Chords + Lyrics | Last Nite
Intro
||: C5 | C5 :|| x4
||: C5/F | C5/F | C5/G | C5/G :|| x4
Verse 1 (x3)
| C | C | C | C | Dm | Dm |
Last night she said, “Oh, baby, I feel so down”.
| G | G | Em7 | Em7/D |
“Oh, it turn me off, when I feel left out”.
| C | C | C | C | Dm | Dm |
So I, I turned around, oh, baby, I don’t care no more.
| G | G | Em7 | Em7/D |
I know this for sure, I’m walking out that door.
| C | C | C | C | Dm | Dm |
Well, I’ve been in town for just about fifteen, oh, minutes now. Oh baby, I feel so down.
| G | G | Em7 | Em7/D |
And I don’t know why. I keep walking for miles.
Bridge 1
||: C5/F | C5/F | C5/G | C5/G :||
And see, people, they don’t understand.
Your girlfriends, they can’t understand.
Your grandsons, they won’t understand.
On top of this, I ain’t ever gonna understand.
Verse 2 (x2)
Last night she said, ”Oh, baby, don’t feel so down”.
“Oh, it turn me off, when I feel left out”.
So I, I turned around, oh, baby, gonna be alright.
It was a great big lie, ’cause I left that night, yeah.
Breakdown
||: C5 | C5 :||
||: C5/F | C5/F | C5/G | C5/G :||
Solo
| C | C | C | C |
| F | F | F | F |
| G | G | G | G |
Bridge 2
||: C5/F | C5/F | C5/G | C5/G :||
Oh, people, they don’t understand.
No, girlfriends, they don’t understand.
In spaceships, they won’t understand.
| C5/F | C5/F | C5/G | C5/G N.C |
And me, I ain’t ever gonna understand.
Verse 3 (x2)
Last night she said, ”Oh, baby, I feel so down”.
“See, it turn me off when I feel left out”.
So I, I turned around, oh little girl, I don’t care no more.
I know this for sure, I’m walking out that door, yeah.
Outro
||: C5 | C5 :||
||: C5/F | C5/F | C5/G | C5/G :||
||: C5 | C5 :|| C5 N.C |
Last Nite Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Last Nite. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar sharp to 439Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
In the key of C, Last Nite’s intro and bridge chords employ a harmonic trick: the guitar stays on a C5 while the bass moves between F and G.
Compare this with Money (That’s What I Want), where the guitar remains on the chord while the rest of the band moves from I to IV.
The C5 held by the guitar during the bridge transforms a simple IV – V progression (which sits at #2 on my Top 10 chord progression list) into something more interesting. Without this, the bridge would be just another straightforward progression.
Here’s how it looks:
||: C5/F | C5/F | C5/G | C5/G :|| (x4)
| C5/F | C5/F | C5/G | C5/G N.C |
What The Strokes have done here is use a classic hit-writing trick: familiarity with a twist.
Verse + Chorus
The verse progression starts simply with the I – II, then becomes more complex. First, we move to the V chord, a G. As the guitar stays on G for four bars, the bass shifts the meaning of this G to Em7, and then to Em7/D – genius!
||: C (I) | C | C | C | Dm (II) | Dm |
| G (V) | G | Em7 (III) | Em7/D (III/b7) :||
These two sections represent all the chords used in Last Nite.
If you’re an aspiring songwriter, two great lessons emerge here: keep it simple, and don’t be afraid to stick to the basics—but always add a twist to keep things fresh!
If you want TAB, keep scrolling!
Here’s a chord chart.
Last Nite Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
I can’t imagine this tune being played in any key other than the original, so the iReal Pro version might be unnecessary. That said, you may still want to adjust my layout to suit your needs!
Last Nite | TAB
Let’s go through all the TAB you need to play this tune in a band as the only guitarist. I’ve expanded the main part slightly to cover everything you need.
For now, the solo is not included (you can find a video tutorial in the playlist).
Intro + Bridge
The intro and bridge are played using an octave of a C chord. The bass moves around, but we don’t need to follow it exactly—just lock in on this:
This brings up an interesting point: how much more than our part should we learn? Personally, I think we should know everything, including how to play that bass line for the intro!
Verse + Chorus
Once the main section kicks in, we must blend the two guitars: one plays the rhythm below using mainly power chords, while the other plays triads as stabs.
Here’s what you could play if you’re the only guitarist in the band:
I’ve written Em7/D in the last bar even though we don’t change the guitar for that D in the bass—the bass does. I’ve also written C5, then C with the TAB to highlight the chord change.
Breakdown
In a twist of the intro, the breakdown holds the notes and then moves up an octave:
Solo
The breakdown is followed by a solo (check the playlist above). Here’s what the rhythm guitar plays. Should you have a sax player soloing on the gig, you could stick with this rhythm part.
Notice the final two bars where we play a triad, similar to the intro, but now over a G. This recycling of parts is genius and a big reason why this was such a hit.
When you can play all this TAB, scroll back up to the backing track and chord chart and play it with The Strokes!
Last Nite Chords: Continue Learning
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