Nutbush City Limits | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: A A6 A A6 A | A7 A6 A A6 A :|| x3
| C | C | G | G |
||: A A6 A A6 A | A7 A6 A A6 A :||
Verse 1
||: A A6 A A6 A | A7 A6 A A6 A :|| x4
A church house, gin house. A school house, outhouse.
On Highway Number Nineteen. The people keep the city clean.
| C | C | G | G |
They call it Nutbush, oh, Nutbush.
||: A A6 A A6 A | A7 A6 A A6 A :||
Call it Nutbush city limits.
Verse 2
Twenty-five was the speed limit. Motorcycle not allowed in it.
You go to store on Fridays. You go to church on Sundays.
They call it Nutbush, that little ol’ town, oh, Nutbush.
They call it Nutbush city limits.
Verse 3
You go to field on weekdays. And have a picnic on Labor Day.
You go to town on Saturdays. But go to church ev’ry Sunday.
They call it Nutbush, oh, Nutbush.
They call it Nutbush city limits.
Solo
||: A A6 A A6 A | A7 A6 A A6 A :|| x4
| C | C | G | G |
||: A A6 A A6 A | A7 A6 A A6 A :||
Verse 4
No whiskey for sale. You get caught, no bail.
Saltpork and molasses. Is all you get in jail.
They call it Nutbush, oh, Nutbush.
Yeah, they call it Nutbush city. Nutbush city limits
Outro
||: A A6 A A6 A | A7 A6 A A6 A :||
Little old town in Tennessee.
It’s called a quiet, little old community.
A one-horse town. You have to watch what you’re puttin’ down.
In old Nutbush. They call it Nutbush.
Nutbush City Limits Chords: Master the Riffs and Changes
If you’re playing along with the original recording, you may find it sounds better slightly sharper—around 444 Hz. My free online guitar tuner can help with this.
The chord progression remains consistent throughout, with only minor variations. The main riff features 6 and dom7 extensions, to play it accurately, you’ll need TAB.
Here’s a link to that part of the lesson: Nutbush City Limits – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Once you’ve mastered the riff, reading the chords like this will be enough:
||: A A6 A A6 A | A7 A6 A A6 A :|| x4
Beyond the riff, the song moves to C (bIIIx) and G (bVIIx). You could also interpret these as I and V in Am, meaning there’s a modal interchange at play.
Once you’ve worked through the riff using the TAB, this chord chart is all you’ll need.
Nutbush City Limit Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Nutbush City Limit chord chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: Nutbush City Limit chord chart iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Nutbush City Limit is a great encore for the working band!
Tina Turner mostly sang covers, but Nutbush City Limits was one she wrote herself.
Released in 1973 as a single from the album of the same name by Ike & Tina Turner, it reached the top 20 in over ten countries.
In 1990, she rereleased it as a solo artist on Simply the Best (1991), alongside The Best as a B-side.
That album, by the way, is an incredible showcase of Tina Turner’s catalogue, featuring What’s Love Got to Do with It, I Can’t Stand the Rain, Let’s Stay Together, Private Dancer, We Don’t Need Another Hero, River Deep – Mountain High, Steamy Windows, It Takes Two, and Addicted to Love. No wonder it sold 7 million copies!
I’ve found Nutbush City Limits to be an excellent alternative to Proud Mary as an encore for a Motown/Soul band.
Nutbush City Limits Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Nutbush City Limits (Tina Turner) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: