Chords + Lyrics | Teenage Kicks
Intro
||: D | D5 C#5 /A | B5 | B5 C#5 D5 :||
Verse 1
| D | D5 C#5 /A |
Are teenage dreams so hard to beat?
| B5 | B5 C#5 D5 |
Every time she walks down the street.
| D | D5 C#5 /A |
Another girl in the neighbourhood.
| B5 | B5 A5 G5 |
Wish she was mine, she looks so good.
Chorus 1
| G5 | G5 G#5 A5 |
I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight.
| A5 | A5 |
Get teenage kicks right through the night.
Verse 2
I’m gonna call her on the telephone.
Have her over ’cause I’m all alone.
I need excitement oh I need it bad.
And it’s the best, I’ve ever had.
Chorus 2
I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight.
Get teenage kicks right through the night, all right.
Instrumental
| D | D (Dsus4) | B5 (Bsus4) | B5 |
| D | D (Dsus4) | B5 (Bsus4) | B5 C#5 D5 |
Verse 3
Are teenage dreams so hard to beat?
Every time she walks down the street.
Another girl in the neighbourhood.
Wish she was mine, she looks so good.
Chorus 3
I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight.
Get teenage kicks right through the night.
Verse 4
I’m gonna call her on the telephone.
Have her over ’cause I’m all alone.
I need excitement oh I need it bad.
And it’s the best, I’ve ever had.
Chorus 4
I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight.
Get teenage kicks right through the night, all right.
Solo (as verse)
| D5 | D5 C#5 /A | B5 | B5 C5 C#5 |
| D5 | D5 C#5 /A | B5 | B5 A5 G5 |
Chorus 5
| G | G5 G#5 A5 |
I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight.
| A | A (Asus4) | D G | G A5 C#5 D |
Get teenage kicks right through the night, all right.
Teenage Kicks Backing Track | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Teenage Kicks. 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 sharp to 441Hz. In the backing track, I’ve done this job for you by detuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
In the key of D, Teenage Kicks revolves around the four strongest chords: I, VI, IV, and V (D, Bm, G, and A). Anything else is simply a chromatic passing chord.
These chords are often played as triads, but to disguise whether they’re major or minor, they can also be played as power chords—perfect for punk!
Intro
The intro connects chords I and VI with a chromatic approach, using power chords and an open A string before the Bm:
||: D (I) | D5 C#5 (VII) /A |
| Bm (VI) | B5 C#5 D5 :||
Verse
The verse follows the same idea as the intro, but with a slight variation at the end where it descends instead of ascending:
| Bm (VI) | B5 A5 (V) G5 (IV) |
Chorus
The chorus introduces more chromatic movement:
| G5 (IV) | G5 G#5 (#IV) | A5 (V) | A5 |
In the TAB furtehr down this guitar lesson, I show you two ways to play this—including one with open-position chords!
Instrumental
The instrumental adds sus4 chords to create extra tension:
| D (I) | D (Dsus4) | B5 Bsus4 (VI) | B5 |
| D | D (Dsus4) | B5 Bsus4 | B5 C#5 D5 |
Solo
The solo mirrors the verse, while the final progression reference Twist & Shout:
| D5 G5 | G5 A5 C#5 D5 |
Here’s a chord chart for reference.
Teenage Kicks Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Download my chord chart as a PDF or in the iReal Pro format:
Teenage Kicks | TAB
Even though it contains barre chords, this tune still feels like beginner material. That said, there’s an important lesson hidden in the details which, if you take it on board, will really help you progress. Let’s start with the main riff.
Verse
The first thing to notice is the open A string, which helps you move smoothly to the B5 chord. Details like this matter. In the chorus, a similar trick happens when using open strings from a G chord (last 8th note in the TAB).
More interesting is bar 4, final 8th note, where we switch to D5 early. Some players might stay on C#5 instead, which creates a brief semitone clash. Because it’s so quick, it’s easy to miss—but getting these small details right is what elevates you from beginner level. Compare this to American Idiot, where the clash was turned into a deliberate feature.
Chorus
The chorus TAB is much simpler. Again, you’ll spot an open A at the end to pivot back to D5 for the verse. It even begins with a single note, leading naturally from the open G.
I also arranged an alternative version using open-position chords—which I actually prefer!
Instrumental
For the instrumental, I adapted the part for one guitar. We use an open D and a quirky B chord that briefly brings in open B and E strings. In the last bar, we climb just like in the verse.
End
Finally, here’s the ending to complete the arrangement.
Practise each section until it feels natural, then play along with the backing tracks. Unlike funk or disco tunes, there’s no room for improvisation here—Teenage Kicks is about memorising the exact parts.
The Song That Won John Peel’s Heart
In 1979, when punk and new wave were dominating the U.K. scene, Northern Irish band The Undertones made a major impact. After sending a demo to BBC DJ John Peel, the excited DJ not only paid for their first recording but also helped launch their career when their debut single Teenage Kicks was picked up by local label Good Vibrations.
Peel was so captivated by the song that he played it relentlessly on air—sometimes even twice in one show—declaring, “It doesn’t get much better than this!”
His love for the track was so strong that he famously requested part of the lyrics to be etched on his gravestone. In 2001, he even made a documentary, Teenage Kicks: The Undertones, returning to Derry, the band’s hometown.
→ Get the full story here: The Undertones tunes.
Teenage Kicks Chords: Continue Learning
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