Hey Ya! | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
One, two, three, uh!
Verse 1
||: G | C | C | 2/4 D5 | 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 D5 | 4/4 Em | Em :||
||: Hey ya, hey ya! :|| x4
Verse 2
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 D5 | 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
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
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 behaviour. Lend me some sugar, I am your neighbour. 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
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! Chords: Learn the progressions
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 (I) | C (IV) | C |
| 2/4 D5 (V) | 4/4 Em (VI) | Em :||
If this is not familiar with a twist (the 2/4 bar being the twist), I do not know what is!
I like making that D chord a power chord, however, there are layered guitars on the recording so saying it must be a 5 chord is definitely misleading. If you play with a capo on fret 5, the chords are best played like this:
||: D5 (I) | G (IV) | G |
| 2/4 A (V) | 4/4 Bm (VI) | Bm :||
Now the V chord (an A) sounds better with a 3rd and the I chord (a D now) sounds better as a power chord.
Should you put a capo on fret 3, the chords become:
||: E (I) | A (IV) | A |
| 2/4 B (V) | 4/4 C#m (VI) | C#m :||
Now all chords can be triads!
If you have a duo or a loop pedal, experiment with which two of these three parts sound best together.
I’ve made some TAB for playing in all these different keys. Here’s a link to that part of the lesson: Hey Ya! – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
There’s also a cover version by Obadiah Parker as well (included in the playlist above), he changes the key and tunes down to 432Hz, the magical frequency of the universe.
The best version of this is on Spotify, here’s a link: Obadiah Parker Hey Ya – solo version.
After you decide on your capo placement and have tried Obidiah’s version, a simple chord chart is all you need to remember how to play Hey Ya!’s chords. Here’s one I made for you.
Hey Ya! Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Hey Ya! Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Hey Ya! iReal Pro.
Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key. This is a great idea, especially since you need to try the capo in different positions!
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, reaching 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 categories.
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.
If you always check how the chords change when you add a capo, maybe you’ll come up with an Obadiah Parker version of a tune yourself.
Hey Ya! Chords | Related Pages
Hey Ya | Guitar Lesson + TAB
With this guitar lesson, you can learn to play Hey Ya by Outkast using TAB and chord analysis.
| G | C | C | 2/4 D5 | 4/4 Em | Em |
My baby don’t mess around because she loves me so and this I know fo sho (uh)…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
Outkast tunes
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
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Hey Ya! 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 practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
