Honky Tonk Women | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: N.C | N.C :||
||: G | G :||
Verse 1
| G | G | C F/A | C |
I met a gin-soaked, bar-room queen in Memphis.
| G | A (Asus4) | D G/B | D |
She tried to take me upstairs for a ride.
| G | G | C F/A | C |
She had to heave me right across shoulder.
| G | D | G | G |
‘Cause I just can’t seem to drink you off my mind.
Chorus 1
||: G | D | G | G :||
It’s the honky tonk women.
Gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues.
Verse 2
I laid a divorcée in New York City.
I had to put up some kind of a fight.
The lady then she covered me with roses.
She blew my nose and then she blew my mind.
Chorus 2
It’s the honky tonk women.
Gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues.
Solo (as verse)
| G | G | C F/A | C |
| G | A (Asus4) | D G/B | D |
| G | G | C F/A | C |
| G | D | G | G |
Chorus 3 (double)
It’s the honky tonk women.
Gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues.
It’s the honky tonk women
Gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues.
Honky Tonk Women Chords: A Guide to the Rolling Stones Classic
What you see above, using chords and lyrics, is a simplified version of Honky Tonk Women. Perfectly naming every chord in the song would quickly get out of hand, so it’s better to keep things straightforward.
Over a G chord, Keith plays both minor pentatonic and major pentatonic licks. If I had named that as a chord, it would have ended up as something like G13#9, which doesn’t feel quite right when playing a Rolling Stones tune!
The F/A leading to a C is essential, as is the D – G/B – D, along with the Asus4. Here are all the chords for the verse of Honky Tonk Women:
| G | G | C F/A | C |
| G | A (Asus4) | D G/B | D |
| G | G | C F/A | C |
| G | D | G | G |
In the chorus, you should probably add a honky-tonk feel by using 6 extensions, much like Chuck Berry does in Johnny B. Goode. The title of the song certainly hints at it!
Simplified, the chorus is just this:
||: G | D | G | G :||
If you put Honky Tonk Women on repeat and play through the chords, you’ll soon start picking up on Keith’s licks. They’re fantastic, so be sure to write them down before you start inventing your own! The key is to play Honky Tonk Women a little differently each time.
This song remains a staple for indie rock cover bands worldwide. It fits perfectly alongside other Stones classics like Brown Sugar and Satisfaction, as well as Beatles tunes like Back in the U.S.S.R., Get Back, and I Saw Her Standing There.
Remarkably, Honky Tonk Women also feels right at home next to more modern tracks such as Last Nite and Are You Gonna Be My Girl.
Here’s a chord chart!
Honky Tonk Women Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
This chord chart can be downloaded as a PDF, or in the industry standard iReal Pro format:
Honky Tonk Women was inspired by Brazilian strippers!
This Rolling Stones classic was released in 1969 as a single and later included on the album Let It Bleed.
Famous cover versions include those by Tina Turner, Humble Pie, Elton John, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Joe Cocker.
Inspired by Brazilian lap dancers Mick and Keith encountered while on holiday, Honky Tonk Women reached the top five in the charts in fifteen countries and has become one of the band’s best-known songs.
Famously, it was the last song Brian Jones recorded with the band during the demo stage, before being replaced by Mick Taylor for the official recording. Strangely, it was released the day after Brian’s mysterious death.
If you want to play along with the original recording, you’ll need to tune your guitar sharp—up to 454 Hz instead of the standard 440.
The band must have either sped up the tape or forgotten their tuner!
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