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American Girl chords by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Official Version)

GuitarPianoUkulele

D
E7
G
Asus4
E
A
Em
Bm
G7
A7
D7

Intro 1

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

E7

G

Asus4

D

E7

G

Asus4

Verse 1
D 
E 
Well she was an American girl
G 
A 
Raised on promises
D 
E 
She couldn't help thinkin' that there
G 
Was a little more to life
A 
Somewhere else
D 
After all it was a great big world
G 
Em 
With lots of places to run to
A 
Yeah, and if she had to die tryin'
She had one little promise

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Chorus 1

She was gonna keep

G

A

Oh yeah, alright

D

Take it easy baby

Bm

Make it last all night

G

A

She was an American girl

D

D

Verse 2
D 
E 
Well, it was kind of cold that night
G 
A 
She stood alone on her balcony
D 
E 
Yeah, she could hear the cars roll by
G 
Out on 441
A 
Like waves crashin' on the beach
D 
And for one desperate moment there
G 
Em 
He crept back in her memory
A 
God it's so painful
Something that is so close

Chorus 2
And still so far out of reach
G 
A 
Oh yeah, alright
D 
Take it easy baby
Bm 
Make it last all night
G 
A 
She was an American girl
D 
D 

Interlude 1

G7

A7

D7

G7

A7

D7

G7

A7

D7

G7

A7

Interlude 2

D

D

D

D

D

E7

G

Asus4

D

E7

G

Asus4

Solo 1

D

E7

G

Asus4

D

E7

G

Asus4

D

E7

G

Asus4

[Repeat and fade]

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GuitarPianoUkulele

0

D
E7
G
Asus4
E
A
Em
Bm
G7
A7
D7

Tuning: E A D G B EDifficulty: IntermediateKey: D majorBPM: 115

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Finger positions, low to high (E A D G B e). 0 is open, x is muted.

D: x-x-0-2-3-2
E7: 0-2-0-1-0-0
G: 3-2-0-0-0-3
Asus4: x-0-2-2-3-0
E: 0-2-2-1-0-0
A: x-0-2-2-2-0
Em: 0-2-2-0-0-0
Bm: x-2-4-4-3-x
G7: 3-2-0-0-0-1
A7: x-0-2-0-2-0
D7: x-x-0-2-1-2

Accurately transcribed by the GuitarTuna team.

Sus2 and sus4 swap the third in a chord for a second or fourth. The sus course covers the shapes and how to drop them into a progression. Practice sus chords

When a song moves through a lot of chords, the strumming hand has to stay steady through every switch. The basic strumming course covers the patterns and the timing that make changes easier. Smooth out your strumming

Even perfectly fretted chords sound wrong on an out-of-tune guitar. Get in tune in seconds, right in your browser, with the free online guitar tuner

This is the definitive original version of American Girl by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, transcribed exactly as it was recorded in the studio. Unlike our simplified arrangement, this chart preserves the precise chord voicings and progressions in the original key of D major. It is designed for guitarists ready to move past the basics and capture the true feel of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers's performance.

American Girl

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

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