Sunny Afternoon | Chords + Lyrics
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 (as 1)
My girlfriend’s run off with my car, and gone back to her ma and pa,
telling tales of drunkenness and cruelty.
Verse 4 (as 2)
Now I’m sitting here, sipping at my ice-cold beer,
lazing on a sunny afternoon.
Chorus 2
Help me, help me, help me sail away.
Well, give me two good reasons, why I ought to stay.
‘Cause I love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury,
lazing on a sunny afternoon.
In Summertime, in the summertime, in the summertime.
Chorus 3
Save me, save me, save me from this squeeze.
I’ve got a big fat momma tryin’ to break me.
And I’d love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury,
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 | 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 (as 1)
My girlfriend’s run off with my car, and gone back to her ma and pa,
telling tales of drunkenness and cruelty.
Verse 4 (as 2)
Now I’m sitting here, sipping at my ice-cold beer,
lazing on a sunny afternoon.
Chorus 2
Help me, help me, help me sail away.
Well, give me two good reasons, why I ought to stay.
‘Cause I love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury,
lazing on a sunny afternoon.
In Summertime, in the summertime, in the summertime.
Chorus 3
Save me, save me, save me from this squeeze.
I’ve got a big fat momma tryin’ to break me.
And I’d love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury,
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: Learn the 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 (VI) Am/G | Am/F# Am/F | E (IIIx) E/D | E7/C E7/B :||
The verse of Sunny Afternoon uses more conventional chords before the descending bass line idea is used over the E chord again, like this.
||: Am (VI) | G (V) | C (I) |
| G (V) | E (IIIx) E/D | E7/C E7/B :||
| Am (VI) Am/E | Am A (VIx) |
The chorus moves to the key of A and has a bVIIx chord (G).
| A (I) | A | D7 (IV) | D7 |
| G (bVIIx) | G7 | C (bIIIx and I) | E7 (IIIx) |
| Am (VI) | D7 | Am | D7 G (V) |
The C (bIIIx) and E7 chords act as a turnaround to get back to Am.
Here’s a chord chart for Sunny Afternoon.

Sunny Afternoon Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
I like how this chord chart turned out, I feel you can see the structure well. The move from A minor to A major is so clear. That’s a modal interchange by the way.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Sunny Afternoon Chord Chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: Sunny Afternoon iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key to, for example, Dm and play without a capo.
In the course, we look at TAB and play along to loops to learn Sunny Afternoon in more depth, below is a preview.
Sunny Afternoon TAB | Course Preview
Let’s look at three ways to play the intro/chorus tag.
Above, you can play along with a loop as you view the TAB for how to play this part of Sunny Afternoon. The idea is to vary the concept.
Here’s the same TAB as just an image:

Playing the same chords in three different ways means you’ll improve your accuracy. Once you can do it, you can blend the three examples.
In the course, we use loops like this to learn all sections. We’ll learn to play it using a capo on fret 5 because 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 key of Dm. 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 8 step-by-step guitar lessons: Sunny Afternoon – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
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 cancelled 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
Sunny Afternoon | 8 Step-by-step Guitar Lessons + TAB
If you want to play Sunny Afternoon by The Kinks on one guitar, it is best to do so using a capo, the bass line is best included with a capo on fret 5.
This enables the 2nd guitar part (played without a capo) to make this song come alive, let’s play it together!
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
The Kinks tunes
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
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Sunny Afternoon’s chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not by practising scales or studying theory in isolation.