“Free Fallin'” is one of Tom Petty’s most beloved songs and a textbook three-chord classic. The entire song — every verse, every chorus, the whole gorgeous five minutes of it — cycles through just three open chords: D, G, and A. With a capo on the 3rd fret, you’ll play familiar D-shape chords while the song sounds in F major (the key Tom Petty recorded it in).
This is the same simplified arrangement I teach in my 30 Day Guitar Chord Fluency course. There are some pretty embellishment chords in the original recording, but the song works beautifully with just D, G, and A — those three chords are the entire song. Let’s dive in!
The Chords You’ll Need
For the verse
Chord Chart
Intro D G D A (x2) Verse 1 D G D A She's a good girl loves her mama D G D A Loves Jesus and America too D G D A She's a good girl crazy 'bout Elvis D G D A Loves horses and her boyfriend too Instrumental D G D A Verse 2 D G D A It's a long day livin' in Reseda D G D A There's a freeway runnin' through the yard D G D A And I'm a bad boy 'cause I don't even miss her D G D A I'm a bad boy for breakin' her heart Chorus D G D A D G D A And I'm free free fallin' D G D A D G D A Yeah I'm free free fallin' Verse 3 D G D A All the vampires walkin' through the valley D G D A Move west down Ventura Boulevard D G D A And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows D G D A All the good girls are home with broken hearts Chorus D G D A D G D A And I'm free free fallin' D G D A D G D A Yeah I'm free free fallin' Instrumental D G D A (x4) Verse 4 D G D A I wanna glide down over Mulholland D G D A I wanna write her name in the sky D G D A I wanna free fall out into nothin' D G D A Gonna leave this world for a while Chorus D G D A D G D A And I'm free free fallin' D G D A D G D A Yeah I'm free free fallin' D G D A D G D A And I'm free free fallin' D G D A D G D A Oh! Free fallin' D G D A D G D A Yeah I'm free oh! free fallin'
About the capo
Tom Petty recorded “Free Fallin'” in F major. By placing a capo on the 3rd fret and
playing D-shape chords, you get the same sounding key but with simple, beginner-friendly
open chord fingerings. If you play a nylon-string classical or flamenco guitar, you’ll
need a specialized capo built for the wider neck and flat fretboard — see my
recommendations for nylon-string capos in the
Richter Guitar shop.
About the simplified chords
The original recording uses Gsus2 and Asus4 instead of plain G and A — small
embellishments that add a little ringing color to the sound. We’ve simplified them
to standard G and A here so you can focus on the song itself. Once it feels
comfortable, you can experiment with adding the suspended versions back in (see the
practice tips below).
Practice Tips
- The entire song is one repeating four-chord phrase: D → G → D → A. Loop it on its own until it feels automatic — that progression is literally the whole song from start to finish.
- Tom Petty’s strumming is gentle and steady, with each chord ringing fully before the next. Don’t rush — let the chords breathe. A simple down-down-up-down-up pattern works beautifully.
- Once you’re comfortable, try adding Asus4 in place of A. Asus4 is just an A chord with your pinky added on the 3rd fret of the B string. It rings out with extra brightness and is exactly what gives Tom Petty’s recording its sparkle. The chord shapes are: A = x02220, Asus4 = x02230.
- If you want to get really close to the recording, you can also try Gsus2 in place of G — its shape is 300233 (or 3×0233 if you can mute the A string). It’s a wider stretch but adds a similar shimmery quality. Both Asus4 and Gsus2 are completely optional flourishes.