Song chords
Tennessee Whiskey chords
Chris Stapleton
Two chords — A and Bm — for the entire song, at a tempo slow enough to hear every one of them. It is the easiest chart here and one of the hardest to make sound good.
Before you start
The chords you need.
2 shapes covers the whole song. Tap any diagram’s play button to hear it, or open its page for every voicing on six instruments.
The chart
Section by section.
Key of A, no capo. I to ii, four bars each, forever. The famous soul feel comes from the ii minor sitting where a country song would normally put a IV. Hit play on any section to hear it walk through at 48 bpm.
Verse
16 barsI to ii — the whole harmonic content of the song.
Chorus
16 barsNeed 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.
With only two chords the groove is everything. Play behind the beat, keep the right hand loose, and let the Bm hang before resolving back.
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 — Tennessee Whiskey was written and recorded by Chris Stapleton, 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 Tennessee Whiskey in?
Tennessee Whiskey is in A Major, and it is played in that key with no capo — the chords you read here are the chords you hear.
Do I need a capo for Tennessee Whiskey?
No. Tennessee Whiskey is played open in A Major. A capo will only move it out of the recorded key, which matters if you are playing along with the record.
What chords are in Tennessee Whiskey?
A and Bm — 2 chords across 2 sections. Key of A, no capo. I to ii, four bars each, forever. The famous soul feel comes from the ii minor sitting where a country song would normally put a IV.
What is the easiest way to play Tennessee Whiskey?
Beginner overall. With only two chords the groove is everything. Play behind the beat, keep the right hand loose, and let the Bm hang before resolving back.
How fast is Tennessee Whiskey?
About 48 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 Tennessee Whiskey 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.