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Reba McEntire - The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsAm, Gm, D, Em, A, F#m, B, E7, C#m
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

Before you play, tune your guitar and use the tools below to set up your view and flow.

[Opening]
[Am]He was on his way home from [Gm]Candle top
Been [Am]two weeks gone and he [D]thought he’d stop
at [Am]Web’s and have him a [Em]drink ‘for he went home to [Am]her

[verse 2]
[Am]Andy Wo-Lo said [Gm]”hello”
[A]he said “Hi, what’s [D]doing”,
Wo said [Am]sit down, I got some [Em]bad news that’s gonna [Am]hurt.

[verse 3]
[Am]Said I’m you best friend and you [Gm]know that’s right
But [Am]your young bride ain’t [D]home tonight
[Am]Since you’ve been gone she’s been [Em]seeing that Amos boy, [Am]Seth

[verse 4]
[Am]He got mad and [Gm]he saw red
[Am]Andy said, Boy, don’t you [D]lose your head
Cause to [Am]tell you the truth, [Gm]I’ve been with her my[Am]self

[chorus]
[F#m]That’s the night that the [B]lights went out in [E7]Georgia [C#m]
[F#m]That’s the night that they [B]hung an innocent [E7]man [C#m]
[F#m]Don’t trust your soul to no [B]backwoods Southern [E7]lawyer [C#m]
Cause the [F#m]judge in the town’s got [B]blood stains on his [Em]hands

[verse 5]
[Am]Andy got scared and he [Gm]left the bar
[Am]Walking on home cause he [D]didn’t live far
You see, [Am]Andy didn’t have many [Em]friends and he just lost him [Am]one

[verse 6]
[Am]Brother thought his wife [Gm]must’ve left town
So [Am]he went home and [D]finally found
the [Am]only thing Daddy [Em]left him and that was a [Am]gun

[verse 7]
[Am]He went off to [Gm]Andy’s house
[Am]Slipping through the woods as [D]quiet as a mouse
[Am]Come upon some tracks [Em]too small for Andy to [Am]make

[verse 8]
He [Am]looked through the screen at the [D]back porch door
[Am]He saw Andy [D]lying on the floor
In a [Am]puddle of blood, and [Em]he started to [Am]shake.

[verse 9]
[F#m]The Georgia Patrol was [B]making their rounds
so he [E7]fired a shot just to [C#m]flag them down
A [F#m]big bellied sheriff grabbed his [B]gun and said,
Why’d you [Em]do it?

[verse 10]
The [Am]judge said guilty in a [Gm]make believe trial
[Am]Slapped the sheriff on the [D]back with a smile
And said [Am]supper’s waiting at [Em]home and I got to get [Am]to it

[chorus]
[F#m]That’s the night that the [B]lights went out in [E7]Georgia [C#m]
[F#m]That’s the night that they [B]hung an innocent [E7]man [C#m]
[F#m]Don’t trust your soul to no [B]backwoods Southern [E7]lawyer [C#m]
Cause the [F#m]judge in the town’s got [B]blood stains on his [Em]hands

[verse 11]
They [Am]hung my brother be[D]fore I could say
the [Am]tracks he saw while on [D]this way
to [Am]Andy’s house and [Em]back that night were [Am]mine

[Closing]
[Am]And his cheating wife had [Gm]never left town
[Am]That’s one body that’ll [D]never be found
You [Am]see, little sister don’t [Em]miss when she aims her [Am]gun

[chorus]
[F#m]That’s the night that the [B]lights went out in [E7]Georgia [C#m]
[F#m]That’s the night that they [B]hung an innocent [E7]man [C#m]
[F#m]Don’t trust your soul to no [B]backwoods Southern [E7]lawyer [C#m]
Cause the [F#m]judge in the town’s got [B]blood stains on his [Em]hands

[chorus]
[F#m]That’s the night that the [B]lights went out in [E7]Georgia [C#m]
[F#m]That’s the night that they [B]hung an innocent [E7]man [C#m]
[F#m]Don’t trust your soul to no [B]backwoods Southern [E7]lawyer [C#m]
Cause the [F#m]judge in the town’s got [B]blood stains on his [Em]hands

SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookDiscover the most-used three-chord combinations in songs and build real command on guitar.
14,015 TRANSITIONS ANALYZED#1 at 23%: Which Transition?Master guitar today with the most repeated high-impact chord transitions.
ArtistReba McEntire
AlbumFor My Broken Heart
GenresCountry
Year1991
KeyAm
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Reba McEntire - The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia on guitar requires 9 chords and 12 core chord transitions. You can find the full step-by-step guide below. Before you start, tune your instrument. The song uses the ↓-↓↑-↑↓↑ pattern; practice it muted first, or simplify to downstrokes while you learn the changes.

