Sunny Afternoon | Chords + Lyrics (capo 5)
Intro
||: Am Am/G | Am/F# Am/F | E E/D | E7/C E7/B :||
Verse 1
| Am | G | C | G |
The tax man’s taken all my dough, and left me in my stately home,
| E E/D | E7/C E7/B |
lazing on a sunny afternoon.
Verse 2
| Am | G | C | G |
And I can’t sail my yacht, he’s taken everythin’ I’ve got,
| E E/D | E7/C E7/B | Am Am/E | Am (E F# G#) |
all I’ve got’s this sunny afternoon.
Chorus 1
| A | A | D7 | D7 |
Save me, save me, save me from this squeeze.
| G | G7 | C | E7 |
I’ve got a big fat momma tryin’ to break me.
| Am | D7 | Am | D7 G |
And I’d love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury,
| C | E7 | Am Am/G | Am/F# Am/F |
lazing on a sunny afternoon.
| E E/D | E7/C E7/B | Am Am/G | Am/F# Am/F | E E/D | E7/C E7/B |
In the summertime, in the summertime, in the summertime.
Verse 3
| Am | G | C | G |
My girlfriend’s run off with my car, and gone back to her ma and pa,
| E E/D | E7/C E7/B |
telling tales of drunkenness and cruelty.
Verse 4
| Am | G | C | G |
Now I’m sitting here, sipping at my ice-cold beer,
| E E/D | E7/C E7/B | Am Am/E | Am (E F# G#) |
lazing on a sunny afternoon.
Chorus 2
| A | A | D7 | D7 |
Help me, help me, help me sail away.
| G | G7 | C | E7 |
Well, give me two good reasons, why I ought to stay.
| Am | D7 | Am | D7 G |
‘Cause I love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury,
| C | E7 | Am Am/G | Am/F# Am/F |
lazing on a sunny afternoon.
| E E/D | E7/C E7/B | Am Am/G | Am/F# Am/F | E E/D | E7/C E7/B |
In Summertime, in the summertime, in the summertime.
Chorus 3
| A | A | D7 | D7 |
Save me, save me, save me from this squeeze.
| G | G7 | C | E7 |
I’ve got a big fat momma tryin’ to break me.
| Am | D7 | Am | D7 G |
And I’d love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury,
| C | E7 | Am Am/G | Am/F# Am/F |
lazing on a sunny afternoon.
| E E/D | E7/C E7/B | Am Am/G | Am/F# Am/F |
In the summertime, in the summertime.
| E E/D | E7/C E7/B | Am Am/G | Am/F# Am/F |
In the summertime, in the summertime,
| E E/D | E7/C E7/B |
in the summertime.
End
| Am | Am | Am | Am |
Sunny Afternoon | Chords + Lyrics (no capo)
Intro
||: D5 D5/C | D5/B D5/Bb | A5 A5/G | A5/F A5/E :||
Verse 1
| Dm | C | F/C | C |
The tax man’s taken all my dough, and left me in my stately home,
| A5 A5/G | A5/F A5/E |
lazing on a sunny afternoon.
Verse 2
| Dm | C | F/C | C |
And I can’t sail my yacht, he’s taken everythin’ I’ve got,
| A5 A5/G | A5/F A5/E | Dm Dm/A | Dm Dm/A D5/B D5/C# |
all I’ve got’s this sunny afternoon.
Chorus 1
| D | D | G | G7 |
Save me, save me, save me from this squeeze.
| C | C7 | F/C | A A7 |
I’ve got a big fat momma tryin’ to break me.
| Dm | G7 | Dm | G7 C |
And I’d love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury,
| F/C | A A7 | D5 D5/C | D5/B D5/Bb |
lazing on a sunny afternoon.
| A5 A5/G | A5/F A5/E | D5 D5/C | D5/B D5/Bb | A5 A5/G | A5/F A5/E |
In the summertime, in the summertime, in the summertime.
Verse 3
| Dm | C | F/C | C |
My girlfriend’s run off with my car, and gone back to her ma and pa,
| A5 A5/G | A5/F A5/E |
telling tales of drunkenness and cruelty.
Verse 4
| Dm | C | F/C | C |
Now I’m sitting here, sipping at my ice-cold beer,
| A5 A5/G | A5/F A5/E | Dm Dm/A | Dm Dm/A D5/B D5/C# |
lazing on a sunny afternoon.
