Chords + Lyrics | Blue Suede Shoes
Verse 1
| N.C (E G) | A5 N.C (E G) | A5 N.C | N.C |
Well, it’s a one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready now go, cat, go.
| D | D | A | A |
But don’t you step on my blue suede shoes.
| E7 | E7 | A | A (E G) |
Well, you can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes.
Verse 2
| A5 N.C (E G) | A5 N.C (E G) | A5 N.C (E G) | A5 N.C (E G) |
Well, you can knock me down, step in my face, slander my name all over the place.
| A5 N.C (E G) | A5 N.C (E G) | A5 N.C | N.C |
We’ll do anything that you wanna do, but uh-uh Honey, lay off of them shoes.
| D | D | A | A |
And don’t you step on my blue suede shoes.
| E7 | E7 | A | A |
Well, you can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes. Let’s go cats!
Solo 1
| A | A | A | A |
Oh, walk the dogs.
| D | D | A | A |
| E7 | E7 | A | A (E G) |
Verse 3 (as verse 2)
Well, you can burn my house, steal my car. Drink my liquor from an old fruit jar.
We’ll do anything that you wanna do, but uh-uh Honey, lay off of my shoes.
And don’t you step on my blue suede shoes.
Well, you can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes. Rock it!
Solo 2
| A | A | A | A |
Yeah.
| D | D | A | A |
| E7 | E7 | A | A (E G) |
Verse 4 (as verse 1)
Well, it’s a one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready now go, go, go.
But don’t you step on my blue suede shoes.
Well, you can do anything but lay-ay off of my blue suede shoes.
Outro
| A | A | A | A |
Well, it’s blue, blue, blue suede shoes. Blue, blue, blue suede shoes, yeah.
| D | D | A | A |
Blue, blue, blue suede shoes, baby. Blue, blue, blue suede shoes.
| E7 | E7 | A | A |
Well, you do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes.
Blue Suede Shoes Chords: Master the 12-Bar Blues Progression
At its core, Blue Suede Shoes follows a standard 12-bar blues progression with stops, played in the key of A, extended to 16-bars in verse 2 and 3.
A key feature is the build-up bass line leading into the A chord: E – G. These notes (the 5th and b7th) suggest that A is functioning as a dominant 7th chord, though the actual stop is played as A5.
The D and E (IV and V) are extended to dom7.
Here’s how the chords line up for verses 1 and 3:
||: N.C (E G) | A5 N.C (E G) | A5 N.C | N.C |
| D7 | D7 | A | A |
| E7 | E7 | A | A (E G) :||
For verses 2 and 4, there are more stops, the rest of the rhythm is identical. During the outro, there are no stops.
The two solos follow the same 12-bar structure as the outro, keeping the arrangement simple and effective.
To get TAB for how to play all the comping and both solos, check the TAB lesson: Blue Suede Shoes – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
When you can play the TAB, use this chord chart to put it all together.
Blue Suede Shoes Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
You can download my chord chart and bring it to the gig so you remember what key you’re in and the structure of Blue Suede Shoes.
All these early rock n roll tunes are fairly simple, perhaps the hardest part is to tell them apart!
Here’s the PDF: Blue Suede Shoes chord chart PDF.
And here’s the iReal Pro version: Blue Suede Shoes iReal Pro.
Blue Suede Shoes TAB | Course Preview
In the course, we look at TAB for all sections, including both solos! If you are interested in rock n roll, country and blues guitar playing, there is so much to learn here!
For me, the greatest lesson is how we blend the minor pentatonic and major pentatonic, add the maj7, but not the b5.
As a preview, here’s the first solo:
One of the songs that made Elvis
Released in January 1956 by Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes climbed the charts, spending two weeks at #2.
Elvis Presley was initially hesitant to record the song, as he knew Carl Perkins and Sun Records’ Sam Phillips well and didn’t want to interfere with their release.
However, by September 1956, Elvis’s version was out, with Tutti Frutti as the B-side. By then, he had moved from Sun Records to RCA, gaining better distribution and stronger radio connections.
From that point on, everything he touched turned to gold. In 1956 alone, Heartbreak Hotel, I Want You, I Need You, I Love You, Don’t Be Cruel, Hound Dog, and Love Me Tender all reached #1.
Blue Suede Shoes opened his debut album, Elvis Presley, marking the beginning of rock ‘n’ roll history—the King was born.
Blue Suede Shoes Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Blue Suede Shoes (Elvis) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy:
