Teenage Kicks | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: D | D5 Db5 C5 | Bm | B5 C5 Db5 :||
Verse 1
| D | D5 Db5 C5 |
Are teenage dreams so hard to beat?
| Bm | B5 C5 Db5 |
Every time she walks down the street.
| D | D5 Db5 C5 |
Another girl in the neighbourhood.
| Bm | B5 A5 Ab5 |
Wish she was mine, she looks so good.
Chorus 1
| G | G5 Ab5 |
I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight.
| A | A |
Get teenage kicks right through the night.
Verse 2
| D | D5 Db5 C5 |
I’m gonna call her on the telephone.
| Bm | B5 C5 Db5 |
Have her over ’cause I’m all alone.
| D | D5 Db5 C5 |
I need excitement oh I need it bad.
| Bm | B5 A5 Ab5 |
And it’s the best, I’ve ever had.
Chorus 2
| G | G5 Ab5 |
I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight.
| A | A |
Get teenage kicks right through the night, all right.
Instrumental
| D | D (Dsus4) | Bsus4 | Bsus4 (Bm) |
| D | D (Dsus4) | Bsus4 | Bsus4 C5 Db5 |
Verse 3
| D | D5 Db5 C5 |
Are teenage dreams so hard to beat?
| Bm | B5 C5 Db5 |
Every time she walks down the street.
| D | D5 Db5 C5 |
Another girl in the neighbourhood.
| Bm | B5 A5 Ab5 |
Wish she was mine, she looks so good.
Chorus 3
| G | G5 Ab5 |
I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight.
| A | A |
Get teenage kicks right through the night.
Verse 4
| D | D5 Db5 C5 |
I’m gonna call her on the telephone.
| Bm | B5 C5 Db5 |
Have her over ’cause I’m all alone.
| D | D5 Db5 C5 |
I need excitement oh I need it bad.
| Bm | B5 A5 Ab5 |
And it’s the best, I’ve ever had.
Chorus 4
| G | G5 Ab5 |
I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight.
| A | A |
Get teenage kicks right through the night, all right.
Solo (as verse)
| D | D5 Db5 C5 | Bm | B5 C5 Db5 |
| D | D5 Db5 C5 | Bm | B5 A5 Ab5 |
Chorus 5
| G | G5 Ab5 |
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’ chords and progressions
In the key of D, The Undertones Teenage Kicks focus on the four strongest chords, the I, VI, IV, and V. That’s D, Bm, G, and A.
Sometimes these are played as triads, sometimes as power chords, or 5 chords. See the chords and lyrics above for a guide.
The intro connects chords I and VI using chromatic approach power chords, like this:
||: D | D5 Db5 C5 | Bm | B5 C5 Db5 :||
The intro is the same as the verse, apart from at the end where it goes down instead of up, like this:
| Bm | B5 A5 Ab5 |
This takes us to the Teenage Kicks chorus chords which I believe should be played using power chords when moving chromatically, the full triad once you’re there.
| G | G5 Ab5 | A | A |
The instrumental section adds sus4 chords, like this:
| D | D (Dsus4) | Bsus4 | Bsus4 (Bm) |
| D | D (Dsus4) | Bsus4 | Bsus4 C5 Db5 |
The solo is just a verse, the end section is reminiscent of Twist & Shout as it goes:
| D G | G A5 C#5 D |
Teenage Kicks | Related pages
Five similar tunes with chords and lyrics
The Undertones
Formed during the 70s in Northern Ireland, The Undertones surprisingly ignored the turmoil and sang about girls instead of politics.
They are best known for their hit Teenage Kicks and an intense relationship with BBC DJ John Peel.
The Undertones on the web
Indie & Heavy Rock
Riff-based Indie & Heavy Rock tunes must be studied in depth in order to understand why a tune in these styles work.
Learn songs by Foo Fighters, Rage Against The Machine, Green Day, Kings Of Leon, Jack White, Blink-182, and many more.
