Leaving on a Jet Plane Chords for Beginners

John Denver's Leaving on a Jet Plane is one of the best first songs for new guitarists. The whole song uses just three chords — G, C and D — and the same chord pattern repeats in every verse and chorus.

The chords

Use the easy versions from the first chords lesson:

Strumming pattern

Start slowly with a metronome at 70 BPM and speed up as the changes get comfortable:

| Down Down Down Down Up |

Chord order

Every verse and chorus follows the same three lines, played twice:

Song structure: Intro: D → Verse 1 → Chorus → Verse 2 → Chorus → Verse 3 → Chorus.

Look up the lyrics and sing along — the chord changes happen on the first word of each line, with the D near the end of every third line. Once this feels easy, swap the easy D for the full D chord.

Practice tips

• Practise the change from G to C on its own until it's smooth.
• Keep strumming even if a chord isn't perfect — rhythm matters more at first.
• Bring the song to your lesson and we'll work through it together.