Twist & Shout | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| N.C (A B C#) | D G5 A5 | A5 (C#) |
| D5 G5 A5 |
Verse 1
||: A5 (C#) | D G5 A5 :||
Well, shake it up, baby, now (shake it up, baby).
Twist and shout (twist and shout).
C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, baby, now (come on baby).
Come on and work it on out (work it on out).
Verse 2
||: A5 (C#) | D G5 A5 :||
Well, work it on out (work it on out).
You know you look so good (look so good).
You know you got me going now (got me going).
Just like I knew you would (like I knew you would).
Verse 3
||: A5 (C#) | D G5 A5 :||
Well, shake it up, baby, now (shake it up, baby).
Twist and shout (twist and shout).
C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, baby, now (come on, baby).
Come on and work it on out (work it on out).
Verse 4
||: A5 (C#) | D G5 A5 :||
You know you twist, you little girl (twist, little girl).
You know you twist so fine (twist so fine).
Come on and twist a little closer now (twist a little closer).
| A5 (C#) | D G5 A5 | A5 |
And let me know that you’re mine (let me know you’re mine). Oooh.
Instrumental
||: D5 (F#) G A | N.C (D G F#) :|| x4
Bridge
||: A5 | A5 :|| A5 |
Ah, ah, ah, ah, wow, ah, yeah.
Verse 5
||: A5 (C#) | D G5 A5 :||
Well, shake it up, baby, now (shake it up, baby).
Twist and shout (twist and shout).
C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, baby, now (come on, baby).
Come on and work it on out (work it on out).
Verse 6
||: A5 (C#) | D G5 A5 :||
You know you twist, you little girl (twist, little girl).
You know you twist so fine (twist so fine).
Come on and twist a little closer now (twist a little closer).
And let me know that you’re mine (let me know you’re mine).
Outro
||: A5 (C#) | D G5 A5 :||
Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby, now (shake it up, baby).
Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby, now (shake it up, baby).
| A5 (C#) | D5 G5 A5 | A5 |
Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby, now (shake it up, baby).
End
| A5 | A5 | A5 | (A Bb B C C#) | D N.C D9 |
Ah, ah, ah, ah!
Twist & Shout Chords: Learn the progressions
This is an example of a classic cover that still works, six decades after it was first released. Twist & Shout has a nice take on the good old I – IV – V progression.
The verse goes V – I – IV – V, making us want to keep hearing it as the I chord is hidden in the middle, like this:
||: A5 (V) | D (I) G5 (IV) A5 (V) :||
The intro/instrumental section is similar but not the same, the notes in brackets are the bass line leading into the riff.
| N.C (A B C#) | D G5 A5 | A5 (C#) |
| D5 G5 A5 |
Finally, let’s not forget the section David Bowie and Nile Rodgers referenced perfectly in their ’80s hit Let’s Dance, the bridge section. Here we build over an A chord, like this:
||: A5 | A5 :|| A5 |
Personally, I like following those climbing BV’s by changing the inversions of that A chord but maybe that’s just me!
Members get TAB for the main riff, the instrumental section, and the build-up with the BV’s incorporated to keep the band on track/show off.
There’s also TAB for that legendary end, here’s a link to the complete lesson: Twist & Shout – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Twist & Shout was a cover!
The Beatles honed their craft by playing covers, most famously in Hamburg nightclubs during the early ’60s.
One of the songs they learned and to some extent modified was Twist & Shout, originally by a band called the Top Notes, although the Isley Brothers reworked it first and it must have been this that the Fab Four heard as it’s much closer to their version.
The original came out in 1961 and was produced by Phil Spector. Isley Brothers released their version in 1962. It charted at #2 on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles. The bridge section was added in this version.
The Beatles released their version on their first album, Please Please Me in 1963, and as a single in the U.S. in early 1964.
This wasn’t their first U.S. hit, they’d already released She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand, I Saw Here Standing There, and Please Please Me.
Including Twist & Shout, The Beatles sold almost 9 million singles in the U.S. alone between the fall of 1963 and the spring of 1964. Beatlemania was real!
Twist & Shout Chords | Related Pages
Five similar tunes with chords and lyrics
- Do You Love Me chords by The Contours
- Drive My Car chords by The Beatles
- I Saw Her Standing There chords by The Beatles
- I’m A Believer chords by The Monkees
- Money (That’s What I Want) chords by Barrett Strong
The Beatles tunes
The Beatles are the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed band in the history of popular music.
As the leaders of the so-called British Invasion, their catchy Rock n Roll infused pop songs took America by storm, creating hysteria everywhere they went.
The Beatles on the web
Rock n Roll & Early Pop
As popular music was starting to take shape, the earliest styles that came out of Jazz and Blues were Rock n Roll & Early Pop.
Learn tunes by The Beatles, Elvis, The Monkees, Chuck Berry, The Kinks, and The Rolling Stones.
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Twist & Shout chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
