Creepin’ In | Chords + Lyrics (capo 3)
Intro
| N.C (triplet lick) ||: G G6 G5 G6 G5 (triplet lick):|| x4
Verse 1
| G5 | Cadd9 | G5 | Dadd9 |
There’s a big ol’ hole, that gone right through the sole, of this old shoe.
| G G7 | C Cm |
And the water on the ground, ain’t got no place else it’s found,
| G Dadd9 | G |
so it’s only got one thing left to do.
Chorus 1
| Dadd9 Cadd9 | G |
Just creep on in,
| Dadd9 Cadd9 | G |
creep on in.
| Dadd9 Em7 | D Cadd9 | G | G |
And once it has begun, it won’t stop until it’s done, sneaking in.
Verse 2
There’s a silver moon, came a little soon, oh, for me to bare.
It shines brightly on my bed and the shadows overhead,
won’t let me sleep as long as it’s there.
Chorus 2
Creep on in,
creep on in.
And once it has begun, it won’t stop until it’s done, sneaking in.
Solo
| G | G |
| G7 | C7 | G7 | D7 |
| G G7 | C Cm |
| G Dadd9 | G |
Chorus 3
Creep on in.
Creep on in.
And once it has begun, it won’t stop until it’s done, sneaking in.
Verse 3
There’s a big ol’ hole, that goes right through my soul, oh, that ain’t nothing new.
So as long as you’re around, I got no place else you’ve found,
there’s only one thing left for you to do.
Chorus 4
You just creep on in.
Creep on in.
| Dadd9 Em7 | D Cadd9 | G |
And once you have begun, don’t stop until you’re done, sneakin’ in.
Outro
||: Dadd9 Em7 | Dadd9 C | G :||
||: And once it has begun, it won’t stop until it’s done, sneakin’ in :||
||: G (C) :|| G
||: Sneakin’ in, creepin in :||
Creepin’ In Chords: Play It Like Norah Jones’ Guitarist
Norah Jones’ Creepin’ In is a fantastic example of how to play a fast country tune on just one acoustic guitar.
Sandy Buglass recorded this for Spytunes back in 2009. After a banned YouTube account, I re-uploaded it in 2011.
The intro features a combination of pull-offs and hammer-ons, blending elements from minor, major, and honky-tonk comping into a hybrid scale.
To execute this properly, you need TAB—here’s a link to that part of the lesson: Creepin’ In – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
The fast 16th-note triplet pull-off moves through a minor 3rd/#9, 9th, and root, before shifting into honky-tonk comping over an open-position G chord. In chord terms, that’s G6 – G5.
For the verse, the progression primarily sticks to I, IV, and V chords, with sus2 variations on IV and V.
Rather than writing C – Csus2 – C, I simplified it to Cadd9 to keep the chart clean. The only out-of-key chord is IVm (Cm), appearing at the end of a chromatic movement (G7 – C – Cm).
Interestingly, Creepin’ In is the only song I know that uses an open-position Cm chord, effectively completing the CAGED guitar chord theory on its own!
Here’s the full verse progression with Roman numerals:
| G5 (I) | Cadd9 (IV) |
| G5 (I) | Dadd9 (V) |
| G (I) G7 (I7) | C (IV) Cm (IVm) |
| G (I) Dadd9 (V) | G (I) |
There’s TAB available for two different ways to play the verse. Practise them separately before blending them naturally—just like Norah’s guitarist, Kevin Breit did on the original.
Here’s the chorus progression:
||: Dadd9 (V) Cadd9 (IV) | G (I) :||
| Dadd9 (V) Em7 (VI) | D (V) Cadd9 (IV) |
| G (I) | G (I) |
Again, TAB is essential for capturing the nuances, including that wild outro lick and the solo.
Once you’ve studied those details, this chord chart is all you need to remember Creepin’ In’s structure.
Creepin’ In Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Creepin’ In chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Creepin’ In chord chart iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Creepin’ In featured Dolly Parton
Following up on the immense success of Come Away With Me was no small task—especially after winning eight Grammy Awards for a debut album!
For her second album, Feels Like Home, Norah Jones once again teamed up with legendary producer Arif Mardin (Bette Midler, Chaka Khan, Bee Gees, Phil Collins, Aretha Franklin). This time, the jazz/folk piano-led style of her debut took a stronger American country roots direction.
The response was immediate—Feels Like Home sold almost two million copies worldwide in its first week of release. Norah soon secured her second Grammy Award, winning Best Female Pop Vocal.
Creepin’ In was written by Lee Alexander, Norah’s bassist, who contributed to six out of the album’s thirteen songs.
Alongside Norah and Dolly Parton, another music legend played on the album—on What Am I to You, we hear Levon Helm (drummer and vocalist of The Band) behind the kit.
Creepin’ In Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Creepin’ In (Norah Jones) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: