Footloose | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: drums :|| x4
||: bass :|| x4
||: A (riff) | A7 (riff) :|| x8
||: A7 (riff) :|| x6
Verse 1
| A N.C | N.C D/F# | A N.C | N.C D/F# |
Been working so hard, I’m punching my card.
| A N.C | N.C D/F# | A N.C | A (C) |
Eight hours, for what? Oh, tell me what I got.
Bridge 1
| D5 | D5 | D5 | D5 | A5 A6 | A7 A6 A5 | A (lick) | A (lick) |
I gotten this feeling, that time’s just holding me down.
| D5 | D5 | B7/D# | B7/D# | E | F#m11 | G6 | G#5 N.C |
I’ll hit the ceiling, or else I’ll tear up this town.
Chorus 1
||: A5 A7 A6 | A5 A7 A6 | D5 (D6) | A5 A7 A6 :||
Tonight I gotta cut loose, footloose. Kick off your Sunday shoes.
Please, Louise, pull me up off my knees.
Jack, get back, c’mon, before we crack.
| A5 A7 A6 | A5 A7 A6 | D5 G5 |
Lose your blues, everybody cut footloose.
Instrumental 1
||: A (riff) :|| x3
| A riff (D/F#) |
Verse 2
You’re playing so cool, obeying every rule.
Dig way down in your heart, you’re burning, yearning for some.
Bridge 2
| D5 | D5 | D5 | D5 | A5 A6 | A7 A6 A5 |
Somebody to tell you, that life ain’t passing you by.
| D5 | D5 | B7/D# | B7/D# | E | F#m11 | G6 | G#5 N.C |
I’m trying to tell you, it will if you don’t even try.
Chorus 2
You can fly if you’d only cut loose, footloose. Kick off your Sunday shoes.
Ooh-wee, Marie, shake it, shake it for me.
Whoa, Milo, c’mon, c’mon let’s go.
Lose your blues, everybody cut footloose.
Breakdown
||: N.C | N.C :||
(Oh-oh-oh-oh) cut footloose (oh-oh-oh-oh)
| N.C | N.C | N.C | N.C (G) |
Cut footloose (oh-oh-oh-oh) cut footloose (aah)
| A5 N.C | N.C (G) |
(First) we got to turn you around.
| A5 N.C | N.C (G) |
(Second) you put your feet on the ground.
| A5 N.C | N.C |
(Third) now take a hold of your soul.
||: E :|| x7
(Aah)
| A5 N.C | A5 N.C D5 |
I’m turning it loose.
Outro
||: A5 A7 A6 | A5 A7 A6 | D5 (D6) | A5 A7 A6 :|| x7
Footloose, kick off your Sunday shoes
Please, Louise, pull me up off my knees
Jack, get back, c’mon, before we crack
Lose your blues, everybody cut footloose
Footloose (footloose), footloose, kick off your Sunday shoes.
Please, Louise, pull me up off my knees.
Jack, get back, c’mon, before we crack.
| A5 A7 A6 | A5 | N.C | N.C G D/F# |
Lose your blues, everybody cut, everybody cut.
| N.C | N.C G D/F# |
Everybody cut, everybody cut.
| N.C | G N.C | N.C | A (riff) | A (riff) |
Everybody cut, everybody cut (everybody) everybody cut footloose.
Footloose Chords: Master the Rock ‘n’ Roll Country Progression
At first glance, the chords in Footloose seem straightforward, but the song is far from simple. This isn’t a soul tune you can jam on, throw in some licks, and play differently each time.
You need a precise, well-rehearsed part played with total confidence—something that isn’t easy, as the original recording features multiple guitar layers.
As the only guitarist in a live band, your challenge is to identify the most essential parts and combine them into a single playable arrangement that works in a live setting.
It may seem like just A and D chords, but they form tightly crafted chord riffs that can’t be explained without TAB.
Fortunately, I’ve done the hard work for you. Now, all you need to do is practise the parts—here’s a link to that lesson: Footloose – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Once you’ve memorised them, ironically, the song will feel easy! That’s the great paradox of rock guitar.
Looking at the Footloose chords in context, the song flirts with the blues, using notes that theoretically shouldn’t work together.
In blues, this is the contrast between the minor and major 3rd. In Footloose, it’s the maj7 and b7. Let’s break it down:
During the verse, we play A and D/F#, both diatonic chords that give the song a country feel:
||: A (I) N.C | N.C D/F# (IV/3) |
For the bridge, we introduce a bVIIx (backdoor dominant), adding a bluesy edge:
| D5 (IV) | D5 | D5 | D5 | A5 (I) A6 | A7 A6 A5 | A (lick) | A (lick) |
| D5 (IV) | D5 | B7/D# (IIx/3) | B7/D# | E (V) | F#m11 (VI) | G6 (bVIIx) | G#5 (VII) N.C |
The chorus shifts into a rock ‘n’ roll/country honky-tonk feel:
||: A5 (I) A7 A6 | A5 A7 A6 | D5 (IV) (D6) | A5 A7 A6 :||
| A5 A7 A6 | A5 A7 A6 | D5 G5 (bVIIx) |
Again, you’ll need the TAB to fully grasp these chord extensions. Once you’ve got them down, this two-page chord chart will help with the structure—there was simply too much to fit on one page!
Footloose Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Footloose chord chart PDF page 1 and Footloose chord chart PDF page 2.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Footloose iReal Pro chord chart page 1 and Footloose iReal Pro chord chart page 2. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key although I would advise against that!
Was Footloose the best musical movie of the ’80s?
Released in 1984 as a single from the movie of the same name, Footloose became Kenny Loggins‘ signature song.
The film follows a town that bans dancing, fearing it will corrupt the youth. With a star-studded cast including Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, Sarah Jessica Parker, John Lithgow, and Dianne Wiest, it became one of the most iconic music films of the decade.
According to movieweb.com, it even surpasses Flashdance, The Blues Brothers, Little Shop of Horrors, Fame, Dirty Dancing, and Purple Rain!
Kenny Loggins continued his success with movie soundtracks, later writing Danger Zone for Top Gun (1986).
A fun fact about Footloose—one of the guitarists was Buzz Feiten, who later patented a groundbreaking tuning system for the guitar.
Speaking of tuning, if you’re playing along with the original recording, you’ll want to tune slightly sharp. Use my online guitar tuner and set it to 448Hz to match Kenny and Buzz!
Footloose Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Footloose (Kenny Loggins) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: