How to Play Mary Jane’s Last Dance Chords by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
Mary Jane’s Last Dance is a classic rock song by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, released in 1993 as part of their Greatest Hits album. The song features a catchy riff, a harmonica solo, and lyrics about a woman who leaves the narrator. In this article, we will show you how to play Mary Jane’s Last Dance on guitar using chords, tabs, and video lessons.
Chords
The song is in the key of A minor and uses four basic chords: Am, G, D, and Em. You can also add some variations to these chords, such as Am7, Dsus2, and Dsus4, to make the sound more interesting. Here are the chord diagrams for each chord:
[Intro] Am G Dsus2 Am (x4) [Verse] Am G She grew up in an Indiana town Dsus2 Am Had a good-lookin' mama who never was around Am G But she grew up tall and she grew up right Dsus2 Am With them Indiana boys on them Indiana nights Am G Dsus2 Am (x2) w/harmonica [Verse 2] Am G Well she moved down here at the age of eighteen Dsus2 Am She blew the boys away, was more than they'd seen Am G I was introduced and we both started groovin' Dsus2 Am She said, "I dig you baby but I got to keep movin'" Am G Dsus2 Am ...on, keep movin' on Am G Dsus2 Am [Chorus] Em7 Last dance with Mary Jane Em7 A One more time to kill the pain Em7 I feel summer creepin' in and I'm Em7 A G Tired of this town again Am G Dsus2 Am (x2) w/harmonica [Verse 3] Am G Well I don't know, but I've been told Dsus2 Am You never slow down, you never grow old Am G I'm tired of screwing up, I'm tired of going down Dsus2 Am Tired of myself, tired of this town Am G Oh my my, oh hell yes Dsus2 Am Honey put on that party dress Am G Buy me a drink, sing me a song, Dsus2 Am Take me as I come 'cause I can't stay long [Chorus] Em7 Last dance with Mary Jane Em7 A One more time to kill the pain Em7 I feel summer creepin' in and I'm Em7 A G Tired of this town again [Solo] Am G Dsus2 Am (x4) [Verse 4] Am G There's pigeons down on Market Square Dsus2 Am She's standin' in her underwear Am G Lookin' down from a hotel room Dsus2 Am Nightfall will be comin' soon Am G Oh my my, oh hell yes Dsus2 Am You got to put on that party dress Am G It was too cold to cry when I woke up alone Dsus2 Am I hit my last number and walked to the road [Chorus] Em7 Last dance with Mary Jane Em7 A One more time to kill the pain Em7 I feel summer creepin' in and I'm Em7 A G Tired of this town again Am G Dsus2 Am (Play over and over till out, with solo guitar and harmonica)
Strumming Pattern
The strumming pattern for the song is fairly simple and consistent throughout. You can use a down-up-down-up pattern for each chord, with some accents on the second and fourth beats. Here is an example of the strumming pattern for one measure of Am:
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + D U D U D U D U ^ ^
You can also add some variations to the strumming pattern by skipping some strums or adding some muted strums. For example, you can skip the first down strum of the G chord and add a muted strum before the D chord:
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + U D U D U D U x x
Riff
The riff is played by the lead guitar during the intro, interlude, solo, and outro sections of the song. It is based on the A minor pentatonic scale and uses some hammer-ons and pull-offs. Here is the tab for the riff:
e|—————-|—————-|——–0—–0-|0-0-0—0—x-x-| B|0h1—–1—–1-|1-0-0—0—–0-|0h3—–3—–3-|3-1-1—1—x-x-| G|0h2—–2—–2-|2-0-0—0—–0-|0h2—–2—–2-|2-2-2—2——-| D|—————-|—————-|—————-|—————-| A|—————-|—————-|—————-|—————-| E|—————-|—————-|—————-|—————-|
You can also add some variations to the riff by playing different notes from the scale or adding some bends or slides. For example, you can play this variation during the second measure of the riff:
e|—————-|——–3——-| B|0h1—–1—–1-|——–3—–x-| G|0h2—–2—–2-|——–0—–x-| D|—————-|0—0—0——-| A|—————-|—————-| E|—————-|3—3———–|
Harmonica Solo
The harmonica solo is played by Tom Petty himself during the interlude section of the song. It follows the same chord progression as the rest of the song and uses some bends and vibratos. Here is the tab for the harmonica solo:
6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 Am G D Am Am7 G D Am Am7 G D Am Am7 G She said I dig you baby but I gotta keep movin’ on…
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 D Am Em A G Am Em A G Am Em A G Keep movin’ on… Last dance with Mary Jane…
6b -6b -6b -6b -6b -6b -6b -6b Am G D Am Am7 G D Am One more time to kill the pain…
You can also improvise your own harmonica solo by using notes from the A minor pentatonic scale or other related scales.
Video Lessons
If you want to see and hear how to play Mary Jane’s Last Dance on guitar, you can check out some video lessons online. Here are some links to some video lessons that we recommend:
Ultimate Guitar: This video lesson shows you how to play the chords, strumming pattern, riff, and harmonica solo of the song.
E-Chords: This video lesson shows you how to play the chords and strumming pattern of the song.
Conclusion
Mary Jane’s Last Dance is a great song to learn and play on guitar. It has a simple chord progression, a catchy riff, and a harmonica solo that you can have fun with. You can also add some variations to the chords, strumming pattern, riff, and harmonica solo to make the song your own. We hope this article helped you learn how to play Mary Jane’s Last Dance by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Happy playing!
