Play That Funky Music | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: E7 :|| x4
Hey, do it now.
||: E9 (Eb9 E6) | E9 (Eb9 Eb6 E6) :||
Yeah, hey.
Verse 1
||: E9 (Eb9 E6) | E9 (Eb9 Eb6 E6) :||
Hey, once I was a boogie singer, playin’ in a rock n roll band.
I never had no problems, yeah, burnin’ down the one-night stands.
And everything around me, yeah, got to start to feelin’ so low.
And I decided quickly. Yes, I did, heh. To disco down and check out the show.
Bridge 1
||: E9 | E9 :||
Yeah, they were dancin’ and singin’ and movin’ to the groovin’.
And just when it hit me, somebody turned around and shouted:
Chorus 1
||: G9 (G6 Gb6) | G9 (G6 Gb6) :||
Play that funky music, white boy. Play that funky music right.
| G9 (G6) | Bb9 |
Play that funky music, white boy.
| E7 (min pent riff) | E7 (min pent riff) |
Lay down the boogie and play that funky music ‘til you die.
Instrumental 1
||: E9 (Eb9 E6) | E9 (Eb9 Eb6 E6) :||
He he. ‘Til you die? Yeah, yeah.
Verse 2
||: E9 (Eb9 E6) | E9 (Eb9 Eb6 E6) :||
I tried to understand this. I thought that they were out of their minds.
How could I be so foolish, how could I? To not see I was the one behind.
So still I kept on fighting. Well, losing every step of the way (what did you do?).
I said I must go back there, I got to go back. And check to see if things still the same.
Bridge 2
||: E9 | E9 :||
Yeah they were dancin’ and singin’ and movin’ to the groovin’.
And just when it hit me, somebody turned around and shouted:
Chorus 2
||: G9 (G6 Gb6) | G9 (G6 Gb6) :||
Play that funky music, white boy. Play that funky music, right.
| G9 (G6) | Bb9 |
Play that funky music, white boy.
| E7 (min pent riff) | E7 (min pent riff) |
Lay down the boogie and play that funky music ’til you die.
Instrumental 2
||: E9 (Eb9 E6) | E9 (Eb9 Eb6 E6) :||
‘Til you die? Yeah. Oh, ’til you die. Gonna play some electrified funky music.
Solo
||: E9 (Eb9 E6) | E9 (Eb9 Eb6 E6) :|| x4
Hey, wait a minute,
Verse 3
||: E9 (Eb9 E6) | E9 (Eb9 Eb6 E6) :||
Now first it wasn’t easy, changing rock-and-rolling minds.
And things were gettin’ shaky, I thought I’d have to leave it behind.
Oh, but now it’s so much better, it’s so much better. I’m funking out in every way.
But I’ll never lose that feelin’, you know, I won’t. Of how I learned my lesson that day.
Bridge 3
||: E9 | E9 :||
When they were dancin’ and singin’ and movin’ to the groovin’.
And just when it hit me, somebody turned around and shouted:
Chorus 3
||: G9 (G6 Gb6) | G9 (G6 Gb6) :||
Play that funky music, white boy. Play that funky music, right.
| G9 (G6) | Bb9 |
Play that funky music, white boy.
| E7 (min pent riff) | E7 (min pent riff) |
Lay down the boogie and play that funky music ’til you die.
Instrumental 3
||: E9 (Eb9 E6) | E9 (Eb9 Eb6 E6) :||
‘Til you die? Yeah. Oh, ’til you die. Come on let’s go! They shouted:
Chorus 4
||: G7 (riff) | G7 (riff) :||
Play that funky music. Play that funky music.
Play that funky music. You got to keep on play that funky music.
Play that funky music. Play that funky music.
Play that funky music, gonna take you higher now.
Chorus 5 (key change)
||: A9 (A6 Ab6) | A9 (A6 Ab6) :|| to fade
Play that funky music, white boy. Play that funky music right, yeah.
Play that funky music, white boy. Play that funky music, right.
Play that funky music, white boy. Play that funky music, right, yeah.
Play that funky music, oh yeah. Play that funky music, right.
Play That Funky Music’s chords, progressions, and TAB
One hit wonders Wild Cherry wrote and released Play That Funky Music because they could see how the world around them didn’t want rock music anymore, they wanted funky music.
The lyrics are a reflection of what Rob Parassi (lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of the band) saw happening around him in 1976.
The tune was so huge, Rob retired on the back of it to pursue a musical life of instrumental jazz and general leisure.
Since the release, Play That Funky Music has been a standard on the party band’s set list, strangely, I’ve never come across a band that plays the key change at the end.
The guitar parts are more intricate than I first suspected when I sat down to transcribe it. As a member, I’ll give you the TAB that will work on one guitar (the original recording has two) in a band.
Here’s a link to the full lesson (members only): Play That Funky Music chord analysis and TAB.
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Play That Funky Music chords | Related pages
Five similar tunes
Wild Cherry
It took Rob Parissi two versions of his band Wild Cherry before he came up with a tune that would make them world-famous.
Wild Cherry is best known for their tune Play That Funky Music which they came up with after having the audience demand dance music from their rock band.
Wild Cherry on the web
Dance, Disco & Funk
Pop & Rock
Whenever a tune doesn’t fit into a specific genre, it tends to end up here, in the Pop & Rock section.
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