Chorus 2
| D | D | G | G7 |
Help me, help me, help me sail away.
| C | C7 | F/C | A A7 |
Well, give me two good reasons, why I ought to stay.
| Dm | G7 | Dm | G7 C |
‘Cause I love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury,
| F/C | A A7 | D5 D5/C | D5/B D5/Bb |
lazing on a sunny afternoon.
| A5 A5/G | A5/F A5/E | D5 D5/C | D5/B D5/Bb | A5 A5/G | A5/F A5/E |
In Summertime, in the summertime, in the summertime.
Chorus 3
| D | D | G | G7 |
Save me, save me, save me from this squeeze.
| C | C7 | F/C | A A7 |
I’ve got a big fat momma tryin’ to break me.
| Dm | G7 | Dm | G7 C |
And I’d love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury,
| F/C | A A7 | D5 D5/C | D5/B D5/Bb |
lazing on a sunny afternoon.
| A5 A5/G | A5/F A5/E | D5 D5/C | D5/B D5/Bb |
In the summertime, in the summertime.
| A5 A5/G | A5/F A5/E | D5 D5/C | D5/B D5/Bb |
In the summertime, in the summertime,
| A5 A5/G | A5/F A5/E |
in the summertime.
End
| Dm | Dm | Dm | Dm |
Sunny Afternoon’s chords and progressions
Sunny Afternoon uses a bass line to create a looped pattern for the intro/chorus tag, these are the chords for when a capo is placed on fret five, thinking in the key of Am.
||: Am Am/G | Am/F# Am/F | E E/D | E7/C E7/B :||
The verse uses more conventional chords at first before the descending bass line idea is used over the E chord again, like this.
||: Am | G | C | G | E E/D | E7/C E7/B :||
| Am Am/E | Am A |
The chorus moves to the key of A and has a bVII chord in it (G).
| A | A | D7 | D7 |
| G | G7 | C | E7 |
| Am | D7 | Am | D7 G |
The C (bIIIx) and E7 chords act as a turnaround to get back to Am, like this:
| C | E7 | Am Am/G | Am/F# Am/F |
| E E/D | E7/C E7/B | Am Am/G | Am/F# Am/F | E E/D | E7/C E7/B |
In the course, we first learn to play it using a capo on fret 5 as this works best when playing on just one guitar. This takes five lessons.
The final three steps are spent constructing and playing a 2nd guitar part without a capo in the keys of Dm/D. Learning this will enable you, me, and the singer to play Sunny Afternoon together, like an acoustic trio.
Should you play Sunny Afternoon as the only guitarist in a band, you may want to blend the two versions by playing open-position Dm chords as well as Am-shaped barre chords.
Here’s a link to the complete lesson series (members only): Sunny Afternoon 8 step-by-step guitar lessons with TAB.
Become a member today and get unlimited access to all step-by-step guitar courses, TAB for the songbook, the Self-Eliminating Practice Routine, and the eBook Spytunes Method.
Sunny Afternoon – A single, a compilation album, and a Musical!
Sunny Afternoon was a worldwide hit in 1966, charting in 18 countries. Sales at the time weren’t huge with less than half a million in the U.K., the legacy of the song would become far greater.
Originally released as a single from the forthcoming fourth album Face to Face, it would also be the name of a compilation album released the following year.
In 2014 a musical about The Kinks was named after the song as well. The show started in the Hampstead Theatre in London before it moved to the West End, went on tour, and then finally got canceled due to COVID in August 2020.
Ray Davis has mentioned how he remembers the day he wrote Sunny Afternoon on piano as he was fed up with the progressive tax he had to pay to the U.K. Labour government under Harold Wilson.
Apparently, he was at home with his 1-year-old daughter, the furniture was green, the walls orange and he was wearing a polo-neck sweater.
Later, he also admitted that during recordings of Suny Afternoon, he was listening to Bob Dylan‘s Maggie’s Farm in particular and the album on which it is found, Bringing It All Back Home (1965) in general.
Sunny Afternoon 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’ll invent second guitar parts and play these songs together.
Five similar tunes with chords and lyrics
The Kinks
Categorized as a British invasion band, along with the other members of the so-called Big Four, The Kinks changed popular music forever.
Among their hits, you find Lola, Sunny Afternoon and You Really Got Me, which fourteen years later would be covered by Van Halen, using a much louder amp.
The Kinks on the web
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.
