Arguably John Denver’s most famous hit, we’ll teach you how to play “Take Me Home, Country Roads” on ukulele with our comprehensive guide.
Written by Jay Searle / Published December 29, 2023
Last updated: April 04, 2024
Rightly considered “the” anthem of West Virginia, “Take Me Home, Country Roads” is an iconic country song by John Denver. Even though it was originally composed on 6 and 12-string guitars, it plays remarkably well on a ukulele if you know the right chords.
We’re here to help you learn how to play (and sing) along to “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, so stick with us as we break down the ukulele chords and that form the building blocks of this legendary tune.
Song Sheet: Jump to Take Me Home, Country Roads Chords & Lyrics Sheet
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” Ukulele Chords
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” is structured in the same way as most classic hits. It features only four chords, basic strumming patterns, and no changes in tempo or key.
For this song, you’ll be alternating between playing A, F#m, E7, and D, all great chords to add to your repertoire. Let’s dive into each of these chords from the top.
A Chord
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” is written in the key of A Major and, not surprisingly, opens up with a cheery A Chord. It’s also used in the intro, the outro, and the final part of each measure during the verses.
The A chord consists of notes A, C#, E, and another A, although only the first two are fretted.
To play the A Chord, use our recommended finger position shapes so that you’re prepared for the following chords:
- A: Open
- E: Open
- C: Index finger on the first fret
- G: Middle finger on the second fret
F# Minor
F# minor can be very easily be played following the A chord by using your third finger to fret the F# on the E string. Your index and middle fingers don’t need to move, which is super convenient!
This chord will appear multiple times throughout “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. The first time you’ll play it is right after the A chord in the verse. We recommend using the following fingers to play it:
- A: Open
- E: Ring finger on the second fret
- C: Index finger on the first fret
- G: Middle finger on the second fret
E7 Chord (Alternative E Major Chord)
The first somewhat “complex” chord in “Take Me Home, Country Roads” is the E7 chord. Many beginners tend struggle to play it accurately without accidentally fretting (or muting) the E string, which we want to allow to ring open.
If you’re really struggling with this chord, don’t fret (pun intended)! You can instead play an E major chord in its place, but if you do, we recommend playing it using bar chords rather than in the open position (which is even harder than the E7!)
To play it, you can simply bar all the strings of the second fret with your index finger, and then place a bar over the G, C, and A strings on the fourth fret with your ring finger. Alternatively, since you don’t need the full bar over the second fret (it’s more a convenience thing), you can simply place your index finger on the second fret of the A string.
Even though it may be easier to play E major, we recommend persevering with E7 for that added touch of “color” to the song. If you’re feeling really brave, I recommend experimenting by using both in the song and seeing what sounds best to you.
To play E7, use the below fingerings:
- A: Ring finger on the second fret
- E: Open
- C: Middle finger on the second fret
- G: Index finger on the first fret
D Chord
Next we have the D major chord, which is comprised of the A, D, and F# notes all lined up on the second position of the G, C, and E strings.
The A string is allowed to ring open as A is a note contained within the D major chord:
- A: None
- E: Index finger on the second fret
- C: Middle finger on the second fret
- G: Ring finger on the second fret
G Chord
Finally we have the G chord. Although this chord only appears briefly during the bridge, it adds a nice bit of tonal color to the song that wouldn’t sound the same if we left it out. It consists of the notes G, B and D, played from the second position using the top three strings.
G major is a “borrowed” chord, meaning that it doesn’t “belong” in the key of A. If we were to strictly stick to chords within the key, the G chord would need to be played as a minor chord (Gm). Having a major chord instead of the minor chord gives the bridge a more positive “lift”, which I think complements the song nicely.
To play the G chord, just use the following fingers on the following frets:
- A: Middle finger on the second fret
- E: Ring finger on the third fret
- C: Index finger on the second fret
- G: Open
“Take Me Home Country Roads” Ukulele Tutorial
Strumming Pattern
We recommend using a down, down-up, down, down-up (D-DU-D-DU) strumming pattern as it closely replicates the rhythm and vibe of the original song. The natural flow of the tune wouldn’t really benefit from anything too complicated, so sticking with basic patterns makes the most sense to me.
