“Into the Great Wide Open” by Tom Petty
Posted on December 18, 2009 - Filed Under Guitar, Jeremy's Posts | Leave a Comment
My cover of “Into the Great Wide Open” by Tom Petty
How to play “Into the Great Wide Open” by Tom Petty
I don’t know that this is exactly how the song is played on the album, but here’s how I like to play it. You’ll hear at least two guitar tracks on the album. Playing it this way allows you to work in elements from each so that you can mimic the total sound you hear on just one guitar.
The Chords
EADGBE
022000 = Em
021000 = Em/maj7
020000 = Em7
042000 = Em6
x02210 = Am
302013 = Am7/G
202210 = Am/F#
x02220 = A
320003 = G
320033 = G5
133211 = F
x32010 = C
x32033 = Cadd9
xx0232 = D
x54030 = Dsus4
5×4030 = Dsus4/A
Whew. Okay, don’t let the many chords and funky names (my best guesses) deter you. This song is really quite simple to play. Watch the video lesson for more. For the opening riff, it’s basically just in Em with a melody line that walks down from E to Eb to D to Db. So:
Fig. 1
Em –> Em/maj7 –> Em7 –> Em6
Then it just goes up to Am and you similarly hear a melody line as the bass notes walk down:
Fig. 2
Am –> Am7/G –> Am/F# –> Am7/G
Chords and Lyrics
Fig. 1 (x2)
Fig. 1
Eddie waited till he finished high school
Fig. 1
He went to Hollywood, got a tattoo
Fig. 2
He met a girl out there with a tattoo too
G F C
The future was wide open
G C G
Fig. 1
They moved into a place they both could afford
Fig. 1
He found a nightclub he could work at the door
Fig. 2
She had a guitar and she taught him some chords
G F C
The sky was the limit
G C G G C G D
[Chorus Begins]
G5 Cadd9 Dsus4
Into the great wide open,
G5 Cadd9 Dsus4 Dsus4/A
Under them skies of blue
G5 Cadd9 Dsus4
Out in the great wide open,
G F Em A
A rebel without a clue
[Chorus Ends]
G C G G C G
[Solo Begins]
Fig.1 (x2)
[Solo Ends]
Fig. 1
The papers said Ed always played from the heart
Fig. 1
He got an agent and a roadie named Bart
Fig. 2
They made a record and it went in the charts
G F C
The sky was the limit
G C G
Fig. 1
His leather jacket had chains that would jingle
Fig. 1
They both met movie stars, partied and mingled
Fig. 2
Their A&R man said I don’t hear a single
G F C
The future was wide open
G C G G C G D
[Play Chorus x2]
G C G G C G
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