Leaving, On a Jet Plane | TAB
If I had to describe how to play Leaving, On a Jet Plane’s chords as simply as possible, I’d say it’s a I – IV – V song in the key of G, with the D chord having lots of different extensions on it.
There are several versions available of this tune, the one I’m focusing on is the Greatest Hits version, spelled Leaving, On a Jet Plane.
Let’s go through the sections, starting with the intro.
As you can see, it’s all D chords with different extensions, play this slowly until you don’t make any mistakes, check it by playing along with the original recording at the top of the page.
Next up we have the verse. These G – C chords are very consistent which is a nice contrast to the elaborate intro.
Finally, let’s look at how John varies the D chords which come at the end of verses, in the middle and end of the choruses. Here are a few examples using TAB
That’s what he plays at the end of most verses. Here’s the middle of the chorus, now he’s using a G-shaped D chord, very nice.
After learning these, feel free to improvise/come up with variations on these ideas, that’s what the man himself did!
Leaving, On a Jet Plane TAB | Related Pages
Leaving, On a Jet Plane
You can learn how to play Leaving, On a Jet Plane by John Denver using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| G | C |
All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- American Pie chords by Don McLean
- Harvest Moon chords by Neil Young
- Take Me Home, Country Roads chords by John Denver
- Take It Easy chords by the Eagles
- Ventura Highway chords by America
John Denver tunes
Country legend John Denver had his golden years during the late 60s and early 70s as he was recording other people’s tunes and writing his own.
His best work includes Leaving, on A Jet Plane, Take Me Home, Country Roads, Annie’s Song, and Thank God I’m a Country Boy.
John Denver on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This guitar lesson by Dan Lundholm features TAB and covers Leaving, On A Jet Plane. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.