American Boy | Chords + Lyrics
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
| 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.
| Am7 | N.C Fmaj7/D |
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
| 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.
| Am9 | N.C |
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
| 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. (Ooh-oh-oh.)
| Am9 | N.C Fmaj7/D |
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’s chords and progressions
Few guitar players in pub and event bands get the chords right for American Boy. We must change this trend as this is a song that is clearly sticking around.
Let’s start with the intro, which probably is best left to the keyboard player, but should you not have one at hand, this is what the chords are:
| Em/B | B/F# | Am7 | Am13 Am7 Am9 |
| Em/B | B/F# | Am13 Am7 Am9 | Am9 |
Only the Am7, which is what we keep resolving to is familiar here with what is about to come. Notice how the Em is minor, not major as we are about to experience next.
Here’s the verse progression.
| Emaj9 | Cmaj7 | Am7 | Am7 Fmaj7/D |
Starting out in E major, the Cmaj7 makes it feel as if we’ve gone from E to Em. This resolves to Am7 which somehow feels like home.
The last chord, Fmaj7/D works as a tension chord to get us back to Emaj9. Every note is a semitone away!
The chorus is almost identical, only altered with an Am9, instead of Am7.
Apart from these chords, American Boy only has one more harmonic trick up its sleeve and that is to break it down to just the bass line.
Whenever a song is this repetitive, you rely on dynamics and stops to keep the song alive.
To read these dynamic changes and stops in a chart would be much more difficult than having the chords and lyrics, as you find above.
American Boy is still played a decade later
American Boy is a single by British singer Estelle and John Legend, it features American rapper Kanye West.
Produced by Black Eyed Pees will.i.am, who also contributed with the backing track, the song was an instant success. Not just in the U.K. and U.S., which are referenced in the lyrics, American Boy charted high the world over in 2008.
To this day, American Boy is still played on the radio and perhaps surprisingly, also found on many cover bands’ setlists, where the rap most of the time is substituted for a solo.
As the chords essentially are one repetitive loop, this makes it a great song for a band to quickly pick up. The lyrics, however, especially if you include the rap, may take a little while longer to master!
American Boy chords | Related pages
Five similar tunes
Estelle
Hailing from the U.K., Estelle got discovered by introducing herself to Kanye West in a restaurant in L.A., asking to get introduced to John Legend.
This proved to be a smart move as she would eventually get signed by Legend, and write a song with Kanye West that made her famous worldwide.
Estelle on the web
