On the Road Again | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: E | E :||
Verse 1
| E | E | G# |
On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again.
| G# | F#m |
The life I love is making music with my friends.
| A B7 | E |
And I can’t wait to get on the road again.
Verse 2
| E | E | G# |
On the road again, goin’ places that I’ve never been.
| G# | F#m |
Seein’ things that I may never see again.
| A B7 | E |
And I can’t wait to get on the road again.
Bridge 1
| A | A | E |
On the road again, like a band of gypsies we go down the highway.
| A | A | E |
We’re the best of friends, insisting that the world keep turning our way.
| B7 N.C |
And our way.
Verse 3
| E | E | G# |
Is on the road again, I just can’t wait to get on the road again.
| G# | F#m |
The life I love is makin’ music with my friends.
| A B7 | E |
And I can’t wait to get on the road again.
Solo
||: E | E | G# |
| G# | F#m | A B7 | E :||
Bridge 2
| A | A | E |
On the road again, like a band of gypsies, we go down the highway.
| A | A | E |
We’re the best of friends, insisting that the world keep turning our way.
| B7 N.C |
And our way
Verse 4
| E | E | G# |
Is on the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again.
| G# | F#m |
The life I love is makin’ music with my friends.
| A B7 | E |
And I can’t wait to get on the road again.
| A B7 | E | A B7 | E |
And I can’t wait to get on the road again.
On the Road Again’s chords and progressions
Willie Nelson‘s On the Road Again is a country classic with a seemingly straightforward chord progression.
Played in the key of E, the verse has an unusual length as the first line is three bars long, the next two, two bars each, making the full verse 7 bars long, like this:
| E | E | G# |
| G# | F#m |
| A B7 | E |
Using Roman Numerals, we start at chord I, then go to IIIx, or the mediant major as posh folk say. This is followed by a II – IV – V – I.
The bridge starts on chord IV, making us feel as if we really do get out on that road, toward new adventures. Followed by chord I, then repeated, we finish on chord V with a stop, like this:
||: A | A | E :||
| B7 N.C |
Again, that unusual length of seven bars was used in the bridge too.
My advice to you would now be to learn the chords for On the Road Again, find a band, get out there to find out what all this fuss is about!
On the Road Again chords | Related pages
Intermediate Acoustic
Most intermediate acoustic tunes can’t be played using just basic open-position chords. We have to move up the fretboard and play CAGED barre chords as well.
We incorporate bass lines, add licks, extend chords, and play vocal melodies. Most importantly, we invent second guitar parts and play these songs together.
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Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson first had success as a writer for other artists, once he started releasing his own solo albums, it took him over a decade to break through.
His best tunes include On The Road Again, Crazy, Always On My Mind, Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain, and Touch Me.
Willie Nelson on the web
Country & Folk
In the primarily acoustic genres of Country & Folk, you must acquire what matters the most: A repertoire. Nothing else will give you the gig.
Learn tunes by Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, America, Don McLean, and many more.
