Wake up Little Susie | TAB
There are loads of TAB examples to go through for this much-trickier-than-expected tune. Let’s start with the intro.
I’ve written a D/A, then D5 here which is slightly pretentious although accurate. The second bar has F/C – G – F/C and then, technically a G on the last 8th note although it is just open strings to get to the D chord again.
As a chord progression, we could see this as I – bIIIx – IV in the key of D, or as we’re borrowing F – G as a IV – V from the key of C.
The reason I say this is because the IV – V is so present in two keys later on in the tune. Here’s the chorus:
This is very tricky. The D chord isn’t really a D triad, more a D5. The F – G is similar to what happened in the intro but not the same rhythmically.
You probably have to play this slowly, reading the TAB, and bring up the tempo in order to make it feel natural, I know I did!
Here’s verse 1, which later comes back in verse 4:
Notice how the rhythm in bar two is similar to Bye Bye Love‘s chord riff.
Here are verses 2 and 5, now we’re in the key of A!
It’s not just a new key, the progression is different, with a stop and a dom7 for chord V at one point.
Here’s verse 3.
This is perhaps the easiest verse, I almost feel like I want to call it a bridge… Anyway, it’s in the key of D and ends with a similar chord riff to the intro.
Finally, let’s look at a Chet Atkins lick that happens over the A chord in verses 2 and 5.
You need to play the first note with your index finger, then pull off using all four fingers on string 3. Check out Get Ready’s solo for a similar idea.
Here’s how you could incorporate this lick with a rhythm part. I’m now using an E-shaped A chord and a C-shaped E.
Wake Up Little Susie TAB | Related Pages
Wake Up Little Susie | Chords + Lyrics
Learn to play Wake Up Little Susie by The Everly Brothers using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| D | D | D F | G F D |
Wake up, little Susie, wake up…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
The Everly Brothers tunes
Starting out with their family as The Everly Family in the ’40s, The Everly Brothers were soon discovered by Chet Atkins.
Their best tunes include Bye Bye Love, Wake Up Little Susie, All I Have To Do Is Dream, and Cathy’s Clown.
The Everly Brothers on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This guitar lesson by Dan Lundholm features TAB and covers Wake Up Little Susie. 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.