Leaving, On a Jet Plane | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| N.C Dsus4 D | Dsus2 D6 D7sus4 | D7 D7sus4 |
| D7sus4 D7 | D7 D7sus2 | D7 D5/A |
Verse 1
| G | C |
All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go.
| G | C |
I’m standin’ here outside your door.
| G | C | D | Dsus4 D |
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye.
Verse 2
But the dawn is breakin’, it’s early morn.
The taxi’s waitin’, he’s blowin’ his horn.
Already I’m so lonesome I could die.
Chorus 1
| G | C | G | C |
So kiss me and smile for me, tell me that you’ll wait for me.
| G | C | D Dsus4 | D5 |
Hold me like you’ll never let me go.
| G | C | G | C |
‘Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again.
| G | C | Dsus2 D | Dsus4 D | Dsus2 D | Dsus4 D |
Oh babe, I hate to go.
Verse 3
There’s so many times I’ve let you down.
So many times I’ve played around.
I tell you now, they don’t mean a thing.
Verse 4
Every place I go, I’ll think of you.
Every song I sing, I’ll sing for you.
When I come back, I’ll bring your wedding ring.
Chorus 2
| G | C | G | C |
So kiss me and smile for me, tell me that you’ll wait for me.
| G | C | D Dsus4 | D Dsus2 |
Hold me like you’ll never let me go.
| G | C | G | C |
‘Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again.
| G | C | Dsus2 D | Dsus4 D | Dsus2 D | Dsus4 D |
Oh babe, I hate to go.
Verse 5
Now the time has come to leave you.
One more time, let me kiss you.
Then close your eyes, I’ll be on my way.
Verse 6
Dream about the days to come.
When I won’t have to leave alone.
About the times, I won’t have to say.
Chorus 3
| G | C | G | C |
Kiss me and smile for me, tell me that you’ll wait for me.
| G | C | D Dsus4 | D Dsus2 |
Hold me like you’ll never let me go.
| G | C | G | C |
‘Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again.
| G | C | D Dsus4 | D Dsus2 |
Oh babe, I hate to go.
| G | C | G | C |
But, I’m leavin’ on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again.
| G | C | C ||: Dsus2 D | Dsus4 D :|| x3 | G |
Oh babe, I hate to go.
Leaving, On a Jet Plane Chords: Learn the progressions
The verse chords in Leaving, On a Jet Plane are really simple, it’s just I – IV on repeat, finish on V, like this in the key of G:
| G (I) | C (IV) | G | C |
| G | C | D (V) | Dsus4 D |
The chorus is still diatonic, although now with a more elaborate V chord, like this:
| G | C | G | C |
| G | C | D Dsus4 | D5 |
| G | C | G | C |
| G | C | Dsus2 D | Dsus4 D | Dsus2 D | Dsus4 D |
As you can see above with lyrics, the choruses do vary slightly.
I’ve designed some TAB for you to play this surprisingly intricate tune. It’s especially the D chords that are varied in many ways.
Here’s a link to that part of the lesson: Leaving, On a Jet Plane – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Once you can play the many examples provided, you’ll be able to improvise/come up with variations on these ideas, that’s what the man himself did!
After working on the TAB and playing along to the original, all you need to bring to the gig is a chord chart. Here’s one I made for you.
Leaving, On A Jet Plane Chord Chart | Related Pages
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Leaving, On A Jet Plane Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Leaving, On A Jet Plane iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Leaving, On A Jet Plane – The tune that made John Denver!
First released by Peter, Paul & Mary in September 1969, John Denver‘s version came the following month. Since then, he rerecorded it for his Greatest Hits album.
Most likely, Leaving, On a Jet Plane is the tune that got Denver signed as this was the best tune included in his early demos.
There are several versions available of this tune, the one I’ve focused on above is the Greatest Hits version, spelled Leaving, On a Jet Plane, not Leaving On A Jet Plane.
If you ever thought that a tune is what it is, recordings and small changes in detail don’t matter too much, comparing these two versions will change your mind.
Another example of a tune that was re-recorded and became a hit because of it is I’m So Excited which is a Disco tune, proving that this is true no matter what the genre.
Leaving, On a Jet Plane Chords | Related Pages
Leaving, On a Jet Plane | Guitar Lesson + TAB
In this lesson, you get a chord analysis and TAB for how to play Leaving, On a Jet Plane, including the intro of the greatest hits version.
| G | C |
All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- American Pie chords by Don McLean
- Harvest Moon chords by Neil Young
- Take Me Home, Country Roads chords by John Denver
- Take It Easy chords by the Eagles
- Ventura Highway chords by America
John Denver tunes
Country legend John Denver had his golden years during the late 60s and early 70s as he was recording other people’s tunes and writing his own.
His best work includes Leaving, on A Jet Plane, Take Me Home, Country Roads, Annie’s Song, and Thank God I’m a Country Boy.
John Denver on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Leaving, On A Jet Plane’s chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
