Take Me Home, Country Roads | Chords + Lyrics (capo 2)
Intro
| G (G/D) | G (G/D) |
Verse 1
| G (G/D) | Em (Em/B) |
Almost heaven, West Virginia.
| D (D/A) | C (C/G) G (G/D) |2/4 G (G/D) |
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River.
| G (G/D) | Em (Em/B) |
Life is old there, older than the trees.
| D (D/A) | C (C/G) G (G/D) |
Younger than the mountains, growin’ like a breeze.
Chorus 1
| G (G/D) | D (D/A) |
Country roads, take me home.
| Em (Em/B) | C (C/G) |
To the place, I belong.
| G (G/D) | D (D/A) |
West Virginia, Mountain Mama.
| C (C/G) | G (G/D) |
Take me home, country roads.
Verse 2
All my memories, gather ’round her.
Miner’s lady, stranger to blue water.
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky.
Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye.
Chorus 2
Country roads, take me home.
To the place, I belong.
West Virginia, Mountain Mama.
Take me home, country roads.
Middle 8
| Em D/F# | G G/D |
I hear her voice in the mornin’ hour, she calls me.
| C G | D D/A |
The radio reminds me of my home far away.
| Em F F/C | C C/G G | D D/A | D7 |
Drivin’ down the road, I get a feelin’ that I should’ve been home yesterday. Yesterday.
Chorus 3
Country roads, take me home.
To the place, I belong.
West Virginia, Mountain Mama.
Take me home, country roads.
Chorus 4
Country roads, take me home.
To the place, I belong.
West Virginia, Mountain Mama.
Take me home, country roads.
Outro
| D (D/A) | G (G/D) |
Take me home, (down) country roads.
| D (D/A) | G (G/D) | G |
Take me home, (down) country roads.
Take Me Home, Country Roads Chords: Exploring the Progressions and Modal Interchange
With a capo on the second fret, you can play Take Me Home, Country Roads using almost entirely open-position chords, making it a great choice for beginner guitarists.
The verse progression follows a simple I – VI – V – IV – I pattern, repeated as follows:
| G (I) | Em (VI) | D (V) | C (IV) G (I) |2/4 G |
| G | Em | D | C G |
I’ve indicated the alternating bass alongside the chords and lyrics above. If this seems cluttered, it might be easier to view the chords on their own and add the bass line as you go.
The only slightly unusual element is the 2/4 bar. Dropped beats or extra bars like this are common in this style of music.
The chorus follows a similarly simple progression, going I – V – VI – IV, then I – V – IV – I:
| G (I) | D (V) | Em (VI) | C (IV) |
| G | D | C | G |
Next, we have the middle 8, or bridge, which features a more adventurous set of chords, including a modal interchange. The first half moves through:
| Em (VI) D/F# (V/3) | G (I) | C (IV) G (I) | D (V) |
The second half introduces a modal interchange. You could interpret it as either a shift to C major, going III – IV – I – V – IIx, or as a bVIIx chord (F), so it could also be seen as:
| Em (VI) F (bVIIx) | C (IV) G (I) | D (V) | D7 |
In music theory, different concepts can coexist. So, while you might hear the bridge as one thing, another musician could interpret it differently.
Ultimately, it’s about the sound the chords create. Which concept makes the most sense to you when describing the bridge?
In the TAB section of this lesson, you’ll learn how to play Take Me Home, Country Roads with a capo, and also what happens when you remove the capo and play in the key of A.
Here’s a link to that part of the lesson: Take Me Home, Country Roads – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Once you’ve mastered the TAB, this chord chart will be all you need to play Country Roads, Take Me Home on a single acoustic guitar.
Take Me Home, Country Roads Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
The chord chart might seem a bit confusing at first, but as you listen to the original recording and follow the chords and lyrics, everything—including the repeats, D.S., and coda signs—will fall into place.
If you’d like to download the chart, here’s a PDF: Take Me Home, Country Roads chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro. Here’s a link to that file: Take Me Home, Country Roads chord chart iReal Pro.
Using the iReal Pro app, you can change the key to A (see the TAB lesson for more on this). You can also adjust the layout of the repeat signs, Segno, and Coda placement to suit your preferences.
Take Me Home, Country Roads: How John Denver Made a Song He Didn’t Write His Own
Released in 1971, Take Me Home, Country Roads became not just John Denver’s signature song, but also the official state anthem of West Virginia.
Although this iconic track is closely associated with John, he didn’t write it himself. Instead, it was crafted by the husband-and-wife duo Bill Danoff (who also wrote Afternoon Delight) and Taffy Nivert.
Initially, the songwriting pair intended to sell the song to Johnny Cash. However, after a chance meeting with John—who, following an incident where his thumb was broken, ended up spending time at their home—they played him the unfinished composition. John contributed to the bridge (or as I’d call it, the middle 8), convincing them that he should be the one to perform it, not Johnny.
The next night, John brought Bill and Taffy on stage, and together they performed the song, sharing a single lyric sheet. The performance was such a hit that it earned them a five-minute standing ovation.
Take Me Home, Country Roads Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Take Me Home, Country Roads (John Denver) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: