What key is "If I Only Had The Words" in?

"If I Only Had The Words" by Billy Joel is in the key of A with a tempo of 72 BPM. Difficulty: medium.

Is "If I Only Had The Words" easy to play on piano?

This arrangement is rated medium. It requires comfort with chord shapes and basic hand independence. Expect 1-2 weeks of regular practice for a confident performance.

Can I play "If I Only Had The Words" without reading sheet music?

Yes. Our player offers a falling-notes mode (Synthesia-style) and a beginner mode with color-coded keys — both let you play along without reading traditional notation.

What chords are used in "If I Only Had The Words"?

This arrangement of "If I Only Had The Words" uses 26 chords: A, Am, Am7, Bb, Bb9, Bm7, C, C7, +18 more.

How long does it take to learn "If I Only Had The Words" on piano?

2–4 weeks of consistent practice (20–30 min/day) for an intermediate player. Drill the tricky passages in isolation first.

What other songs by Billy Joel can I play here?

Try "SCENES FROM AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT", "EVERYBODY HAS A DREAM", "CAPTAIN JACK". All are available in our player with color-coded notes; pick the one matching your level.

Lyrics

If I (A)on ly had the words

(A)to tell you,

if you (Bm7)on ly had the time to (Bm7)un der stand.

Though I (A)know it would n’t (A)change

your (D)feel ings,

and I (Bm7)know you’ll car ry on the best you can.

If I (A)on ly had the urge

(A)to tell you,

if you (Bm7)on ly knew how hard it is to say.

When the (A)sim ple lines have (A)all

been (D)tak en

and the (Bm7)ra di o re peats them ev ’ry day,

if I (C)nev er find the (C)song

(C)to sing you,

if you al ways had find it hard to com un pre hend,

well, you (C)know ly there would n’t be

much (Fmaj7)mean ing,

if I (F)all to that you can ask tired of an y man.

(C)gain.

(E7)Life

goes (E7)on and on,

and to night

will (G)soon be gone.

But if we (Fmaj7)try

we (Em7)can be (Dm7)sure.

(G)If I

(C)La,

(F7)la, la, la.

(D7)La, la, la.

If I (C)on ly had the (C)words

(C)to tell you,

if you (Dm7)on ly had the time to un der stand.

Oh, (G)but I (C)on ly have these (C)arms

to (Fmaj7)hold you,

and it’s (Dm7)all that you can ask of an y man.

If I Only Had The Words by Billy Joel

10 people have learned this song

Easy piano arrangement in the key of A at 72 BPM. Difficulty: medium. Color-coded notes — no sheet-reading skill required.

Teacher’s notes

This arrangement will stretch your chord vocabulary in a big way — with 26 different chords, your left hand needs to navigate some colorful transitions, especially moving between major, minor, and seventh shapes like Fmaj7 to Fm, or Dm7 to G9.

At 72 BPM you have breathing room, but don't let the slow tempo fool you into coasting; use it to land each voicing cleanly before the next one arrives.

I'd suggest learning the chord progression hands-separate first, drilling any passage where you shift between unrelated keys — the moves around Bb and F will feel foreign in a song rooted in A, so loop those bars until the shapes sit in your fingers.

Watch your sustain pedal closely through the seventh chords; lifting too late will blur those rich harmonics into mud.

The biggest stumbling point is usually the sheer number of chord changes, so mark the three or four trickiest swaps and slow-repeat them daily.

This is the piece that'll make jazzy extended chords — ninths, suspended voicings, major sevenths — feel like a natural part of your playing instead of something intimidating.

About “If I Only Had The Words”

What key is "If I Only Had The Words" in?: "If I Only Had The Words" by Billy Joel is in the key of A with a tempo of 72 BPM. Difficulty: medium.
Is "If I Only Had The Words" easy to play on piano?: This arrangement is rated medium. It requires comfort with chord shapes and basic hand independence. Expect 1-2 weeks of regular practice for a confident performance.
Can I play "If I Only Had The Words" without reading sheet music?: Yes. Our player offers a falling-notes mode (Synthesia-style) and a beginner mode with color-coded keys — both let you play along without reading traditional notation.
What chords are used in "If I Only Had The Words"?: This arrangement of "If I Only Had The Words" uses 26 chords: A, Am, Am7, Bb, Bb9, Bm7, C, C7, +18 more.
How long does it take to learn "If I Only Had The Words" on piano?: 2–4 weeks of consistent practice (20–30 min/day) for an intermediate player. Drill the tricky passages in isolation first.
What other songs by Billy Joel can I play here?: Try "SCENES FROM AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT", "EVERYBODY HAS A DREAM", "CAPTAIN JACK". All are available in our player with color-coded notes; pick the one matching your level.