Chords + Lyrics | Best of You
Verse 1
||: C#m7 | C#m7 | Asus2 | Asus2 :||
I’ve got another confession to make, I’m your fool.
Everyone’s got their chains to break, holding you.
| Bsus4 | Bsus4 | Asus2 | Asus2 |
Were you born to resist, or be abused?
Chorus 1
||: C#m7 | C#m7/D# | C#m7/E | C#m7/E :||
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
| C#m7 | Bsus4 | Asus2 | Asus2 |
Are you gone and on to someone new?
Verse 2
I needed somewhere to hang my head, without your noose.
You gave me something that I didn’t have, but had no use.
I was too weak to give in, too strong to lose.
Verse 3
My heart is under arrest again, but I break loose.
My head is giving me life or death, but I can’t choose.
I swear I’ll never give in, I refuse.
Chorus 2
||: C#m7 | C#m7/D# | C#m7/E | C#m7/F# :||
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
||: C#m7/G# | Bsus4 | C#m7 | C#m7/A# :||
Has someone taken your faith? It’s real, the pain you feel, your trust, you must confess.
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you? Oh.
Instrumental
||: C#m7 | C#m7 | Asus2 | Asus2 :||
||: Bsus4 | Bsus4 | Asus2 | Asus2 :||
Oh, ho-oh. Oh, oh-oh. Oh, oh-oh. Oh.
Chorus 3
||: C#m7 | C#m7/D# | C#m7/E | C#m7/F# :||
Has someone taken your faith? It’s real, the pain you feel. The life, the love you’d die to heal.
The hope that starts the broken hearts. Your trust, you must confess.
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Verse 4
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, somewhere new.
Were you born to resist or be abused?
| Bsus4 | Bsus4 | Asus2 | Asus2 N.C |
I swear I’ll never give in, I refuse.
Chorus 4 (as chorus 3)
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Has someone taken your faith, it’s real, the pain you feel. Your trust, you must confess.
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you? Oh.
Outro
||: C#5 :|| to fade
Best of You Chords Backing Track | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Best of You. I’ve used stem separation 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 this tune with a band.
Chord Progression – What’s Going On?
Foo Fighters‘ Best of You is a great example of what happens when a drummer writes a guitar riff.
Dave Grohl based the song’s main riff on a paradiddle pattern: RLLR, LLRL. (R stands for right hand, L for left hand.) Try clapping it on your knees at an even eighth-note pulse—that’s the riff! Applied to the guitar, it simply highlights the accents.
There’s a TAB avaulable further down this guitar lesson showing how this can be played as the only guitarist in the band, as well as an acoustic arrangement.
Verse
The verse and instrumental chords follow this progression:
||: C#m7 (VI) | C#m7 | Asus2 (IV) | Asus2 :|| | Bsus4 (V) | Bsus4 | Asus2 | Asus2 |
I’ve always liked the movement from VI to IV—the contrast between the sad Aeolian and happy Lydian modes creates a compelling loop.
Chorus
The chorus introduces a different chord sequence. The first time, it goes like this:
||: C#m7 (VI) | C#m7/D# | C#m7/E | C#m7/E :||
| C#m7 (VI) | Bsus4 (V) | Asus2 (IV) | Asus2 |
This progression uses chord VI with an ascending bass line before transitioning into a reordered version of the verse chords.
The second time, bar 4 of the first line changes, and the last two bars introduce new chords:
||: C#m7 | C#m7/D# | C#m7/E | C#m7/F# :||
||: C#m7/G# | Bsus4 | C#m7 | C#m7/A# :||
That’s some serious chord VI manipulation!
In the third and fourth choruses, the first line is repeated four times.
Writing a chord chart for this many chorus variations was challenging, here’s what I came up with:
Best of You Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
It was a challenge to describe the chords in Best of You using the format of a chord chart. In a way, this is only a reminder though as the chords are so intricate, you must memorise them using TAB.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Best of You chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Best of You iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key although I can’t see that working out too well…
Best of You | TAB
Here’s TAB showing how you could play the verse if you’re the only guitarist in the band—on the original recording, there are layers.
The chorus is similar, with a varied bass line over the VI chord, resolving VI – V – IV. Here’s an electric version suitable for a band (note: chorus 1 stays on E, it doesn’t go to F#).
As it turns out, Best of You also works beautifully on just one acoustic guitar. Check the playlist at the top for Kaiak’s version. I’ve borrowed much of their arrangement for this acoustic verse:
The chorus blends elements of Foo Fighters’ version and Kaiak’s. The bass line is especially stretchy—take care not to strain your fretting hand!
There’s another bass line variation included here. If you’re playing with a band, this one is probably best left to the bassist!
Foo Fighters peaks
Featured on In Your Honor (2005), Foo Fighters’ fifth album, Best of You was released as the lead single and became their best-selling track, with over three million combined sales in the U.S. and U.K.
By this point, Foo Fighters were well established, with tracks like Everlong, Monkey Wrench, My Hero, Learn to Fly, and All My Life securing regular radio play and a permanent place in the band’s live setlists.
With Nirvana now a distant memory, Dave Grohl had become one of the biggest rock stars in the world, headlining festivals and selling out world tours.
Remarkably, the momentum didn’t slow. Just two years later, the band released Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (2007), featuring the explosive The Pretender, reaffirming their status as the defining rock band of their era.
Best of You Chords: Continue Learning
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