How to Play Drive My Car Chord by The Beatles on Guitar

SobiSeptember 14, 2023Last Updated: July 5, 2024

23 4 minutes read

Drive My Car is a classic rock song by The Beatles, released in 1965 as the opening track of their album Rubber Soul. The song features a catchy riff, a funky groove, and some witty lyrics about a girl who wants to be a star and a guy who offers to be her chauffeur. In this article, we will show you how to play Drive My Car on guitar, using chords, tabs, and strumming patterns.

The Chords

Drive My Car uses mainly seventh chords, which are chords that have four notes instead of three. Seventh chords add more color and tension to the sound, and are often used in blues, jazz, and rock music. The song is in the key of D major, and the chords are:

[Intro:]
D7
 
 
[Verse 1:]
D7                      G7
  Asked a girl what she wanted to be
D7               G7
  She said baby, can't you see
D7                     G7
  I wanna be famous, a star on the screen
    A7#5
But you can do something in between
 
 
[Chorus:]
Bm                    G7
Baby you can drive my car
Bm                 G7
Yes I'm gonna be a star
Bm                    E
Baby you can drive my car
    A          D        G  A
And maybe I'll love you
 
 
[Verse 2:]
D7                         G7
  I told that girl that my prospects were good
D7                        G7
  And she said baby, it's understood
D7                       G7
  Working for peanuts is all very fine
    A7#5
But I can show you a better time
 
 
[Chorus:]
Bm                    G7
Baby you can drive my car
Bm                 G7
Yes I'm gonna be a star
Bm                    E
Baby you can drive my car
    A          D        G  A
And maybe I'll love you
A
 Beep beep'm beep beep yeah
 
 
[Solo:]
D7  G7  D7  G7  D7  G7  A7#5
 
 
[Chorus:]
Bm                    G7
Baby you can drive my car
Bm                 G7
Yes I'm gonna be a star
Bm                    E
Baby you can drive my car
    A          D        G  A
And maybe I'll love you
 
 
[Verse 3:]
D7                         G7
  I told that girl I could start right away
D7                               G7
  And she said listen babe I got something to say
D7                         G7
  I've got no car and it's breaking my heart
    A7#5
But I've found a driver and that's a start
 
 
[Chorus:]
Bm                    G7
Baby you can drive my car
Bm                 G7
Yes I'm gonna be a star
Bm                    E
Baby you can drive my car
    A          D        G  A
And maybe I'll love you
 
A                      D    G
 Beep beep'm beep beep yeah
A                      D    G
 Beep beep'm beep beep yeah                   
A                      D    G
 Beep beep'm beep beep yeah
A                      D    G
 Beep beep'm beep beep yeah

You can also use some variations of these chords, such as D7sus4 (xx0213), G7sus4 (330011), or Bm7 (x24232), to add more flavor and diversity to your playing.

The Riff

The riff is the most recognizable part of the song, and it is played during the intro and the chorus. The riff is based on the D7 chord shape, and it involves sliding, hammering on, and pulling off some notes on the D and G strings. Here is the tab for the riff:

e|——————————| B|————–6 (b)–7-5—5-7-| G|—–5-7p5——–5-7-5—5-7-| D|-5s7——-7————7—–| A|——————————| E|——————————|

The (b) means that you have to bend the note slightly up, to make it sound like a blue note. The s means that you have to slide from one note to another, without picking the second note. The p means that you have to pull off from one note to another, without picking the second note.

To play the riff correctly, you have to use your index finger to barre the fifth fret on the D and G strings, and use your ring finger to play the seventh fret on both strings. You also have to use your pinky finger to play the eighth fret on the B string when you bend it.

The riff is played four times in the intro, and twice in each chorus. You can also play it as a fill between some verses or solos.

The Strumming

The strumming pattern for Drive My Car is fairly simple, and it consists of four downstrokes per bar. You can accentuate the first and third beats of each bar, to create a stronger groove. You can also add some upstrokes or muted strums in between, to make it more rhythmic and lively.

Here is an example of how to strum the verse:

D7 G7 D7 G7 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
D D D D D D D D
^ ^ ^ ^

The ^ means that you have to strum up lightly on the offbeat. You can also mute some of the downstrokes by lifting your fingers slightly off the strings, or by using your palm to dampen them.

The Song Structure

The song structure of Drive My Car is as follows:

Intro: Play the riff four times
Verse 1: Play D7-G7-D7-G7-D7-G7-A-A
Chorus 1: Play Bm-G7-Bm-G7-Bm-E-Am-D-G-A
Verse 2: Play D7-G7-D7-G7-D7-G7-A-A
Chorus 2: Play Bm-G7-Bm-G7-Bm-E-Am-D-G-A
Solo: Play D7-G7-D7-G7-D7-G7-A-A twice, then play Bm-G7-Bm-G7-Bm-E-Am-D-G-A once
Verse 3: Play D7-G7-D7-G7-D7-G7-A-A
Chorus 3: Play Bm-G7-Bm-G7-Bm-E-Am-D-G-A twice
Outro: Play A-D-G-A-D-G-A-D-G until fade out

Conclusion

Drive My Car is a fun and easy song to play on guitar, and it will help you practice your seventh chords, your riffing, and your strumming. You can also experiment with different variations, embellishments, or improvisations, to make it your own. We hope you enjoyed this article, and we encourage you to check out more of The Beatles’ songs and learn from their amazing music. Beep beep’m beep beep yeah!