Chords + Lyrics | Are You Gonna Be My Girl
Intro
||: N.C :|| x9
| Am (riff) |
Go!
| A5 G D5 | A5 G D5 | A5 G D5 | Am (riff) |
Verse 1
| A5 N.C |
So one, two, three, take my hand and come with me,
| N.C | A5 G D5 |
because you look so fine that I really wanna make you mine.
| A5 N.C | N.C | A5 G D5 |
I say you look so fine that I really wanna make you mine
| A5 N.C |
Oh, four, five, six, c’mon and get your kicks,
| N.C | A5 G D5 | Am (riff) |
now you don’t need the money when you look like that do you honey.
Bridge 1
||: D5 C5 G5 :|| x4
Big black boots, long brown hair, she’s so sweet with her, bet back stare.
Chorus 1
| A5 | C5 | D5 | A5 |
Well I could see, you home with me, but you were with another man, yeah.
| A5 | C5 | D5 | A5 |
I know we ain’t got much to say, before I let you get away, yeah.
| E | G | N.C |
I said, are you gonna be my girl.
Instrumental 1
| A5 G D5 | A5 G D5 | A5 G D5 | Am (riff) |
Verse 2
Well it’s one, two, three, take my hand and come with me,
because you look so fine that I really wanna make you mine.
I say you look so fine that I really wanna make you mine.
Oh four, five, six, c’mon and get your kicks,
now you don’t need the money with a face like that do ya?
Bridge 2
Big black boots, long brown hair, she’s so sweet with her, get back stare.
Chorus 2
Well I could see, you home with me, but you were with another man, yeah.
I know we ain’t got much to say, before I let you get away, yeah.
| E | G | 6/4 N.C |
I said, are you gonna be my girl.
Instrumental 2
| 4/4 A5 G D5 | A5 G D5 | A5 G D5 | A5 G D5 |
Solo
||: A5 G D5 :|| x4
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
||: A5 G D5 :|| x4
C’mon!
Chorus 3
| A5 | C5 | D5 | A5 |
I could see, you home with me, but you were with another man, yeah.
| A5 | C5 | D5 | A5 |
I know we ain’t got much to say, before I let you get away, yeah.
| A5 | C5 | D5 | A5 | D5 |
Uh, be my girl, be my girl, are you gonna be my girl, yeah.
Are You Gonna Be My Girl Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Are You Gonna Be My Girl. 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.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar sharp to 441Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
Are You Gonna Be My Girl relies on just five chords from the A minor pentatonic scale. The verse progression moves between A5, G5, and D5:
||: A5 N.C | N.C | A5 G D5 :||
| Am (riff) |
The intro and instrumental sections are this but without the stop.
Bridge
In the bridge, the progression shifts to D5, C5, and G5, still staying within the A minor pentatonic framework:
||: D5 C5 G5 :|| ×4
Chorus
The chorus follows suit, climbing up the scale with A5, C5, and D5, before resolving on E and G, setting up for the return of the intro/instrumental chord riff:
||: A5 | C5 | D5 | A5 :||
| E | G | N.C |
The chords of Are You Gonna Be My Girl are a perfect example of catchy minor pentatonic rock ‘n’ roll, bringing all five notes to life through power chords!
T see exactly ho best play them in your band as a sole guitarist, check out the TAB further down this guitar lesson.
Here’s a chord chart I made for you to bring to the gig.
Are You Gonna Be My Girl Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
You can download my chart as a static PDF or in the iReal Pro format, allowing you to change the key.
Apparently, it’s common to switch to Gm, although this has never happened to me!
Are You Gonna Be My Girl | TAB
Let’s go through all sections of this modern classic. I’ve arranged these parts so they sound like a combination of the two guitars heard on the original.
Intro
The intro reveals most of what happens in this tune as we play the riff, the chord riff and then the riff again. Notice how there’s one more note played in the riff when it comes back.
Verse
The verse is essentially the same thing again but with stops. Make sure you’re getting the G – G5 – D detail right, pay attention to that B string.
Bridge
The super simple bridge introduce a new note, the C before it hits a G again. I’ve chosen a G5 here in the TAB but written G for the chord, highlighting how it could be either! Do experiment with an open B string as well…
Chorus
The chorus is an attempt to mix power chords with the full triad, aiming to blend the power chord of guitar 1 with the triad of guitar 2.
At the end, we play E and G, as full triads. The difference is how long we hold it before the riff returns. Where it says 3. and D is for the end. Again, it could be a D, or a D5 as the TAB show.
Breakdown
Next up we have a breakdown which come before the solo (chorus chords). Here we play as before rhythmically but remove the D5 and play the G in its place. Tiny details like this is the difference between the pub band mentality and bands making a record, which category do you want to be in?
When you feel confident with all this TAB, play along with Jet using the backing tracks.
A Rock Standard
Although Are You Gonna Be My Girl didn’t initially top the charts, it quickly became a classic rock anthem after its 2003 release. Over time, it gained massive recognition, and soon enough, everyone seemed to know—and love—the song.
Jet, a new band at the time, released it as the lead single from their debut album, Get Born. Their Australian origins may have presented challenges, but its inclusion in countless rock cover bands’ repertoires helped push it into the mainstream, cementing its place in popular culture.
The song was frequently compared to Iggy Pop’s Lust for Life, with some critics accusing Jet of copying the iconic beat. However, the band defended their work, admitting they had drawn inspiration from You Can’t Hurry Love—the same beat Iggy himself had borrowed.
Are You Gonna Be My Girl Chords: Continue Learning
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