Other arrangements of If I Only Had The Words
Pick a learning view.
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 — Visual Piano Sheet Music
18 people have learned this song
"If I Only Had The Words" in visual bar notation — see every note as a colored bar on the staff. Easier to read than traditional sheet music. Scrolls automatically as you play. Key of A, 72 BPM.
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.
Try other practice modes:
About “If I Only Had The Words”
- Why does "If I Only Had The Words" show as colored bars instead of notation?
- Bar Notation replaces traditional noteheads with colored horizontal bars on a simplified staff — each bar's vertical position is the pitch and its length is the duration. Much easier to read than classic sheet music while still showing the full arrangement of "If I Only Had The Words".
- What key is "If I Only Had The Words" by Billy Joel played in?
- If I Only Had The Words is arranged in the key of A on Super Simple Piano. You can transpose to any other key live in the player.
- What's the tempo (BPM) of "If I Only Had The Words"?
- The arrangement plays at 72 BPM. Use the speed control (10-200%) to practice slower or play faster.
- Is "If I Only Had The Words" easy to play on piano?
- This is a medium-difficulty arrangement. Most players can learn it within a few practice sessions using the speed control.
- Can I download sheet music for "If I Only Had The Words"?
- Yes — registered users can download PDF sheet music, plus MIDI and MusicXML files for use in other notation software.
- Who composed "If I Only Had The Words"?
- "If I Only Had The Words" was originally performed by Billy Joel. The Super Simple Piano arrangement is simplified for beginner-to-intermediate players.
- What chords are used in "If I Only Had The Words"?
- This arrangement uses 26 chords: A, Am, Am7, Bb, Bb9, Bm7, C, C7, +18 more.
- What other songs by Billy Joel can I play here?
- Try "SCENES FROM AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT", "EVERYBODY HAS A DREAM", "CAPTAIN JACK". All are in our player with color-coded notes; pick the one matching your level.
- Is this real sheet music for "If I Only Had The Words"?
- It's a simplified visual notation using colored bars instead of traditional notes. Each bar's vertical position shows the pitch and its length shows duration — much easier to read for beginners while still showing the complete arrangement of "If I Only Had The Words".
- Can I see all the notes in "If I Only Had The Words"?
- Yes! The Bar Sheet shows every note in the arrangement as a colored bar. The sheet scrolls automatically during playback, or you can scroll manually to study any section. The song is in the key of A at 72 BPM.