Hit The Road Jack | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: G#m F# | E7 D#7 :||
Chorus 1
||: G#m F# | E7 D#7 :||
Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back,
no more, no more, no more, no more.
Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back no more. What you say?
Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back,
no more, no more, no more, no more.
Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back no more.
Verse 1
||: G#m F# | E7 D#7 :||
Oh woman, oh woman, don’t treat me so mean,
you’re the meanest old woman that I’ve ever seen.
I guess if you said so, I’ll have to pack my things and go (that’s right).
Chorus 2
Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back,
no more, no more, no more, no more.
Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back no more. What you say?
Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back,
no more, no more, no more, no more.
Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back no more.
Verse 2
Now baby, listen baby, don’t ya treat me this a way,
’cause I’ll be back on my feet some day.
(Don’t care if you do ’cause it’s understood, you ain’t got no money, you just ain’t no good)
Well, I guess if you say so. I’ll have to pack my things and go (that’s right).
Chorus 3
Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back,
no more, no more, no more, no more.
Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back no more. What you say?
Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back,
no more, no more, no more, no more.
Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back no more.
Outro
||: G#m F# | E7 D#7 :||
Well (don’t you come back no more).
Uh, what you say? (don’t you come back no more).
I didn’t understand you (don’t you come back no more).
You can’t mean that (don’t you come back no more).
Oh, now baby, please (don’t you come back no more).
What you tryin’ to do to me? (don’t you come back no more).
Oh, don’t treat me like that (don’t you come back no more).
Hit The Road Jack Chords: A Look at the Classic Soul Progression
Built on an endless VI – V – IV – IIIx loop in the key of Abm, Hit the Road Jack keeps driving forward, constantly building tension.
This progression—Abm – Gb – E – Eb7—is ranked #9 on Spytunes’ top 10 chord progression list. Compare it to One More Cup of Coffee by Bob Dylan.
I’ve written the chords as Abm above rather than G#m, as soul bands with horn sections tend to avoid sharp keys. So, theoretically, calling it Abm is “more” correct.
That said, there’s a quirk—E and Eb both appear, and technically, E should be written as Fb for consistency. But let’s be honest, who calls it Fb with a straight face?
For clarity, it makes more sense to write the progression as G#m – F# – E – D#7, sidestepping the whole Fb debate altogether. That’s why I’ve used G#m for the chords and lyrics of Hit the Road Jack, as well as in the chord chart below.
Hit The Road Jack Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
If you want my chord chart in the key of G#m, you can download it as a static PDF or in the more flexible iReal Pro format. With iReal Pro, you can change the key to whatever suits you best.
Transposing is a great way to practise soloing over this classic progression, and iReal Pro even provides MIDI backing tracks in various styles. The real question is—how far down the road will you go with Jack?
Hit The Road Jack is a cover!
Hit the Road Jack was released as a single by Ray Charles in 1961, but he didn’t write it.
The song was penned by Percy Mayfield a year earlier and sent to record executive Art Rupe, who had known Ray from his early days recording with Guitar Slim. Rupe, a key figure in rhythm and blues, also played a role in launching Little Richard, bringing hits like Tutti Frutti and Long Tall Sally to the world.
A massive success, Hit the Road Jack reached #1 in the U.S., Sweden, and New Zealand, becoming one of Ray Charles’s signature songs. Its call-and-response style—famously delivered by The Raelettes, with Ray answering—has kept it a staple in Soul and Motown cover bands’ setlists for over seven decades.
With its super simple chord progression, this one is easy to memorise in seconds!
Hit The Road Jack Chords | Related Pages
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- (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher
- Can I Get A Witness
- I Got A Woman
- Money (That’s What I Want)
- Shake A Tail Feather