Chords + Lyrics | Take It Easy
Intro
||: G | G | C/G | D7(omit3)/G :||
| G | G (maj pent lick) |
Verse 1
| G | G |
Well, I’m a-running down the road tryin’ to loosen my load.
| G D5 | C |
I’ve got seven women on my mind.
| G | D5 D5/A |
Four that wanna own me, two that wanna stone me.
| C | G |
One says she’s a friend of mine.
Chorus 1
| Em | Em | C | G |
Take it easy, take it easy.
| Am (G/B) | C | Em | Em |
Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy.
| C | G | C | G |
Lighten up while you still can, don’t even try to understand.
| Am (G/B) | C | G | G | G | G (D7(omit3)/G) |
Just find a place to make your stand and take it easy.
Verse 2
Well, I’m a-standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.
And such a fine sight to see.
It’s a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford.
Slowin’ down to take a look at me.
Chorus 2
Come on, baby, don’t say maybe.
I’ve gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me.
We may lose and we may win, though we will never be here again.
| Am (G/B) | C | G | G |
So open up, I’m climbin’ in. So take it easy.
Solo
| G | G | G D5 | C |
| G | D | C | G |
| Em | D | C | G |
| Am (G/B) | C | Em | Em D |
Verse 3
| G | G |
Well, I’m running down the road trying to loosen my load.
| G D5 | Am |
Got a world of trouble on my mind.
| G | D |
Looking for a lover who won’t blow my cover.
| C | G |
She’s so hard to find.
Chorus 3
| Em | Em | C | G |
Take it easy, take it easy.
| Am (G/B) | C | Em | Em (Em/D) |
Don’t let the sound of your own wheels make you crazy.
| C | G | C | G |
Come on baby, don’t say maybe.
| Am (G/B) | C | G | N.C |
I’ve gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me.
Outro
||: C | C | G | G :|| C | C |
||: Oh, oh, oh… :||
| G | G7 | C | C |
Oh, we got it easy.
| G | G7 | C | C | Em |
We oughta take it easy.
Take It Easy Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Take It Easy. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar down to 435Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
Intro
Let’s dive into the chords of Take It Easy, starting with the intro, which, somewhat disappointingly, never returns. Here are the chords:
||: G (I) | G | C/G (IV) | D7(omit3)/G (V) :||
If you compare this with Jackson Browne’s other hit, Doctor My Eyes, you’ll notice a similar structure: I – IV – V, but with an emphasis on maintaining the root note.
Verse
Once the verse kicks in, it’s seemingly very simple, using only chords I, V, and IV, like this:
| G (I) | G | G D5 (V) | C (IV) |
| G | D5 D5/A | C | G |
The challenge lies in how the rhythm is displaced in verse 1 but not in verse 2. To fully understand this, you’ll need TAB (available further down this guitar lesson).
Chorus
The chorus starts on chord VI and, just like the verse, is completely diatonic:
| Em (VI) | Em | C (IV) | G (I) |
| Am (II) (G/B) (I/3) | C (IV) | Em | Em (Em/D) |
| C | G | C | G |
| Am (G/B) | C | G | G | G | G (D7(omit3)/G) |
Chorus 2 differs slightly: we go to a D chord in bar 2 and don’t play the last two bars.
Solo
The solo is a verse and half a chorus, and the outro moves between chords IV – I, extending that G chord to a G7.
Make sure to check my TAB for all sections of Take It Easy and then return here to make sense of this chord chart which is the same a in the backing tracks above.
Take It Easy Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
If you’d like to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Take It Easy chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro. Here’s a link to that file: Take It Easy iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key, though I can’t see how that would work well, as the open-position chord shapes are essential to part of the sound.
Take It Easy | TAB
There’s plenty of TAB to go through if you want to play Take It Easy using the correct chords and rhythms. I’ve designed this so it works on one acoustic or as the only electric player in the band using a clean sound.
Let’s start with the intro:
Getting the timing right here is essential. When I first started playing along, I put the first big strum on the downbeat. When the drums came in, it was a car crash—it must be on the 4+.
That final lick fits in nicely using just the open G chord. The scale is a G major pentatonic.
Here’s verse 1. Again, it’s got a funny rhythm…
Play along with the backing tracks and make sure you follow the TAB—it may take a while to get this right. There are plenty of open strings in there to get you from one chord to the next.
Let’s look at verse 2 so you can see the difference. The rhythm is now much simpler.
Chorus
OK, so let’s look at chorus 1 (which appears before verse 2):
To me, the hardest part is playing that opening bar in a relaxed and confident way—it’s so easy to want to strum more. We want it to be this sparse so we can increase the intensity later.
When that Em comes back, it’s much bigger, and the following C and G chords play on string 1.
The final lick is awesome if you can play it in a relaxed way.
Here’s chorus 2:
Apart from having a new chord in bar 2, there are more little details that differ.
When you feel confident, play along with the original recording and make the necessary adjustments for the sections not mentioned here. When you feel ready, try it with the backing tracks.
Take It Easy Chords: Continue Learning
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