Aura Lea is a classic American ballad, composed by George R. Poulton and lyrics by W.W. Fosdick. Known for its gentle, flowing melody, this piece has stood the test of time and even inspired Elvis Presley’s Love Me Tender.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn the guitar chords and see sheet music with tabs for the melody. Pro Members ✨ also get access to a full finger-style arrangement that brings the song to life in a solo-guitar style.

Grab your guitar and let’s dive in!

How to read the guitar chord charts

To clarify how to read the chord charts in the next section, the top horizontal line represents the high E string and the bottom horizontal line represents the low E string. The vertical lines separate each fret. The numbers in the blue dots tell you which fingers to use on the fretting hand. 

For example, on the D Major chord, you use the:

• 2nd finger on the 1st string, 2nd fret
• 1st finger on the 3rd string, 2nd fret
• 3rd finger on the 2nd string, 3rd fret
• Circle represents an open string
• X means to avoid the string

You can check this link for more on how to read guitar notation symbols.

Aura Lea guitar chords

The basic chords for “this song” are (link to chord post if available). You can click on the chords with links to learn different ways of playing that chord.

Try the following chords one at a time until you feel comfortable switching between them. These chords will be written above the melody in the next section.

By the way, you can get all the PDFs of this post below.

Here are some resources on chords related to this song:

• Master the basic chords on guitar
• 6 tips to get better at switching between chords on guitar
• 13 ways to play an F chord on guitar.
• How to play the essential 7th chords on guitar
• How to play chord inversions on guitar
• How to play barre chords and 5 tips to get better at playing them!
  

Aura Lee – melody guitar tabs and chords

This section shows you the melody of the song with guitar tabs and the chords written above the staff. Keep in mind that the melody and chords are meant to be played as separate parts. We’ll look at how to connect these parts later in the arrangement section of this post.

The numbers next to some notes on the top staff indicate which fingers to use on the fretting hand.

You can refer to this simple guide to understanding music symbols if needed.

You can learn a finger-style guitar arrangement of this song after the lyrics below.

Aura Lea Lyrics

When the blackbird in the Spring,
Neath the willow tree,
Sat and rock’d, I heard him sing,
Sing of Aura Lea.
Aura Lea, Aura Lea,
Maid of golden hair;
Sunshine came along with thee,
And swallows in the air.

Chorus:
Aura Lea, Aura Lea,
Maid of golden hair;
Sunshine came along with thee,
And swallows in the air.

In thy blush the rose was born,
Music, when you spake,
Through thine azure eye the morn,
Sparkling seemed to break.
Aura Lea, Aura Lea,
Birds of crimson wing,
Never song have sung to me,
As in that sweet spring.
(Chorus)

Aura Lea! the bird may flee,
The willow’s golden hair
Swing through winter fitfully,
On the stormy air.
Yet if thy blue eyes I see,
Gloom will soon depart;
For to me, sweet Aura Lea
Is sunshine through the heart.
(Chorus)

When the mistletoe was green,
Midst the winter’s snows,
Sunshine in thy face was seen,
Kissing lips of rose.
Aura Lea, Aura Lea,
Take my golden ring;
Love and light return with thee,
And swallows with the spring.
(Chorus)

Reference: Aura Lea. wikipedia.org

Aura Lea – guitar arrangement

In this section, we are essentially connecting the melody and chords together using a finger-style method of playing.

If needed, check out this post to learn how to finger pick on guitar.

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If you like this style of playing, you can check out this post to learn how to connect a melody and chords on guitar.

📘 Get the free guitar practice guide here!

Want to learn more songs? Check out the sheet music with guitar tabs resource on this site.

Explore Songs with Guitar Tabs