Out on the Weekend

by Neil Young

Video lesson

Timestamps for this lesson:

0:00 Playthrough & overview
3:30 Chords used
4:54 Strumming: basic pattern
7:04 Strumming: flourish notes
9:15 Strumming: muted technique
10:58 Chorus chord voicings

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Chords w/ lyrics

INTRO
    Bm  ... E  ... Bm ... E ...
    Bm  ... E  ... Bm ... E ...    
    C#m ... F# ... Bm ... E ...

VERSE
   A                          Bm
    Think I'll pack it in and... buy a pickup
   E                    A
    Take it down to L.A.
   A                          Bm
    Find a place to call my own... and try to fix up
   E                    A     Asus2
    Start a brand new day

   A                                Bm
    The woman I'm thinking of, she... loved me all up
   E                     A
    But I'm so down today
   A                                Bm                   E  Esus4
    She's so fine, she's in my mind... I hear her calling

CHORUS    
       A                     D6/A
       ...See the lonely boy... out on the weekend
       Dmaj7/A               A
       ...Trying to make it pay
       A                      D6/A
       ...Can't relate to joy... he tries to speak and
       Dmaj7/A             A
       ...Can't begin to say

BREAK
            Bm  ... E  ... Bm ... E ...
            C#m ... F# ... Bm ... E ...

    A                          Bm
    ...She got pictures on the wall, they make me look up
    E                        A
    ...From her big brass bed
    A                            Bm
    ...Now I'm running down the road, trying to stay up
    E                       A  Asus2
    ...Somewhere in her head

    A                                  Bm
    ...The woman I'm thinking of, she... loved me all up
    E                         A
    ...But I'm so down--- today
    A                               Bm                    E  Esus4
    She's so fine, she's in my mind... I hear her calling

        [ Chorus ]

OUTRO
            Bm  ... E  ... Bm ... E ...
            C#m ... F# ... Bm ... E ...
            A   ... Bm ... E  ... A ... (fade to end)

Notes and tabs

Basic Chords Used

Here are the basic chords used to play this song, at its simplest. There are some more complex chord variations and riffs (shown below), but these should do you for your basic needs.

e-|----0----0-----2-----0----0-----4-----2-----
B-|----2----0-----3-----0----0-----5-----2-----
G-|----2----2-----4-----1----2-----6-----3-----
D-|----2----2-----4-----2----2-----6-----4-----
A-|----0----0-----2-----2----2-----4-----4-----
E-|---------------------0----0-----------2-----
       A  Asus2   Bm    E  Esus4  C#m    F#

Advanced Chords for the Chorus

If you want to sound more like Neil Young does when playing the chorus, try these chords out. It isn’t as easy, but nicely mixes the sound up. Thanks to this source for these tabs: http://hyperrust.org/OLD-ChordTab/OutOnWeekend.html

e-|---5---------------------7---------------------9---------------------5---
B-|---5---------------------7--------------------10---------------------5---
G-|---6---------------------7--------------------11---------------------6---
D-|---7---------------------7---------------------0---------------------7--- (repeat)
A-|---0---------------------0---------------------0---------------------0---
E-|-------------------------------------------------------------------------
      A                    D6/A                Dmaj7/A                  A
    "...See the lonely boy... out on the weekend... trying to make it pay..."

Chord progressions

INTRO
| Bm  . . . | E  . . . | Bm . . . | E . . . |
| Bm  . . . | E  . . . | Bm . . . | E . . . |
| C#m . . . | F# . . . | Bm . . . | E . . . |

VERSE
"Think I'll pack it in and buy a pickup..."
| A . . . | Bm . . . | E . . . | A . . . | (repeat)

"She's so fine, she's in my mind, I hear her calling..."
| A . . . | Bm . . . | E . E4 . |

CHORUS
"See the lonely boy, out on the weekend..."
| A . . . | Bm . . . | E . . . | A . . . | (repeat)

BREAK
| Bm  . . . | E  . . . | Bm . . . | E . . . |
| C#m . . . | F# . . . | Bm . . . | E . . . |

OUTRO
| Bm  . . . | E  . . . | Bm . . . | E . . . |
| C#m . . . | F# . . . | Bm . . . | E . . . |
| A   . . . | Bm . . . | E  . . . | A . . . | (fade to end)

Good luck!

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