Sex on Fire | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: E E6 | E E6 | E E6 | E E6 |
| C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 :||
Verse 1
| E E6 | E E6 | E E6 | E E6 |
Lay where you’re laying, don’t make a sound.
| C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 |
I know they’re watching, they’re watching.
| E E6 | E E6 | E E6 | E E6 |
All the commotion, the kiddie-like play.
| C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 |
Has people talking, they’re talking.
Chorus 1
| E | E5 | Emaj7 | E |
You.
| C#madd9 | C#m | Amaj7#11 | Amaj7 |
Your sex is on fire.
Verse 2
| E E6 | E E6 | E E6 | E E6 |
The dark of the alley, The breaking of day.
| C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 |
Head while I’m driving, I’m driving.
| E E6 | E E6 | E E6 | E E6 |
Soft lips are open, them knuckles are pale.
| C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 | Amaj7 | Amaj7 |
Feels like you’re dying, you’re dying.
Chorus 2
| E | E5 | Emaj7 | E |
You.
| C#madd9 | C#m | Amaj7#11 | Amaj7 |
Your sex is on fire.
| E | E5 | Emaj7 | E |
Consumed.
| C#madd9 | C#m | Amaj7#11 | Amaj7 |
With what’s just transpired.
Verse 3
| E E6 | E E6 | E E6 | E E6 |
Hot as a fever, rattling bones.
| C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 |
I could just taste it, chased it.
| E E6 | E E6 | E E6 | E E6 |
But it’s not forever, but it’s just tonight.
| C#m C#mb6 | C#m C#mb6 | Amaj7 | Amaj7 |
Oh, we’re still the greatest, the greatest, the greatest.
Chorus 3
| E | E5 | Emaj7 | E |
And you.
| C#madd9 | C#m | Amaj7#11 | Amaj7 |
Your sex is on fire.
Breakdown chorus
| E5 N.C | E5 N.C | E5 N.C | E5 B5 |
You.
| C#5 N.C | C#5 N.C | C#5 N.C | C#5 G#5 |
Your sex is on fire, ah, ah, ah.
| E5 N.C | E5 N.C | E5 N.C | E5 B5 |
Consumed.
| C#5 N.C | C#5 N.C | A5 N.C | A5 B5 |
With what’s just transpired.
Outro chorus
| E | E5 | Emaj7 | E |
And you.
| C#madd9 | C#m | Amaj7#11 | Amaj7 |
Your sex is on fire.
| E | E5 | Emaj7 | E |
Consumed.
| C#madd9 | C#m | Amaj7#11 | Amaj7 | E5 N.C |
With what’s just transpired.
Sex On Fire Chords: Learn the progressions
The riff is an E6 (chord I), quickly moving down to an E5 as the bar starts.
As the 2nd guitar is playing an E, I’ve described it as an E6 – E using the chords and lyrics above, not E6 – E5.
The rest of the verse uses a similar idea but over chord VI as it goes from C#mb6 – C#m.
The chorus climbs up the E chord, highlighting different intervals, which can be described as different chords, like this:
| E (I) | E5 | Emaj7 | E |
| C#madd9 (VI) | C#m | Amaj7#11 (IV) | Amaj7 |
Following all those E chords, we play chord VI (C#m again) and IV, Amaj7, with its Lydian extension #11.
Throughout Sex On Fire, you are going to have the problem of combining the 2 guitars into one part as most likely, when you play it, you’ll be the only guitarist.
Should you ever play it on the acoustic guitar, try thinking in the key of C, using a capo on fret 4.
Members get plenty of TAB for playing in E with a band and a full chord analysis. Here’s a link to the complete lesson: Sex On Fire – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Sex on Fire is a covers band standard!
For about a decade after its release in 2008, Kings Of Leon‘s Sex on Fire was on every covers band’s setlist.
Some bands still play it, and everyone attempting to make a living playing guitar is expected to know it so make sure you got Sex on Fire’s chords right as it still pops up from time to time.
It may sound like a sell-out but to finish the night with Summer Of ’69, Mr. Brightside, Sex On Fire, and Don’t Stop Me Now does work.
Most of the time, Sex on Fire would be the encore, probably because the chorus is a sing-along invite and as you may suspect, audience participation is the key to every working band’s success.
Sex on Fire Chords | Related Pages
Five similar tunes with chords and lyrics
- Are You Gonna Be My Girl chords by Jet
- Molly’s Chambers chords by Kings Of Leon
- Mr. Brightside chords by The Killers
- Seven Nation Army chords by The White Stripes
- Steady, As She Goes chords by The Raconteurs
Kings Of Leon tunes
Hailing from Nashville, members of the Followill family formed Kings Of Leon and released their debut in 2003.
Their best tunes include Holy Roller Novocaine, Molly’s Chambers, Sex On Fire, Use Somebody, Radioactive, and Pyro.
Kings Of Leon on the web
Indie & Heavy Rock
Riff-based Indie & Heavy Rock tunes must be studied in depth in order to understand why a tune in these styles work.
Learn songs by Foo Fighters, Rage Against The Machine, Green Day, Kings Of Leon, Jack White, Blink-182, and many more.
Pop & Rock
Whenever a tune doesn’t fit into a specific genre, it tends to end up here, in the Pop & Rock section.
Learn tunes from Tom Petty, Eagles, Toto, Oasis, Elvis, Clapton, John Mayer, Kings Of Leon, R.E.M., Radiohead, Bruno Mars, and more.
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Sex on Fire chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
