Chords + Lyrics | American Girl
Intro
| D | D |
||: D7 :|| x6 (band)
||: D7/F# | D7/E | D | D7/E :|| (bass)
Verse 1
| D | E7 | G | A |
Well, she was an American girl, raised on promises.
| D | 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 |
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
| D7 | D7 |
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
| D7 | D7 |
||: G5 (G#) | A5 D5 (A C D):|| x3
| G5 (G#) | A5 |
||: D7 | D7 :||
(Aah)
||: D7 | D7/E | D7/G | D7/A :||
Ah, ha, ha (Aah).
||: D | E7 | G | A :|| x6 to fade
Ah, ha, ha. Oh yeah.
American Girl Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find a preview of the backing tracks we use when playing American Girl. I’ve used AI to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing American Girl with a band.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar sharp to 443Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
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 his Heartbreakers continued releasing records.
Let’s dive into the chords to understand how this tune was put together.
Intro
The song begins with a D chord, there are two guitars, one omits the 3rd but adds a b7, we could call this a D7omit3. The other plays a straight D chord further up the neck.
Putting these two chords together, we get a D7, as the only guitarist in the band, combining these two guitars is the challenge.
The chord lick of guitar 1 goes from b7 to root and continues as the bass enters, adding movement with a line that plays the 3rd – 2nd – root – 2nd, creating this pattern:
||: D7/F# | D7/E | D | D7/E :||
Again, we must decide what to play here that captures the spirit but isn’t necessarily either of the original parts.
For the outro, in a brilliant twist, the bass plays the verse notes over the same riff, as follows:
||: D7 | D7/E | D/G | D7/A :||
Verse
The verse chords break away from the key, thanks to a surprising IIx chord. The first progression is:
||: D (I) | E7 (IIx) | 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 |
| A | A | A | A (E F#) |
Again, two guitars must be combined into one that captures what they play but isn’t what either of them actually do – very counterintuitive.
Chorus
The chorus introduces the VI chord, which adds a fresh dynamic:
| G (IV) | A (V) | D (I) |
| Bm (VI) | G (IV) | A (V) |
As mentioned several times by now, the real challenge here is to work out a part for just one guitar. Tom and Mike really are the best at creating two guitar parts that blend well.
In the playlist above, you find a YouTuber called DonkeyKong6000 who recorded both guitars, there’s TAB in the video for each as well.
In my TAB lesson, we focus on how to do it on one guitar, you can access it here: American Girl – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Having digested all that TAB, this simple chord chart will make complete sense.
American Girl Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
You can download my chart as a static PDF, or in the iReal Pro format. I can’t see you ever having to change the key with this one but maybe you use the app to organise your charts.
American Girl | TAB Preview
As mentioned, in the TAB lesson, we look at TAB for how to play this awesome Tom Petty tune on one guitar in a band, rather than copy what Mike and Tom does.
As a preview, here’s the fast outro triplet lick, this is transcribed note for note as it’s such a big part. Can you see how it’s G shapes playing the triad and a sus4?
The Tragic Story Tom Petty Said Never Happened
One of the most enduring stories connected to American Girl is also one of its biggest misconceptions. For decades, listeners have repeated the claim that Tom Petty wrote the song after a student tragically jumped from a dormitory at the University of Florida. According to the legend, the young woman fell after experiencing heartbreak, and the lyrics somehow captured her final moments.
The tale spread so widely that many fans accepted it as fact. Petty, who grew up in Gainesville, was frequently asked about the supposed inspiration and spent years denying any connection. He consistently explained that the story was entirely untrue and had nothing to do with the song’s origins.
Instead, Petty described a far more universal image. He imagined a young woman standing alone on a balcony, listening to the traffic from the nearby motorway and wondering what life might hold beyond her current world. It was an ordinary moment, yet one filled with possibility, uncertainty, and yearning.
That explanation reveals why American Girl has resonated with generations of listeners. The song is not tied to a single event or individual but to emotions almost everyone experiences at some point in life. It captures the restless desire to escape familiar surroundings, chase bigger dreams, and discover who we might become.
Perhaps that is why the myth persisted for so long. People often search for hidden meanings and dramatic backstories, yet the true power of American Girl lies in something much simpler: the timeless feeling of wanting more from life.
American Girl Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full Backing Tracks + TAB lesson here: American Girl (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy:
