Twist & Shout | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| N.C (A B C#) | D5 G5 A5 | A5 (C#) |
| D5 G5 A5 |
Verse 1
||: A5 (C#) | D5 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#) | D5 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#) | D5 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#) | D5 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#) | D5 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#) | D5 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#) | D5 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#) | D5 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’s chords, progressions, and TAB
Based on the good old I – IV – V chord progression, Twist & Shout could be boiled down to two riffs and that build-up over chord V.
I’ve put the chords with lyrics above but in the case of Twist & Shout, TAB is much better at explaining what is going on here.
On the recording, there are two guitars but the reality for the working guitar player is that you are probably going to be the only guitarist so you need one part that works.
Here’s TAB of what I would play for the two main riffs if I was playing Twist & Shout with a band tonight as the only guitarist.

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!
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The Beatles
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 & Roll infused pop songs took America by storm, creating hysteria everywhere they went.