Chords + Lyrics | American Boy
Intro
| Em/B | B/F# | Am7 | Am13 Am7 Am9 |
| Em/B | B/F# | Am13 Am7 Am9 | Am9 |
Verse 1
| Emaj9 | Cmaj7 |
Just another one champion sound (yea), yeah, Estelle, we ’bout to get down (get down).
| Am7 | Am7 Fmaj7/D |
Who the hottest in the world right now (ha), just touched down in London town (ha).
| Emaj7 | Cmaj7 |
Bet they give me a pound (ah), tell them put the money in my hand right now (yes).
| Am7 | N.C Fmaj7/D |
Tell the promoter we need more seats, we just sold out all the floor seats.
Chorus 1
| Emaj7 | Cmaj7 |
Take me on a trip, I’d like to go someday.
| Am9 | Am9 Fmaj7/D |
Take me to New York, I’d love to see L.A.
| Emaj7 | Cmaj7 |
I really want to, come kick it with you (oh-oh-oh-oh).
| Am9 | N.C Fmaj7/D |
You’ll be my American boy.
Verse 2
||: E5 | C5 | A5 | A5 D5 :||
He said “Hey, sister, it’s really, really nice to meet ya”,
I just met this 5’ 7” guy who’s just my type.
I like the way he’s speaking, his confidence is peaking,
don’t like his baggy jeans but I’m ma like what’s under-
| Emaj7 | Cmaj7 | Am9 | Am9 Fmaj7/D |
neath them, and no I ain’t been to M.I.A, I heard that Cali never rains and New York’s heart awaits.
| Emaj7 | Cmaj7 |
First, let’s see the west end, I’ll show you to my brethren,
| N.C | N.C |
I’m liking this American boy, American boy.
Chorus 2
Take me on a trip, I’d like to go someday.
Take me to New York, I’d love to see L.A.
I really want to, come kick it with you.
You’ll be my American boy, American boy.
Instrumental
| Emaj7 | Cmaj7 | Am9 | Am9 Fmaj7/D |
La la la la la li la. La la la la la li la.
| Emaj7 | Cmaj7 | Am9 | N.C |
La la la la la li la. Would you be my American boy? American boy.
Verse 3
||: Emaj9 | Cmaj7 | Am7 | Am7 Fmaj7/D :||
Can we get away this weekend? Take me to Broadway.
Let’s go shopping, baby, then we’ll go to a café.
Let’s go on the subway, take me to your hood.
I never been to Brooklyn and I’d like to see what’s good.
Dress in all your fancy clothes, sneakers looking fresh to death, I’m loving those Shell Toes.
Walking that walk, talk that slick talk,
I’m liking this American boy, American boy.
Chorus 3
Take me on a trip, I’d like to go someday.
Take me to New York, I’d love to see L.A.
I really want to, come kick it with you.
You’ll be my American boy, American boy. Tell ’em wagwan blud!
Verse 4 (rap)
| Emaj9 | Cmaj7 |
Who killing ’em in the U.K. Everybody gonna say, “You, K”
| Am9 | N.C Fmaj7/D |
Reluctantly ’cause most of this press don’t fuck with me.
| E5 | C5 |
Estelle once said to me, “Cool down, down, don’t act a fool now, now”
| A5 | A5 D5 |
I always act a fool, oww, oww, ain’t nothing new now, now.
| E5 | C5 |
He crazy, I know what ya thinking. Ribena I know what you’re drinking.
| A5 | A5 D5 |
Rap singer, Chain Blinger, holla at the next chick soon as you’re blinking.
| Emaj7 | Cmaj7 |
What’s your persona? About this Americana?
| Am7 | Am7 Fmaj7/D |
Brama, am I shallow, ’cause all my clothes designer.
| Emaj7 | Cmaj7 |
Dressed smart like a London bloke, before he speak his suit bespoke
| N.C | N.C |
And you thought he was cute before, look at this peacoat, tell me he’s broke.
| Emaj7 | Cmaj7 |
And I know you ain’t into all that, I heard your lyrics, I feel your spirit.
| Am7 | Am7 Fmaj7/D |
But I still talk that ca-ah-ash, ’cause a lot wags wanna hear it.
| Emaj7 | Cmaj7 |
And I’m feeling like Mike at his baddest, like The Pips at they Gladys.
| Am9 | N.C Fmaj7/D |
And I know they love it, so to hell with all that rubbish.
Breakdown
| E5 | C5 |
Would you be my love, my love? (Would you be mine?)
| A5 | A5 D5 |
Would you be my love, my love? (Would you be mine?)
| E5 | C5 |
Could you be my love, my love? (Ooh-oh-oh.)
| A5 | A5 D5 |
Would you be my American boy? American boy.
Chorus 4
| Emaj7 | Cmaj7 |
Take me on a trip, I’d like to go someday.
| Am9 | Am9 Fmaj7/D |
Take me to Chicago, San Francisco Bay.
| Emaj7 | Cmaj7 |
I really want to, come kick it with you. (Ooh-oh-oh.)
| Am9 | N.C Fmaj7/D |
You’ll be my American boy, American boy.
Chorus 5 (as chorus 4)
Take me on a trip, I’d like to go someday.
Take me to New York, I’d love to see L.A.
I really want to, come kick it with you. (Ooh-oh-oh.)
You’ll be my American boy, American boy.
Outro
||: Emaj7 | Cmaj7 | Am9 | Am9 Fmaj7/D :||
||: La la la la la li la :||
Would you be my American boy?
