Summertime Sadness

Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” is like 99% of her songs; a haunting and atmospheric ballad. The song captures the bittersweet feeling of the end of summer. The song’s lyrics speak to the nostalgia and melancholy that comes with the passing of time and the loss of innocence.

How to Play Lana Del Rey’s Summertime Sadness | fingerstyle guitar

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Like my other Lana Del Rey arrangements, Summertime Sadness was difficult to perform and record correctly. Her songs are long, and I would play three minutes worth correctly, then panic and screw up the bridge part. I think I played Summertime Sadness a dozen times before I achieved a perfect recording.

Summertime Sadness is relatively easy to play. It’s time intensive to play, but there are no difficult chords.

The guitar tab is only 2 pages long. My song structure goes like this:

Intro, Verse, Verse Change, Pre-Chorus, Chorus

Bridge, Chorus, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, Bridge.

Enjoy, the tab is available below:

**Summertime Sadness | fingerstyle guitar

Summertime Sadness is played in standard tuning with a capo on the 2nd fret.