Song chords
Take Me Home, Country Roads chords
John Denver
The campfire song. Four open chords, a chorus everyone in the room already knows, and a bridge that walks up instead of looping. Recorded in A and universally played capo 2 out of G.
Before you start
The chords you need.
4 shapes covers the whole song, fretted with the capo at fret 2. Tap any diagram’s play button to hear it, or open its page for every voicing on six instruments.
The chart
Section by section.
Capo 2, G shapes. The verse starts on the vi (Em) in bar two, which is unusual for a song this simple and is exactly why the opening sounds wistful rather than cheerful. Hit play on any section to hear it walk through at 82 bpm.
Verse
7 barsShapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Chorus
7 barsShapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Bridge
8 barsWalks rather than loops — the only section that moves.
Shapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Need it in a different key, or without the capo? Run it through the transposer — move every chord by the same interval and the song is unchanged.
Playing it
What actually trips people up.
Everyone rushes the chorus. Count the D through its full two bars before landing back on G or the singing falls off the front.
The chart above is the commonly played arrangement — the version a competent player would hand you, not a bar-for-bar transcription of a specific master. Section labels are there to orient you; live and studio versions repeat, extend and drop sections freely, and none of that changes which chords you need.
About this page
Chord names and song structure are facts; for lyrics and official notation, support the artist. This page carries no lyrics on purpose — Take Me Home, Country Roads was written and recorded by John Denver, and the words belong to them. What you get here is the harmony: the key, the capo, the tempo, and which chord goes where.
Next
Songs that sit near this one.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask.
What key is Take Me Home, Country Roads in?
Take Me Home, Country Roads sounds in A Major. The common arrangement gets there with a capo at fret 2 and G Major shapes, which is why the chords written here are G Major chords rather than A Major ones.
Do I need a capo for Take Me Home, Country Roads?
Yes for the standard arrangement: capo 2. Without it you would be playing A Major shapes, which needs barre chords. With the capo on, the shapes are G Major — much friendlier under the hand.
What chords are in Take Me Home, Country Roads?
G, Em, D and C — 4 chords across 3 sections. Capo 2, G shapes. The verse starts on the vi (Em) in bar two, which is unusual for a song this simple and is exactly why the opening sounds wistful rather than cheerful.
What is the easiest way to play Take Me Home, Country Roads?
Beginner overall. Everyone rushes the chorus. Count the D through its full two bars before landing back on G or the singing falls off the front.
How fast is Take Me Home, Country Roads?
About 82 bpm. Every section on this page plays back at that tempo, so you can hear how long each chord is meant to be held before you try it yourself.
Can I play Take Me Home, Country Roads in a different key?
Yes — the progression is the song, not the letters. Move every chord by the same number of semitones and it still works. The transposer will do the arithmetic, or you can move the capo and keep these shapes.