With the building blocks out of the way, let’s connect them all and assemble “Take Me Home Country Roads” together.
Verse 1 – A, F#m, E7, D, A
The core of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” revolves around the simple combination of A, F# Minor, E7, and D chords with a soft A when the first line of lyrics ends.
The opening chord change from A to F#m should be relatively straight forward if you’ve chosen to follow our finger choices above. Transitioning from F#m to E7 involves quite a few moving parts (your fingers!) so I recommend practicing this change in isolation, slowly at first. Repeat the change over and over again until your muscle memory takes over.
The last chord is the D chord. Again, the change can be a tricky one, although I’d argue that since we’re moving to a shape that feels more natural to our hands that this changes is a little bit easier. If you’re having trouble be sure to take things slowly at first.
Chorus – A, E7, F#m, D & A, E7, D, A
The same chords that you used in the verse are being used in the chorus again, only in a slightly different order.
In my opinion the hardest chord changes in this section are any time we need to transition to or from the E7 chord. Basically, going from A to E7, and then E7 to F#m. I recommend practicing these chord changes slowly until your fingers know instinctively where to go. Then you can practice smoothly transitioning chords playing the whole chorus.
E7 to D major doesn’t feel as unnatural a change to me. That’s because our middle finger is already on the second fret of the C string for E7 and doesn’t need to move for the D chord. This acts as somewhat of an anchor, allowing our other fingers to have a bit of a reference point.
Bridge
The bridge begins after the second chorus, starting with an F#m. There are a lot of chord changes in this section but the good news is you should already be fairly familiar with most of them (looking at you E7).
Where it changes is in the second half of the bridge when we go from F#m to G major, a borrowed chord. This is probably my favorite part of the song as the addition of a chord not in the original key (A) adds an “unexpected” change to the harmony. It gives me a feeling of hopefulness, like we’re about to reach our destination.
F#m to G major shouldn’t be too much of a drastic jump, but in any case, practice this change like you have all the rest and you’ll have this song down in no time.
Outro – E7, A
Keep strumming the E7 and A in a loop for 2 full measures each until the song begins to “fade out,” and wrap it up with a final A chord.
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” Ukulele Chords & Lyrics
Verse:
A F#m
Almost heaven, West Virginia,
E7 D A
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
A F#m
Life is old there, older than the trees.
E7
Younger than the mountains,
D A
Blowing like a breeze.
Chorus:
A E7
Country roads, take me home,
F#m D
To the place, I belong.
A E7
West Virginia, Mountain Mamma,
D A
Take me home, country roads.
Verse 2:
A F#m
All my memories, gather ‘round her,
E7 D A
Miner’s lady, stranger to blue water.
A F#m
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky,
E7 D A
Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye.
Chorus:
A E7
Country roads, take me home,
F#m D
To the place, I belong.
A E7
West Virginia, Mountain Mamma,
D A
Take me home, country roads.
Bridge:
F#m E7 A
I hear her voice in the morning hour, She calls me,
D A E7
The radio reminds me of my home far away.
F#m G D A
And driving down the road I get a feeling that I should have been home
E7 E7
Yesterday, yesterday.
Chorus:
A E7
Country roads, take me home,
F#m D
To the place, I belong.
A E7
West Virginia, Mountain Mamma,
D A
Take me home, country roads.
Final Words
We hope you enjoyed our tutorial on how to play this John Denver classic. If you’re having trouble, don’t forget to consult our chord breakdowns and progression explanations if you need to. “Take Me Home, Country Roads” on ukulele sounds absolutely fantastic, and we hope you agree!
Jay Searle
Website Founder & WriterJay is a self-professed music nerd and ukulele lover. When not working on the website you’ll find him strumming along to his favorite tunes, spending time with his family, or learning to play the piano.