The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia uses these transitions most often: F#m → B (18), B → E7 (13), and C#m → F#m (13). These transitions may feel a little challenging at first, but with steady practice you can play this song quickly.When you are ready, begin with Am - Gm chord transition.

1. Am → Gm chord transition

Guitar Am chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-1-0Guitar Am chord diagram
Guitar Gm chord diagram Fingering: 3-1-0-0-3-3Guitar Gm chord diagram

To move from Am to Gm;

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 3.
  4. Place pinky on E string fret 3.
Am to Gm

2. Am → D chord transition

Guitar Am chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-1-0Guitar Am chord diagram
Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram

To move from Am to D;

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on G string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to E string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 3.
Am to D

3. Am → Em chord transition

Guitar Am chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-1-0Guitar Am chord diagram
Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram

To move from Am to Em;

  1. While playing Am, lift your index finger from B string fret 1.
  2. Lift your middle finger from D string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger from G string fret 2 to D string fret 2.
Am to Em

4. Gm → A chord transition

Guitar Gm chord diagram Fingering: 3-1-0-0-3-3Guitar Gm chord diagram
Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram

To move from Gm to A;

  1. While playing Gm, lift your pinky from E string fret 3.
  2. Lift your index finger from A string fret 1 and place it on D string fret 2.
  3. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to G string fret 2.
  4. Slide your ring finger on B string from fret 3 to fret 2.
Gm to A

5. A → D chord transition

To move from A to D;

  1. Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to E string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger on B string from fret 2 to fret 3.

6. Am → F#m chord transition

To move from Am to F#m;

  1. While playing Am, lift your middle finger from D string fret 2.
  2. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger from G string fret 2 to A string fret 4.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 4.

7. F#m → B chord transition

To move from F#m to B;

  1. Keep index finger on E string fret 2.
  2. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 4 and place it on G string fret 4.
  3. Slide your pinky from D string fret 4 to B string fret 4.
  4. Place middle finger on D string fret 4.

8. B → E7 chord transition

To move from B to E7;

  1. While playing B, first lift your ring finger and pinky.
  2. Lift your index finger from E string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 1.
  3. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 4 to A string fret 2.

9. E7 → C#m chord transition

To move from E7 to C#m;

  1. Keep index finger on G string fret 1.
  2. Lift your middle finger from A string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 2.
  3. Place ring finger on B string fret 2.
  4. Place pinky on A string fret 4.

10. C#m → F#m chord transition

To move from C#m to F#m;

  1. While playing C#m, lift your middle finger from D string fret 2.
  2. Lift your index finger from G string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger from B string fret 2 to A string fret 4.
  4. Lift your pinky from A string fret 4 and place it on D string fret 4.

11. B → Em chord transition

To move from B to Em;

  1. While playing B, first lift your index finger and pinky.
  2. Lift your middle finger from D string fret 4 and place it on A string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger from G string fret 4 to D string fret 2.

12. Em → F#m chord transition

To move from Em to F#m;

  1. While playing Em, lift your middle finger from A string fret 2.
  2. Lift your ring finger from D string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 4.
  3. Place index finger on E string fret 2.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 4.

The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia.

  • The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia includes 136 chord transitions, 12 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.04% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia contains 1 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After Am, the most likely next chords across Chordier are F (26%), G (21%), and C (16%).
    • Am → Em: 10%
    • Am → D: 7%
    After F#m, the most likely next chords across Chordier are D (21%), A (18%), and E (14%).
    • F#m → B: 7%
SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookThe 200 most popular three-chord chains from real songs. See which songs use each chain and expand your repertoire with patterns that actually matter.