Chicken Fried | Chords + Lyrics (tune down 1/2 step)
Intro
| N.C G | G D7 G6 | G D7 | G D |2/4 D/F# |
|4/4 G D7 | Cmaj7 | Cadd9 C | G (/A /B /C) | D |
Chorus 1
| G5 | G5 | D | D |
You know I like my chicken fried, a cold beer on a Friday night.
| C | C | G | D |
A pair of jeans that fit just right and the radio u-up.
Instrumental 1
| (D) G5 | G5 G5/D | D | D D/A |
| C | C C/G | G | D |
Verse 1 (half tempo)
| G D | C D |
Well, I was raised up beneath the shade of a Georgia pine, and that’s home you know.
| G5 D | C D Dsus4 |
Sweet tea pecan pie and homemade wine, where the peaches grow.
| G5 D | C D |
And my house it’s not much to talk about.
| G5 D | (C B C C#) |
But it’s filled with love that’s grown in southern ground.
Chorus 2
| D5 N.C | (N.C) G5 | G5 G5/D | D | D D/A |
And a little bit of chicken fried, cold beer on a Friday night.
| C | C C/G | G | D |
A pair of jeans that fit just right, and the radio up.
| G5 | G5 G5/D | D | D D/A |
Well, I’ve seen the sunrise, see the love in my woman’s eyes.
| C | C C/G | G | D |
Feel the touch of a precious child and know a mother’s love.
Verse 2 (half tempo)
| G D | C D |
It’s funny how it’s the little things in life, that mean the most.
| G5 D | C D |
Not where you live or what you drive or the price tag on your clothes.
| G5 D | C D |
There’s no dollar sign on a peace of mind this I’ve come to know.
| G5 D |2/4 C |4/4 D N.C |
So if you agree have a drink with me raise your glasses for a toast.
Chorus 3
| (N.C) G5 | G5 G5/D | D | D D/A |
To a little bit of chicken fried, a cold beer on a Friday night.
| C | C C/G | G | D |
A pair of jeans that fit just right and the radio up.
| G5 | G5 G5/D | D | D D/A |
Well, I’ve seen the sunrise, see the love in my woman’s eyes.
| C | C C/G | G | D |
Feel the touch of a precious child and know a mother’s love.
Solo (fiddle)
||: G5 | G5 G5/D | D | D D/A |
| C | C C/G | G | D :||
Instrumental (guitar)
| G (G6) | G | D | D Dsus4 |
| Cmaj7 | Cadd9 C | G | Dadd4 |
Middle 8 (half tempo)
| G | D |
I thank God for my life and for the stars and stripes.
| C | G D |
May freedom forever fly, let it ring.
| G | D |
Salute the ones who died, the ones that give their lives.
| C | G D |
So we don’t have to sacrifice all the things we love.
Chorus 4
| (N.C) G | G G5/D | D | D D/A |
Like our chicken fried. Cold beer on a Friday night.
| C | C C/G | G | D |
A pair of jeans that fit just right and the radio u-up.
| G | G G/D | D | D D/A |
Well, I’ve seen the sunrise, see the love in my woman’s eyes.
| C | C C/G | G | D |
Feel the touch of a precious child and know a mother’s love.
Chorus 5 (half-tempo reggae!)
| G5 (G) | D |
Get a little chicken fried, cold beer on a Friday night.
| C N.C | G D |
A pair of jeans that fit just right and the radio u-up.
Outro
| G | G G/D | D | D D/A |
Well, I’ve seen the sunrise, see the love in my woman’s eyes.
| C | C C/G | G | D | G | C G |
Feel the touch of a precious child and know a mother’s love.
Chicken Fried Chords: Learn the progressions
When learning to play Chicken Fried, you must play with the original recording using the chords and lyrics above.
One immediate problem will present itself; you must tune the guitar down 1/2 step. Use my online guitar tuner to achieve this.
Alternatively, you can use the Digitech drop pedal to achieve the same result. Either way, you must play Chicken Fried’s chords as if in the key of G, nothing else will sound right.
The intro, which is the most difficult, can help to read as chords but only if you’ve seen the TAB, here’s a link to that part of the lesson: Chicken Fried – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
I wouldn’t spend forever on this section, the verses and chorus coming up require a lot of work too so perhaps try the intro for a while, move on and then come back to it when you can play the actual song!
The chords are simple (what Zac Brown does with them is not!), being only I – V – IV – I – V for the chorus. If I’m playing Chicken Fried on my own, I like to add an alternating bass every second bar, like this:
| G5 (I) | G5 G5/D | D (V) | D D/A |
| C (IV) | C C/G | G | D |
The verse, which is played at half tempo, moves I – V – IV – V, To get to the second chorus we play a bass line, here shown in brackets:
| G (I) D (V) | C (IV) D (V) |
| G5 D | C D Dsus4 |
| G5 D | C D |
| G5 D | (C B C C#) |
We could go deep here and indicate all the differences in each section, I found this is best done using chords and lyrics in combination with the TAB.
When it comes to the chord chart, I feel it’s a good plan to go the other way and keep it as simple as possible.
Here’s how I would write a chord chart for Chicken Fried.
Chicken Fried Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
I was pulling my hair out trying to fit this arrangement on one page, in the end, I concluded that no matter what, I was never going to be completely happy.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Chicken Fried Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Chicken Fried iReal Pro.
Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key, although that is probably a terrible idea! What you could do is have a go at changing the layout of the chart. If you’re successful – do let me know!
Zac knew Chicken Fried was gonna be a big hit!
Chicken Fried by the Zac Brown Band has become somewhat of a standard in the contemporary country band’s repertoire.
First released in 2005, it was the re-released version in 2008 on a major label that made it a hit. In between the two dates another band, The Lost Trailers, had a stab at it but their version was withdrawn from radio play when Zac realised he had a hit on his hands.
Anyway, once “out there”, there was no stopping Chicken Fried and its patriotic pro-America undertones as it claimed the #1 spot in the Country charts and sold 5 million copies.
Since then, the Zac Brown Band has gone from strength to strength, lately, they’ve performed Bohemian Rhapsody live and released it, clearly proving that these guys can properly sing and play, no doubt.
Chicken Fried Chords | Related Pages
Chicken Fried | Guitar Lesson + TAB
With this guitar lesson, you can learn to play Chicken Fried by Zac Brown Band using TAB and chord analysis.
| G5 | G5 | D | D |
You know I like my chicken fried, a cold beer on a Friday night…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
Zac Brown Band tunes
After self-releasing an album in 2005, the Zac Brown Band gathered interest from record label Atlantic.
Their best tunes include Chicken Fried, Knee Deep, Toes, Homegrown, Colder Weather, and a cover of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
Zac Brown Band on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Chicken Fried 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.