Hound Dog | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| N.C |
Verse 1
| C7 | C7 | C7 | C7 |
You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog, cryin’ all the time.
| F | F F7 | C7 | C7 |
You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog, cryin’ all the time.
| G (G7) | F (F7) | N.C | N.C |
Well, you ain’t never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine.
Verse 2
Well, they said you was high-classed. Well, that was just a lie.
Yeah, they said you was high-classed. Well, that was just a lie.
Yeah, you ain’t never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine.
Verse 3
You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog, cryin’ all the time.
You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog, cryin’ all the time.
Well, you ain’t never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine.
Solo 1
| C7 | C7 | C7 | C7 |
| F (F7) | F (F7) | C7 | C7 |
| G (G7) | F (F7) | C7 | C7 |
Verse 4
Well, they said you was high-classed. Well, that was just a lie.
Yeah, they said you was high-classed. Well, that was just a lie.
Well, you ain’t never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine.
Solo 2
| C7 | C7 | C7 | C7 |
| F (F7) | F (F7) | C7 | C7 |
| G (G7) | F (F7) | C7 | C7 |
Verse 5
Well, they said you was high-classed. Well, that was just a lie.
Yeah, they said you was high-classed. Well, that was just a lie.
Well, you ain’t never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine.
Verse 6
You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog, cryin’ all the time.
You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog, cryin’ all the time.
| G (G7) N.C | N.C | N.C | Db6/9 C6/9 |
Well, you ain’t never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine.
Hound Dog Chords: Learn the Iconic Progressions and Scotty Moore’s Guitar Approach
What’s really important about Hound Dog is not the exact chords Elvis plays on the acoustic, but rather what his sideman, Scotty Moore, does on guitar. Scotty’s approach is essential to the sound we know, and it’s what we should focus on if we’re looking to play this iconic song in a live band setting.
If you’re called upon to play Hound Dog as the only guitarist in a band, I’ve designed some TAB to help you nail the part. Check out this link: Hound Dog – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
We’ll start by learning Scotty’s part note-for-note, and then modify it. Scotty’s guitar doesn’t have much low end, and he was backed by a double bass, which made his approach work in the original recording. But if you’re playing with an electric bass player and a fuller guitar sound, things can get a bit muddy. That’s why we’ll adjust his part to suit a fuller mix.
Once you’ve mastered the TAB and decided how much of Scotty’s original part you want to incorporate into your playing, use the following chord progression as a reminder, thinking in Roman numerals:
||: C7 (I) | C7 | C7 | C7 |
| F (IV) | F7 F | C7 | C7 |
| G IV) G7 | F F7 | N.C | N.C :||
The solo follows the same progression, but in the last two bars, we play C7 instead of letting it stop. Speaking of the solo, I’ve also included TAB for that, and you can use those ideas for countless other songs in the same style!
Here’s a chord chart to bring along to the gig.
Hound Dog Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Hound Dog chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Hound Dog chord chart iReal Pro.
Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key. This may be. a great idea when practising playing the solo!
Hound Dog was one of many covers Elvis sang!
Hound Dog was one of many covers Elvis performed, but it remains one of the most iconic in early Rock ‘n’ Roll history. When Elvis released Hound Dog, it shook the world and had all the girls screaming.
However, it wasn’t actually an original composition by Elvis. Hound Dog was a cover of Big Mama Thornton’s version. While Elvis certainly made it his own, the song’s writers, Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, didn’t initially love his rendition. They felt it sounded “too white.” But after 7-8 million copies sold, they began to change their tune!
Lieber and Stoller would go on to write several more timeless hits for Elvis, including Jailhouse Rock, Love Me, Loving You, Don’t, and King Creole.
Hound Dog Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Hound Dog (Elvis Presley) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: