingering.

[2] Refrão heading and “solo guitarra-base” line
Chorus has G–F# approach, F C F C F D G, another G–F# approach, then F C F C F D G G7. Solo backing lists F C F C F D G.

G7 · harmony inferred

G7 contains G B D F; Roman V7 derives from C major. Quality follows the selected Bernardt accompaniment.

[2] Refrão heading and “solo guitarra-base” line
Chorus has G–F# approach, F C F C F D G, another G–F# approach, then F C F C F D G G7. Solo backing lists F C F C F D G.

G7 · voicing adapted

Chosen low-to-high frets [3, 2, 0, 0, 0, 1] produce G B D F in EADGBE. Authored playable voicing, not a claim of the recording’s exact fingering.

[2] Refrão heading and “solo guitarra-base” line
Chorus has G–F# approach, F C F C F D G, another G–F# approach, then F C F C F D G G7. Solo backing lists F C F C F D G.

Intro / verse · harmony adapted

Retain the Bernardt chord sequence shown in this section; choose its Em and Dm7 reading where Hawkins instead uses Cmaj7 and Dm. This is a declared arrangement, not a resolution of the recording discrepancy.

[2] Intro and Verso headings
Intro lists C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G twice; the verse follows those chords. No metrical durations supplied.

Intro / verse · timing adapted

Chosen practice timing in quarter-note units, bars separated by semicolons: C 2 + Em 2; Am 2 + Am7 2; Dm7 4; G 4. These durations are editorial; source chord placements lack a beat grid.

[2] Intro and Verso headings
Intro lists C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G twice; the verse follows those chords. No metrical durations supplied.

Chromatic link · harmony adapted

[2] Refrão heading and “solo guitarra-base” line
Chorus has G–F# approach, F C F C F D G, another G–F# approach, then F C F C F D G G7. Solo backing lists F C F C F D G.

Chromatic link · timing adapted

Chosen practice timing in quarter-note units, bars separated by semicolons: G 2 + F# 2. These durations are editorial; source chord placements lack a beat grid.

[2] Refrão heading and “solo guitarra-base” line
Chorus has G–F# approach, F C F C F D G, another G–F# approach, then F C F C F D G G7. Solo backing lists F C F C F D G.

Chorus A / solo bed · harmony adapted

[2] Refrão heading and “solo guitarra-base” line
Chorus has G–F# approach, F C F C F D G, another G–F# approach, then F C F C F D G G7. Solo backing lists F C F C F D G.

Chorus A / solo bed · timing adapted

Chosen practice timing in quarter-note units, bars separated by semicolons: F 4; C 4; F 4; C 4; F 4; D 4; G 4; G 2 + F# 2. These durations are editorial; source chord placements lack a beat grid.

[2] Refrão heading and “solo guitarra-base” line
Chorus has G–F# approach, F C F C F D G, another G–F# approach, then F C F C F D G G7. Solo backing lists F C F C F D G.

Chorus B / return · harmony adapted

[2] Refrão heading and “solo guitarra-base” line
Chorus has G–F# approach, F C F C F D G, another G–F# approach, then F C F C F D G G7. Solo backing lists F C F C F D G.

Chorus B / return · timing adapted

Chosen practice timing in quarter-note units, bars separated by semicolons: F 4; C 4; F 4; C 4; F 4; D 4; G 4; G7 4. These durations are editorial; source chord placements lack a beat grid.

[2] Refrão heading and “solo guitarra-base” line
Chorus has G–F# approach, F C F C F D G, another G–F# approach, then F C F C F D G G7. Solo backing lists F C F C F D G.

chromatic-response · pitches inferred

Preserve the complete Hawkins pitch order: E3 F3 F#3 G3 E4 three times, then E4 D4 C4 B3 A3. String/fret pitches derived in standard tuning; only one consulted source supplies this complete phrase.

[1] “A second guitar does something like this”, both tab segments
D-string 2 3 4 /5 then B-string 5 repeated x3; tail B-string 5 3 1 then G-string 4 2. No beat counts; source is tentative.

chromatic-response · timing adapted

Four 4/4 practice bars: each ascent has onsets 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2; its final E rings for two beats. Repeat ascent three times, then the five-note descending answer uses the same onsets. Remove unspecified slide nuance.

[1] “A second guitar does something like this”, both tab segments
D-string 2 3 4 /5 then B-string 5 repeated x3; tail B-string 5 3 1 then G-string 4 2. No beat counts; source is tentative.

