“All Apologies” is one of the most beloved songs in Nirvana’s catalog — and one of the easiest to play on guitar. The entire song is built on just three open chords: D, G, and A. Most of it lives on a single D chord, with brief visits to G and A in the chorus. If you can play those three chords cleanly, you can play this whole song.
This is the simplified standard-tuning arrangement in D — the same one I teach in my 30 Day Guitar Chord Fluency course. Nirvana actually recorded the studio version tuned down a half step in drop D, but that’s a detail you can safely ignore as a beginner (more on that below). Let’s dive in!
The Chords You’ll Need
Chord Chart
Intro | D | D | D | D | | D | D | D | D | Verse 1 D What else should I be, all apologies D What else could I say, everyone is gay D What else could I write, I don't have the right D What else should I be, all apologies G In the sun, in the sun I feel as one In the sun, in the sun A Married, buried Verse 2 D I wish I was like you, easily amused D Find my nest of salt, everything's my fault D I'll take all the blame, aqua seafoam shame D Sunburn, freezer burn, choking on the ashes of her enemy G In the sun, in the sun I feel as one In the sun, in the sun A Married, buried A Married, buried, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Outro | D | D | D | D | D All in all is all we are D All in all is all we are D All in all is all we are D All in all is all we are (Repeat all the "All in alls" 4 more times — 20 lines in total)
About the original recording
Nirvana recorded “All Apologies” with their guitars tuned down a half step, and the
studio version is in drop D tuning on top of that. This page presents the simpler
standard-tuning version in D — the way virtually everyone learns it on acoustic guitar,
and the way it’s played on the iconic MTV Unplugged performance. If you want to play
along with the studio recording, just tune every string down one semitone and the chord
shapes here will still work — they’ll just sound a half step lower.
Practice Tips
- The vast majority of this song lives on D — easily 80% of the bars are just a D chord. Get that one rock-solid before worrying about anything else.
- The G and A chords pass quickly through the chorus before resolving back to D. Practice “D → G → A → D” as a single connected phrase rather than four separate chords.
- The strumming is slow and steady — closer to a hypnotic pulse than an aggressive strum. Try a gentle down-down-up across each chord and let the notes ring.
- Once you’re comfortable strumming, try fingerpicking the verses — thumb on the bass strings, fingers on the top three. That’s the texture you hear on the Unplugged version, and it suits the song’s quiet introspection.