Losing My Religion Chords & Guitar Lesson

Welcome to my Losing My Religion chord chart and guitar lesson by REM.

This is a really great song that I’ve done with a lot of students in the past. Now most of the song isn’t too difficult in terms of the chords. A lot of open chords.

The bridge does get a bit more difficult with an F barre chord, but you can easily remedy that by playing the Famj7 chord below:

easy f chord

Losing My Religion Guitar Chords:

Losing My Religion Strumming Patterns:

Easy Strum:
1 2 3 + 4 +
DD DU DU

Harder Strum:
1  2+  3 +  4 +
D DU    U  DU

Four Measure Strum Pattern:
1 2 + 3 + 4 +  1 + 2 + 3 + 4+  1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +  1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
D   U DU    U    U   U D   DU  D      U DU    U    U   U DU  DU

1 2 + 3 + 4 +  1 + 2 + 3 + 4+  1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +  1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
D   U DU    U    U   U D   DU  D   D    DU DU    U   U  DU DU

Hard to hear the last measure on the intro because he starts singing so anything will work at that point. I believe there is likely a lot of improvisation going on in this song but I think if you stick with the first two measures of the strumming patterns you will do very well.

Remember there is a mandolin in this song which can overpower the sound of the rhythm guitar so don’t let it throw you off too much.

Want to work on improving your strumming skills? Grab my Expressive Strumming Course!

Losing My Religion Guitar Lesson:

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Losing My Religion Chord Chart:

Intro:
F F Am Am
F F Am G

Verse:
        Am       Am    Em                                Em
Oh, life is bigger         It's bigger than you
                        Am        Am                                      Em
And you are not me.    The lengths that I will go to,
         Em                          Am   Am
The distance in your eyes,
Em                      Em           Dm    Dm              G  G(hold)
      Oh no, I've said too much,       I set it up.

Chorus:
                                  Am      Am                                  Em
That's me in the corner,        That's me in the spotlight
   Em               Am      Am                     Em                   Em
Losing my religion.         Trying to keep up with you.
             Am                          Am
And I don't know if I can do it.
Em                      Em           Dm    Dm              G  G
      Oh no, I've said too much,       I set it up.

Bridge:
                                                       F
I thought that I h  eard you laughing,
        F                                        Am      Am
I thought that I heard you sing.
     F                             F            Am    G
I think I thought I saw you try.

Verse:
                Am            Am                    Em             Em                       Am          Am
Every Whisper of every waking hour I'm choosing my confessions,
                   Em                      Em              Am                                  Am
Trying to keep an eye of you Like a hurt lost and blinded fool, fool
Em                      Em           Dm    Dm              G  G(hold)
      Oh no, I've said too much,       I set it up.

Verse:
                   Am    Am                           Em                  Em
Consider this, consider this, The hint of a century,
                   Am          Am              Em                              Em
Consider this: the slip That brought me to my knees failed.
   Am                       Am                           Em         Em
What if all these fantasies Come flailing around?
                  Dm Dm           G        G
Now I've said        too much.

Bridge:
                                                      F
I thought that I heard you laughing,
        F                                        Am      Am
I thought that I heard you sing.
     F                             F            Am    G
I think I thought I saw you try.

Solo: One Strum And Hold
C D C D

          C                             D            C                           D
But that was just a dream,  That was just a dream

Or picked mandolin part:

e|-12-12-12-10-10-10-10-10-8--8-8-----------—-----12-12-12-10-10-10-10-|
B|-----------------------------—-10-10-10-10-10—--------------------|

e|-10-8--8-8—----------------12-12-12-10-10-10-10-8-8-8-8---------------|
B|-----------—10-10-10-10-10—----—------------------------10-10-10-10--|

e|-—--12-12-12-10-10-10-10-10-8-8-8---------------------------------—--|
B|-10———------------------------------10-10-10-10-10------------------|

Chorus:
                                  Am      Am                                  Em
That's me in the corner,        That's me in the spotlight
   Em               Am      Am                     Em                   Em
Losing my religion.         Trying to keep up with you.
             Am                          Am
And I don't know if I can do it.
Em                      Em           Dm    Dm              G  G
      Oh no, I've said too much,       I set it up.

Bridge:
                                                      F
I thought that I heard you laughing,
        F                                        Am      Am
I thought that I heard you sing.
     F                             F            Am    G
I think I thought I saw you try.
           F                            F
But that was just a dream,
 Am         Am
Try, cry,  why,  try.
  F                                F                     Am                                   G
That was just a dream, just a dream, just a dream, dream.

Mand0lin Outro:

e|-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-|
B|----————------------------------------------------------|

e|-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12----------------|
B|-----------———---------------------------------------------|

e|-12-10-8—---8—-----8--------|
B|--------—10—--10-8—--10~~--|

This file is the author’s own work and represents his interpretation of this song. It’s intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.

We do not distribute printable chord and lyrics charts. These charts are here only to support online learning. We highly recommend buying music from Hal Leonard or a reputable online sheet music store.

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