Key & tuning Harmonic interpretation

C centre and G7–C cadence inferred from both charts; standard tuning explicitly given by Hawkins, corroborated by ChordU. Select capo 0, so C shapes sound in C. [1] [2]

Chord functions

C I

C: C E G. I in C; voicing checked by standard-tuning fret arithmetic. [1] [2]

Harmonic interpretation

Em iii

Em: E G B. iii in C; voicing checked by standard-tuning fret arithmetic. [1] [2]

Harmonic interpretation

Am vi

Am: A C E. vi in C; voicing checked by standard-tuning fret arithmetic. [1] [2]

Harmonic interpretation

Am7 vi7

Am7: A C E G. vi7 in C; voicing checked by standard-tuning fret arithmetic. [1] [2]

Harmonic interpretation

Dm7 ii7

Dm7: D F A C. ii7 in C; voicing checked by standard-tuning fret arithmetic. [1] [2]

Harmonic interpretation

G V

G: G B D. V in C; voicing checked by standard-tuning fret arithmetic. [1] [2]

Harmonic interpretation

F IV

F: F A C. IV in C; voicing checked by standard-tuning fret arithmetic. [1] [2]

Harmonic interpretation

D V/V

D: D F# A. V/V in C; secondary dominant leading to G. [1] [2]

Harmonic interpretation

F# #IV

F#: F# A# C#. #IV in C; chromatic passing harmony; A# and C# are outside C major. [1] [2]

Harmonic interpretation

G7 V7

G7: G B D F. V7 in C; voicing checked by standard-tuning fret arithmetic. [1] [2]

Harmonic interpretation

Meter, duration & feel Playing suggestion

No BPM printed. Chosen 4/4, four-bar verse, one-bar chromatic link, two eight-bar chorus halves and four-bar featured practice figure; all source durations are unverified. Strum is an authored full-bar alternative. [1] [2]

Choosing material for a looper Playing suggestion

Verse G→C closes a useful cycle. Chorus A is a returning F#→F cycle; sustain G for the solo-bed variant. Chorus B points through G7 back to C. Accompaniment plus a short answer respects two simultaneous layers. [1] [2]

Improvisation choices Playing suggestion

C major C D E F G A B is a starting palette; target E over C, C over Am, F over Dm7. D requires F#, while F# major requires F# A# C#. Treat chromatic notes as passing tones and leave space. These are suggestions, not recorded solo claims. [1] [2]

Cross-checks & arrangement decisions

Verse second chord and minor-colour differences. Hawkins x32000 is Cmaj7 with C bass; Bernardt names Em (E bass). Dm versus Dm7 also differs. Choose Bernardt’s chord reading as an explicit practice arrangement; exact recorded voicings remain unverified. [1] [2]

Precise rhythm and tempo. Manual charts lack beat grids; ChordU’s uncertain detection is not timing proof. Omit BPM; explicitly assign practice durations to every section and the complete featured phrase. [1] [2] [3]

Limits of this edition

Recording not auditioned. All printed timings are an editorial practice arrangement, not a verified transcription.
The complete featured phrase has one manual source; its pitches are inferred from tablature, and its slide/expressive timing is simplified.
Em/Cmaj7 and Dm/Dm7 remain differences between source arrangements. This sheet deliberately selects Bernardt’s harmony.
Solo improvisation is not transcribed; its chord bed is preserved. Global performance repeat counts and rubato are not mapped.
Hawkins identifies the self-titled album but does not establish exact recording fidelity; no demo/live/studio equivalence is assumed.

Image research & credit

Magnus D / A Thousand Doors · CC BY 2.0

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Libertines_at_HMV_Forum_(11)-cropped.jpg ↗

Magnus D; crop by A Thousand Doors. CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ . Rendered in grayscale and faded; existing portrait crop retained.

Artist-related live portrait showing both guitarists; a later reunion image, not a photograph of the 2004 recording.

Sources

Music When The Lights Go Out — matthawkins tab ↗
Standard tuning; C–Cmaj7–Am–Dm–G voicings; complete second-guitar pitch phrase; album identification.
Guitartabs.cc · Lineage: matthawkins-tab · Signed matthawkins. Distinct tablature, uncertain C(?) label and lead phrase; differs substantially from Bernardt’s lyric chart. No shared origin evident.
Music When The Lights Go Out — Luc Bernardt chord chart ↗
Intro/verse C Em Am Am7 Dm7 G; chorus and solo-bed harmony; G–F# chromatic link and G7 return.
E-Chords · Lineage: luc-bernardt-chart · Contribution credited to Luc Bernardt; Portuguese barre note and Em/Am7/Dm7 plus full chorus chart differ from Hawkins. No copied text or shared authorship evident.
Music When The Lights Go Out — ChordU detection ↗
Supplemental C-major label, standard tuning and capo 0 metadata. Tempo and detected chart not relied on.
ChordU · Lineage: chordu-detection-wX6EOxVLU6Q · Algorithmic video chord page, with obvious transcription errors. Independent supplemental detection; not used to certify phrase timings or resolve chord detail.