American Girl | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| D5 (D7omit3) | D5 (D7omit3) |
||: D5 (D7omit3) :|| x6 (band)
||: D5/F# (D7omit3) | D5/E (D7omit3) | D5 (D7omit3) | D5/E (D7omit3) :|| (bass in)
Verse 1
| D | E (E7) | G | A |
Well, she was an American girl, raised on promises.
| D | E (E7) | G | A |
She couldn’t help thinkin’ that there was a little more to life, somewhere else.
| A | D (E F#) | G (F#) | E (E7) |
After all, it was a great big world, with lots of places to run to.
| A | A | A | A (E F#) |
Yeah, and if she had to die, tryin’ she, had one little promise she was gonna keep.
Chorus 1
| G | A |
Oh yeah, alright.
| D | Bm |
Take it easy baby, make it last all night (make it last all night).
| G | A |
She was, an American girl.
Instrumental
| D5 (D7omit3) | D5 (D7omit3) |
Verse 2
Well, it was kind of cold that night, she stood alone on her balcony.
Yeah, she could hear the cars roll by out on 441, like waves crashin’ on the beach.
And for one desperate moment there, he crept back in her memory.
God, it’s so painful, when something that is so close, and still so far out of reach
Chorus 2
Oh yeah, alright.
Take it easy baby, make it last all night (make it last all night).
She was, an American girl.
Outro
| D (D7) | D (D7) |
||: G5 (G#) | A5 D5 (A C D) :|| x3
| G5 (G#) | A5 |
||: D5 (D7omit3) | D5 (D7omit3) :||
(Aah)
||: D5 (D7omit3) | D5/E (D7omit3) | D5/G (D7omit3) | D5/A (D7omit3) :||
Ah, ha, ha (Aah).
||: D | E (E7) | G | A :|| x6 to fade
Ah, ha, ha. Oh yeah.
American Girl Chords: Learn the progressions
Tom Petty’s legendary American Girl wasn’t an immediate hit when it first appeared on his debut album. However, over time, it became a fan favourite as Tom and the Heartbreakers continued releasing records.
Let’s dive into the chords to understand how this tune was put together.
Intro
The song begins with a D5 chord, which omits the 3rd. The characteristic lick involves hammering on from the b7. We can describe this as a D7omit3, essentially a D7 chord without the 3rd.
I prefer to write it as:
||: D5 (D7omit3) :||
This chord lick continues as the bass enters, adding movement with a line that plays the 3rd – 2nd – root – 2nd, creating this pattern:
||: D5/F# (D7omit3) | D5/E (D7omit3) | D5 (D7omit3) | D5/E (D7omit3) :||
For the outro, in a brilliant twist, the bass plays the verse notes over the same riff, as follows:
||: D5 (D7omit3) | D5/E (D7omit3) | D5/G (D7omit3) | D5/A (D7omit3) :||
Verse
The verse chords break away from standard progressions, thanks to the surprising IIx chord. The main progression is:
||: D (I) | E (IIx) (E7) | G (IV) | A (V) :||
This is followed by a V – I – IV – IIx – V progression, with a touch of bass movement:
| A | D (E F#) | G (F#) | E (E7) |
| A | A | A | A (E F#) |
Chorus
The chorus introduces the VI chord, which adds a fresh dynamic:
| G (IV) | A (V) | D (I) |
| Bm (VI) | G (IV) | A (V) |
Tuning
If you try playing along with the original recording, you’ll notice it sounds slightly off. This is because the song is tuned sharp, likely due to tape speed or a sharp piano during recording.
To match the recording, you can use my online guitar tuner set to 446 Hz. to help get in tune with the band.
American Girl Chords | Related Pages
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
Tom Petty tunes
Tom Petty released most of his albums with his band, The Heartbreakers, though he also produced some notable solo material.
His most iconic songs include American Girl, Free Fallin’, Learning to Fly, Into the Great Wide Open, Don’t Come Around Here No More, and I Won’t Back Down.
Tom Petty on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about American Girl‘s chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not by practising scales or studying theory in isolation.
