Chords + Lyrics | Into The Great Wide Open
Intro
||: Em Emmaj7 | Em7 Em6 :||
Verse 1
| Em Emmaj7 | Em7 Em6 |
Eddie waited ’til he finished high school.
| Em Emmaj7 | Em7 Em6 |
He went to Hollywood, got a tattoo.
| Am Am7/G | Am/F# Am7/G |
He met a girl out there with a tattoo too.
| G Fadd9 | C G | C G |
The future was wide open.
Verse 2
They moved into a place they both could afford.
He found a nightclub, he could work at the door.
She had a guitar and she taught him some chords.
| G Fadd9 | C G | C G | C G D5 D |
The sky was the limit.
Chorus 1
| G Cadd9 | Dadd4 |
Into the great wide open.
| G Em | Dadd4 Dadd4/A |
Under them skies of blue.
| G Cadd9 | Dadd4 |
Out in the great wide open.
| G Fadd9 | Em Asus2 G | C G | C G |
A rebel without a clue.
Instrumental 1
||: Em Emmaj7 | Em7 Em6 :||
Verse 3 (as verse 1)
The papers said Ed always played from the heart.
He got an agent and a roadie named Bart.
They made a record, and it went in the charts.
The sky was the limit.
Verse 4 (as verse 2)
His leather jacket had chains that would jingle.
They both met movie stars, partied, and mingled.
Their A&R man said, “I don’t hear a single”.
The future was wide open.
Chorus 2
| G Cadd9 | Dadd4 |
Into the great wide open.
| G Em | Dadd4 Dadd4/A |
Under them skies of blue.
| G Cadd9 | Dadd4 |
Out in the great wide open.
| G Fadd9 | Em Asus2 |
A rebel without a clue.
Chorus 3 (as chorus 1)
Into the great wide open.
Under them skies of blue.
Into the great wide open.
A rebel without a clue.
Into The Great Wide Open Chords: Exploring the Progressions
Tom Petty’s Into The Great Wide Open features chord movements that evoke similarities to other well-known songs. Recognising these connections helps deepen your understanding of musical language, rather than implying any direct borrowing.
The Em chords in the intro and verse bear a resemblance to My Funny Valentine, while the Am progression with a descending bass line recalls Sunny Afternoon. Then there’s the Dadd4 chord, which combines both the sus4 and the 3rd—just like the one R.E.M. used in Man on the Moon.
On the studio recording, Tom Petty and Mike Campbell layered multiple guitar parts to create a rich sound. However, for a live performance where you might be the only guitarist, I’ve put together a TAB arrangement that works in a band setting.
Here’s a link to that part of the lesson: Into The Great Wide Open – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Unpacking the Chords of Into The Great Wide Open
Let’s break down the chord progressions in Into The Great Wide Open and uncover the theory behind Tom Petty’s clever songwriting.
Intro
The intro follows a descending pattern within Em, using chromatic movement in the extensions rather than the bass line:
||: Em Emmaj7 | Em7 Em6 :||
This starts in Aeolian, but the 6 (from Em6) belongs to Dorian, making this a modal interchange.
Verse
As the verse begins, we continue with the same Em progression before shifting to Am (chord II), where the bass now takes a descending motion—pure genius:
| Am Am7/G | Am/F# Am7/G |
In the final line, Tom introduces another modal shift, treating Em as if it belongs to multiple modes—this time Phrygian (chord III from the key of C):
| G Fadd9 | C G | C G |
At the end of verse 2, a D5 keeps things ambiguous, leaving the listener unsure whether it’s major or minor.
Chorus
The chorus, however, firmly grounds us in G major, following the familiar I – IV – V progression:
| G (I) Cadd9 (IV) | Dadd4 (V) |
| G (I) Em (VI) | Dadd4 (V) Dadd4/A |
| G Cadd9 | Dadd4 |
For the final line, an F chord appears again, functioning as a backdoor dominant (bVIIx), rather than another modal shift.
Despite all the movement outside the key, the repetition makes these changes feel natural. Once you’ve worked through my TAB and played along with the original, all you’ll need is a simple chord chart—so here’s one I made for you.
Into The Great Wide Open Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
After all that TAB and chord theory, the chord chart above looks so simple!
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Into The Great Wide Open chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Into The Great Wide Open iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Into The Great Wide Open TAB | Course Preview
In the course, there’s TAB for all sections of Into The Great Wide Open, all arranged to work as the only guitar in a band, or even as a solo acoustic arrangement backing a singer.
As a preview, here’s the intro and first line of the verse.
Johnny Depp Stars as Eddie Rebel
The stars aligned when Tom Petty set out to create the music video for Into The Great Wide Open. At the same time, the indie comedy-drama Arizona Dream (1993) unexpectedly went on hiatus, freeing up its lead actors.
As a result, Johnny Depp, Gabrielle Anwar, and Faye Dunaway stepped into the video, portraying Eddie Rebel, his girlfriend, and his manager.
With the song’s vivid storytelling, bringing the narrative to life wasn’t difficult—though setting up the scenes and securing such a high-profile cast certainly wasn’t cheap.
The end product? Arguably one of the greatest music videos ever made.
Into The Great Wide Open Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Into The Great Wide Open (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy:
