Hey Ya! | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
One, two, three, uh!
Verse 1
||: G | C | C | 2/4 D | 4/4 Em | Em :||
My baby don’t mess around because she loves me so and this I know fo sho (uh).
But does she really wanna but can’t stand to see me walk out the door? (Ah).
Don’t try to fight the feeling because the thought alone is killing me right now (uh).
Thank God for Mom and Dad for sticking two together ‘Cause we don’t know how (c’mon).
Chorus 1
||: G | C | C | 2/4 D | 4/4 Em | Em :||
||: Hey ya, hey ya! :|| x4
Verse 2
||: G | C | C | 2/4 D | 4/4 Em | Em :||
You think you’ve got it. Oh, you think you’ve got it but got it just don’t get it ’til there’s nothin’ at all.
We get together. Oh, we get together but separate’s always better when there’s feelings involved.
If what they say is (nothing is forever). Then what makes, then what makes, then what makes, then what makes (what makes, what makes). Love the exception.
||: G | C | C | 2/4 D | 4/4 N.C | N.C :||
So why, oh, why, oh. Why, oh, why, oh, why, oh are we so in denial when we know we’re not happy here?
Chorus 2
||: G | C | C | 2/4 D | 4/4 Em | Em :||
Y’all don’t want to hear me, you just want to dance. (Hey ya! Uh oh. Hey ya! Uh oh).
Don’t want to meet your daddy (Hey ya! Uh oh) Just want you in my Caddy (Uh oh. Hey ya! Uh oh).
Don’t want to meet your mama. (Hey ya! Uh oh) Just want to make you cum-a (Uh oh. Hey ya! Uh oh). I’m, I’m.
I’m just being honest (Hey Ya! Uh oh). I’m just being honest. (Hey Ya!) Hey! Alright now. Alright now.
Verse 3
||: G | C | C | 2/4 D | 4/4 Em | Em :||
Fellas (yeah?). Now, what cooler than being cool? (Ice cold!) I can’t hear you. I say what’s, what’s, cooler than.
Being cool? (Ice cold!) Alright, alright, alright, alright, alright, alright, alright, alright, alright, alright, alright, alright, alright, alright.
Okay, now ladies (yeah?). Now, we gon’ break this thang down in just a few seconds. Now, don’t have me break this thang down for nothin’.
Now, I want to see y’all on y’all baddest behavior. Lend me some sugar, I am your neighbor. Ah! Here we go!
Breakdown
||: N.C | N.C :||
Shake it, shake, shake it, shake it, shake, shake it (Uh oh) Shake it, shake, shake it, shake it, shake it (Uh oh), shake it. Shake it like a Polaroid picture, hey ya!
||: Shake it, shake, shake it, shake it, shake, shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, sugar. Shake it like a Polaroid picture. :|| x3
Now, all Beyonce’s, and Lucy Liu’s and baby dolls, get on the floor. Get on the floor, you know what to do. You know what to do.
Chorus 3
||: G | C | C | 2/4 D | 4/4 Em | Em :||
You know what to do. Hey ya! (Uh oh) Hey ya! (Uh oh)
Hey ya! (Uh oh) Hey ya! (Uh oh)
Hey ya! (Uh oh) Hey ya! (Uh oh)
Hey ya! (Uh oh) Hey ya! (Uh oh)
Hey Ya’s chords and progression
Extremely simple, yet so clever, Hey Ya!’s chords are in the key of G and move I – IV – V – VI. Using a 2/4 bar for the V chord, like this:
||: G | C | C | 2/4 D | 4/4 Em | Em :||
If this is not familiarity with a twist (the 2/4 bar being the twist) then I do not know what is!
As you go through the lyrics and chords above you can see how the lyrics increase in intensity, but the chords remain the same. Only one stop is implemented.
Hey Ya! was a worldwide hit
Andre’ 3000 wrote, produced, and performed Hey Ya! in 2003. Released under the name Outkast, a duo Andre’ 3000 had with Big Boi, it was an enormous hit, hitting the top 5 in 16 countries, and selling almost 4 million copies.
During 2004, the awards started coming in, claiming the song, video, art direction, performance, visual effects, and outstanding duo.
The 2010 version of 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time placed Hey Ya! at #182.
Still played by working bands, radio stations, and DJs a couple of decades later, Hey Ya! has claimed its place in music history. study the chords and lyrics to work out how this one was put together.
Hey Ya! chords | Related pages
Intermediate Acoustic
Most intermediate acoustic tunes can’t be played using just basic open-position chords. We have to move up the fretboard and play CAGED barre chords as well.
We incorporate bass lines, add licks, extend chords, and play vocal melodies. Most importantly, we invent second guitar parts and play these songs together.
Five similar tunes
Outkast
Hip-hop duo Outcast (Andre 3000 and Big Boi) is best known for their tunes Ms. Jackson and Hey Ya!
These two songs became two of the world’s most popular in the decade 2000-2010, Hey Ya! made it onto most cover bands’ repertoire.
Outkast on the web
Pop & Rock
Whenever a tune doesn’t fit into a specific genre, it tends to end up here, in the Pop & Rock section.
Learn tunes from Tom Petty, Eagles, Toto, Oasis, Elvis, Clapton, John Mayer, Kings Of Leon, R.E.M., Radiohead, Bruno Mars, and more.