American Boy Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning American Boy. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, horns, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
Few guitarists in pub and event bands manage to get the chords right for American Boy. We need to change this trend—this song is clearly here to stay.
Let’s start with the intro. While it’s probably best left to the keyboard player, if you don’t have one, here are the chords:
| Em/B | B/F# | Am7 | Am13 Am7 Am9 |
| Em/B | B/F# | Am13 Am7 Am9 | Am9 |
The only familiar chord here is Am7, which we keep resolving to. Notice that the Em is minor, not major—this will become clearer in the next section.
Verse
Now, for the verse chords of American Boy:
| Emaj9 | Cmaj7 | Am7 | Am7 Fmaj7/D |
We start with an E major, but Cmaj7 creates the illusion of shifting from E to Em. This then resolves to Am7, which somehow feels like home. The final chord, Fmaj7/D, adds tension before leading us back to Emaj9, or if Emaj7—every note is just a semitone away!
Some prefer to call that Fmaj7/D an Am/D, and there’s a case to be made for either.
The real question is; what do we play using all these chords in a working band this Saturday at Debbie’s wedding? And what about if there’s no rap and the singer wants you to solo?
To answer all these questions, I need to give you TAB, scroll further down this guitar lesson to find it.
Chorus
The chorus is almost identical to what you just witnessed in the verse, except Emaj9 is Emaj7.
Aside from these chords, American Boy features one more harmonic trick: it breaks down to just the bass line.
With a song this repetitive, dynamics and stops are crucial to keeping it fresh.
Trying to follow all the changes on a chord chart can feel overcomplicated. Perhaps the best approach is to memorise the chords—then watch your bandmates for cues!
American Boy Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
I have never played this tune in a different key than the original so using just the PDF should be fine I imagine. However, the iRealPro file may be more suitable if you use that app to organise you charts.
Also, because this is such a great tune to practise soloing using modes, you could change the key just for the sake of testing your limits. Here are both frmats for you to download:
American Boy | TAB
This is going to be much more challenging than you think. Let’s start with the intro and play those keyboard chords on the guitar.
Intro
This part is unusual because we don’t play these chords again. There’s a very subtle hint here—the Am13. Notice it’s not a b13; this indicates that over the Am chord, Dorian is preferred over Aeolian. More on this later…
Try playing these chords along with the backing track to make sense of them. Using a delay can help the notes in bar 4 feel natural and let them bleed into each other.
Verse
The verse can and should be improvised. Once you can play all the TAB examples, start blending and expanding on the concepts.
Idea 1 sets out the main concept. You might want to use your fingers to play all the notes simultaneously. The last chord is slightly misleading—there’s no F. You could add it on string 5, fret 8, or call it an Am/D.
Idea 2 removes the low strings (5 and 6) and adds a 9 in bar 1. In bar 2, the shape changes halfway through, creating more movement.
Idea 3 moves down the fretboard. The 9 in bar 1 can be tricky to sound natural—use atmospheric effects like delay, reverb, or even tremolo.
Idea 4 moves up the neck.
Idea 5 returns to the middle of the neck using only the top strings.
Play along with the backing track, trying all these TAB ideas. Once you can do this in an improvised way, you’re ready to experiment further.
Verse with rhythms
Here’s what I often do to bring life to the tune when playing with a band:
Notice how the rhythm is consistent, with only the last two beats breaking the pattern. Try moving around the shape like this:
If you can transfer this concept to other shapes, you’ll be able to play American Boy’s chords freely, with sweeping chords and syncopated rhythms, making the tune fun for years.
Chorus
The chorus can use the same concepts as above or copy the original’s rhythmic approach:
You can also experiment in different areas of the neck:
Solo
Now the tricky part—there’s no traditional solo, just a rap. Often, the singer hasn’t learned it and expects someone in the band to improvise, which usually causes chaos. Don’t be that musician!
Using theory, you might consider:
- Emaj7 – use E Ionian or E Lydian.
- Am7, Cmaj7, Fmaj7 – seemingly all part of C major, but I’ve found that using A Dorian, and C Lydian is better than A Aeolian and C Ionian. Remember, the intro’s Am13 indicated Dorian over Am7.
- Fmaj7/D – can use F Lydian to stray from the A Dorian/C Lydian landscape where we hit F# instead of F.
The funny thing is, you could avoid the F and F#, or, you could play both!
My scale theory which brought me online, and made me start to write books used the concept of major ad minor pentatonic scales, add the modal notes – this is a great starting point for soloing over American Boy:
- Emaj7 – Major Pentatonic – try both 4 and #4, add maj7. Also try m3rd as a bluesy note.
- Cmaj7 – Major Pentatonic – add #4 it sounds better than 4. Also add maj7 and experiment with other intervals
- Amaj7 – Minor Pentatonic – add 6, it’s much better than b6. Also try b5 and maj7.
- Fmaj7/D – Major Pentatonic – try both 4 and #4. Also try diminished scale ideas, how you resolve to Emaj7 is what matters the most.
I find it hard to think of a better tune to practise modal soloing over. Try it with the backing tracks!
Still played almost two decades later
American Boy is a single by British singer Estelle, featuring American rapper Kanye West.
Produced by will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas—who also contributed to the backing track—the song was an instant success. Not only did it top the charts in the U.K. and U.S., as referenced in the lyrics, but it also performed well worldwide in 2008.
To this day, American Boy remains a radio staple and, perhaps surprisingly, is still a popular choice for cover bands—where the rap is often replaced with a solo.
With its simple, looping chord progression, the song is easy for a band to pick up quickly. The lyrics—especially the rap—might take a little longer to master!
American Boy Chords: Continue Learning
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