Georgia On My Mind | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| G D6sus2/F# | Em11 Eb | Dbm7b5 D11 | C/G D13 |
Verse 1
| G | B7/F# B7 |
Georgia, Georgia.
| Em Dm69 | C C#dim7 |
The whole day through (the whole day through).
| G/D D/F# Em | A7 D7 D7b9 | F9b5 F9 E7b9 | A7 D7b9 |
Just an old sweet song, keeps Georgia, on my mind (Georgia on my mind)
Verse 2
| G | B7/F# B7 |
I said Georgia, Georgia.
| Em Dm69 | Cmaj7 C#dim7 |
A song of you (a song of you).
| G/D D/F# Em7 | A7 D7 | G C7 | G Asus2 B7 |
Comes as sweet and clear, as moonlight through the pines.
Bridge 1
| Em C6/E | Em6 C6/E |
Other arms reach out to me,
| Em Cmaj13/E | Em7 A7 |
other eyes smile tenderly.
| Em7 Cmaj13/E | Em7 D6 C#dim7 Dmaj7 |
Still, in peaceful dreams, I see,
| Bm7 A#7 | A7 D13 |
the road leads back to you.
Verse 3
| G Gsus4 G6 | B7/F# B7 |
I said Georgia, oh Georgia.
| Em Dm69 | Cmaj7 C#dim7 |
No peace I find (peace I find).
| G/D D/F# E7 | A9 D9 | G C7 | G G6 C13 |
Just an old sweet song, keeps Georgia on my mind (Georgia on my mind).
Bridge 2
Other arms reach out to me,
other eyes smile tenderly.
Still, in peaceful dreams, I see,
the road leads back to you.
Verse 4
| G Gsus4 G6 | B7/F# B7 |
Woah, Georgia, Georgia.
| Em7 Dm69 | Cmaj7 C#dim7 |
No peace, no peace I find.
| G/D D/F# Em7 | A7 D7 | F7 | E7 |
Just an old, sweet song, keeps Georgia on my mind (Georgia on my mind).
| A7 A7/B C C#dim7 | D7 Em7 F7 F#dim7 | G/B B7 C C#dim7 | D7 G#7 G7 | G6 |
I said just an old sweet song, keeps Georgia on my mind.
Georgia On My Mind Chords: A Deep Dive into Ray Charles’ Iconic Harmony
Above, with chords and lyrics, I’ve detailed all the chords Ray plays in his legendary version of Georgia On My Mind. It took me several days to work all this out!
As it’s so complex, I kept all chords for all verses, only the bridge is the same twice. As you can see, there are subtle variations throughout in the verses, let’s simplify the concept to get a clear overview.
The song consists of two sections, which we can call verse and bridge, or A and B. The A section follows this structure:
| G | B7/F# B7 | Em Dm69 | C C#dim7 |
| G/D D/F# Em | A7 D7 D7b9 | F9b5 F9 E7b9 | A7 D7b9 |
The final two bars then vary to lead into the B section:
| G C7 | G Asus2 B7 |
In Roman numerals, a simplified version looks like this:
| I | IIIx | VI Vm | IV #IVdim7 |
| I V VI | IIx V | bVIIx VIx | IIx V |
With the variation at the end:
| I IV | I II IIIx |
Ray varies the chords as the song progresses, so refer to the chords and lyrics above to see the full picture.
Now, the B section:
| Em C6/E | Em6 C6/E |
| Em Cmaj13/E | Em7 A7 |
| Em7 Cmaj13/E | Em7 D6 C#dim7 Dmaj7 |
| Bm7 A#7 | A7 D13 |
Here, the VI chord moves its 5th up chromatically, leading to complex chord names like C6/E and Em6.
The second line introduces Em7 – A7, which functions as VI – IIx but has the feel of a II – V.
The third line condenses four chords into a single bar—something only a keyboard player would look at and say, “Yes, that makes sense!”
The final line features a smooth turnaround, starting on chord III and using a tritone substitution to create a descending chromatic movement.
The last line of the song speaks for itself—I had to go and lie down after working out all of Georgia On My Mind‘s chords!
At least Ray Charles got something for his efforts—after being banned from performing in Georgia for refusing to play segregated venues, he was later welcomed back with open arms, and the state even made Georgia On My Mind its official song. Maybe one day, I’ll get some kind of recognition for figuring out all these chords… though I won’t hold my breath!
Here’s a chord chart. It’s only generalised in the first bar of the verse, but otherwise, I managed to cram everything in.
Ray’s signature song was a cover!
Ray Charles‘s signature song, Georgia On My Mind, is a masterpiece in chord movements and extensions. It wasn’t written by Ray, but by two men called Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell in 1930.
Ray released his version in 1960, which went to #1. The state of Georgia made this version the official state song in 1979. In 2003, Rolling Stone Magazine named it the 44th greatest song of all time.
Since then, Georgia On My Mind has become a standard that you as a musician are expected to know. To dig deeper, check out versions by other artists, for example, Annie Lennox, Michael Bolton, The Spencer Davis Group, and Billie Holiday.
Only comparable to At Last and A Change Is Gonna Come for the string intros, Georgia just keeps going with the crazy chords, it wasn’t easy to work all of them out! You may need a coffee to help you get through this one…
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