Chords + Lyrics | Summer Of ’69
Intro
| D5 | D5 |
Verse 1
||: D5 | D5 | A5 | A5 :||
I got my first real six-string, bought it at the five and dime.
Played it ’til my fingers bled, was the summer of ’69.
Verse 2
Me, and some guys from school, had a band and we tried real hard.
Jimmy quit and Jody got married, I should’ve known we’d never get far.
Chorus 1
||: Bm | A | D | G :||
Oh, when I look back now, that summer seemed to last forever.
And if I had the choice. Yeah, I’d always wanna be there.
| Bm | A5 |
Those were the best days of my life.
Instrumental 1
| Dsus2 D Dsus4 | D Dsus2 D | Asus2 A Asus4 | A Asus2 A |
Verse 3
Ain’t no use in complainin’, when you got a job to do.
I spent my evenings down at the drive-in, and that’s when I met you, yeah!
Chorus 2
Standin’ on your mama’s porch, you told me that you’d wait forever.
Oh, and when you held my hand, I knew that it was now or never.
Those were the best days of my life.
Chorus tag
||: Dsus2 D Dsus4 | D Dsus2 D | Asus2 D Asus4 | A Asus2 A :||
Oh, yeah. Back in the summer of ’69, oh.
Middle 8
| F5 | Bb5 | C5 | Bb5 |
Man, we were killin’ time, we were young and restless, we needed to unwind.
| F5 | Bb5 | C5 | C5 |
I guess nothing can last forever, forever, no.
Instrumental 2 (breakdown)
| Dsus2 D Dsus4 | D Dsus2 D | Asus2 A Asus4 | A Asus2 A |
Yeah.
Verse 4
||: Dsus2 D Dsus4 | D Dsus2 D | Asus2 A Asus4 | A Asus2 A :||
And now the times are changin’, look at everything that’s come and gone.
Sometimes when I play that old six-string, I think about you, wonder what went wrong.
Chorus 3
Standin’ on your mama’s porch, you told me that it’d last forever.
Oh, and when you held my hand, I knew that it was now or never.
Those were the best days of my life.
Outro (as verse 4)
||: Dsus2 D Dsus4 | D Dsus2 D | Asus2 A Asus4 | A Asus2 A :|| to fade
Oh, yeah. Back in the summer of ’69, uh-huh.
It was the summer of ’69, oh, yeah. Me and my baby in ’69, oh, oh.
It was the summer, summer, summer of ’69, yeah.
Summer of ’69 Backing Track | Chord Analysis
Above, you should have found backing tracks to use when learning Summer of ’69. I used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, and vocals intact.
Unfortunately, these videos have been removed from Youtube due to copyright politics. To create your own backing tracks, use moises, or any other stem separation software of your choice.
After studying the chords and TAB, use your own backing tracks to prepare playing this tune with a band.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar sharp to 441Hz. In the backing track, I did this job for you by detuning it to 440Hz. When you make your own, detune by 4 cents, or 1Hz.
Chord Progression – What’s Going On?
Verse
The chords for Summer of ’69 are straightforward, starting with the verse, which follows a simple I – V progression using power chords:
||: D5 (I) | D5 | A5 (V) | A5 :||
Chorus
The chorus is similarly easy, using a VI – V – I – IV progression in the key of D:
||: Bm (VI) | A (V) | D (I) | G (IV) :|| Bm | A5 |
Instrumental
The instrumental section mirrors the verse, following the I – V progression but with added extensions:
| Dsus2 D Dsus4 | D Dsus2 D | Asus2 A Asus4 | A Asus2 A |
I’ve made TAB that works in a real-world scenario, particularly when you’re the only guitarist in the band, these chord extensions will make perfect sense. Find said TAB furtehr down this guitar lesson.
If you’re not singing, a simple chord chart is the best way to memorise Summer of ’69‘s chords. Here’s one I’ve made for you.
Summer Of ’69 Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Download my chart as a PDF or iReal Pro:
Summer Of ’69 | TAB
Let’s look at each section in detail. The intro is just a D5 power chord with accents on the 1 and 2+ during bar 1. That’s it. And still, you hear that and within a second, you know it’s Summer Of ’69!
The vast majority of bands would have used the instrumental, chorus tag, and outro chords instead—not Bryan and Clearmountain (producer). They know how to hold back. Here’s the intro TAB:
The verse is the same, just with the addition of the V chord as we go D5 – A5, maintaining those accents. Looks like this in TAB:
What all this has done is build tension, so when we release chords with full triads for the chorus, the tune opens up.
Following this, we play the instrumental, which is the same movement as the verse, but now with sus2 and sus4 extensions, like this using TAB:
The proper genius part here is that this is a big release—but there’s no singing. We still hold back.
Doing this makes another verse and chorus still feel exciting. Next time the riff comes in, there’s singing, making it a chorus tag, not an instrumental.
This is then followed by a middle 8. We can see this as a modal interchange going from D to Dm/F. In the key of F, we use I – IV – V, like this:
| F5 (I) | Bb5 (IV) | C5 (V) | Bb5 |
| F5 | Bb5 | C5 | C5 |
This leads us to a breakdown instrumental section, another verse now with the extensions, a chorus, and the outro—which is the chorus tag on a loop.
Summer Of ’69’s chords may be simple, but don’t let that fool you. They’ve been arranged using all the classic hit-writing tricks. If you want a mansion with a tennis court and a pool to come back to in between your world tours—take note!
When you feel ready, try playing all sections using the backing tracks you had to make yourself, and my chord chart.
Should I find away around this copyright nonsense, I’ll TAB out parts for the chorus and middle 8 too. Until then, I’m on strike.
A Masterclass in Song Arrangement
Bryan Adams’ classic Summer of ’69 appears on his fourth album, Reckless (1984). Surprisingly, it wasn’t the lead single.
A worldwide hit, it performed best in the U.K., selling 2.4 million copies. The album itself reached 12 million sales worldwide.
If you dream of a mansion with a tennis court and a pool between world tours, pay close attention to how this track was arranged and produced!
Behind the production is Bryan Adams himself, with his direct, no-nonsense songwriting, alongside Bob Clearmountain (known for working with Chic, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, and many others).
The intro and first verse hold back with just power chords, making the triads of the chorus explode with impact. Then, bringing in the hook after the chorus—rather than in the intro—is a masterstroke. Most bands would have led with it.
Studying big songs in detail is the best way to train yourself to make the right decisions when recording your own music. As Summer of ’69 shows, so much comes down to the arrangement.
Summer Of ’69 Chords: Continue Learning
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