Learn how to play "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" by The Clash on guitar!

Wow – this is my first Clash song lesson! What a great Punk-rock guitar classic. Let's learn it!

Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash is a fairly simple song. You can play the whole tune with just a few chords and one strumming pattern, except for the fast bit. It's a real fun one to play on the guitar and a must-know if you've got friends that are into punk.

It's also an excellent one for parties – loads of people know the words for the verses!

💡 This song was a request from my assistant Laryne. :) Put in your own song requests here!

I'm using my electric, but you'll sound just as cool on your acoustic guitar! If you're following my guitar courses, this lesson is perfect for practicing skills you learn in Beginner Grade 2.

Now let's get stuck in and learn how to play Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash on the guitar.

Should I Stay Or Should I Go – Intro Chords

The classic intro guitar part lasts four bars, with two cycles, each lasting two bars. We start on an open D chord (XX0232) and switch to G on beat 3. I use the Rock G grip (3X0033), with finger 2 both fretting 6:3 (string 6, fret 3) and laying down on string 5 to mute it.

The rhythm is a little quirky:

D       G       D  
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
  D D D D D D D D

Notice that we use all downstrums, with our first strum on the "+" of 1. After strumming D on beat 1 of the next bar, mute the strings with your strumming hand, and pause until the next bar.

There are a couple fancy bits in the intro, too. They come during the pause. In the first cycle, play muted strums on beats 2, 3, and 4. In the next cycle, play 5:5 with finger 1, and hammer-on at fret 8 with finger 3. These two notes come on " 3 + ".

Should I Stay Or Should I Go – Verse Chords

The verse progression is 12 bars long. The first sequence is six bars of the intro progression, but the chords change on bars 7 and 8. We use the same rhythm but play G and F instead of D and G.

I suggest you avoid the usual chord grips for G and F and try The Clash's shapes: G (X55433) and F (X33211). It's the same shape but two frets apart! Use finger 1 to barre strings 1 and 2, finger 2 for the note on string 3, and fingers 3 and 4 for the other two notes. You can also think of this shape as little F (XX3211) with an extra bass note. When we shift it two frets up, it becomes a G.

🚨 Get chords + lyrics and tabs to follow along with this tutorial. Your goal is to play songs without having to read its chords, but having them in front of you might help you learn faster. ;)

Another option is to use full barre chord grips: G (355433) and F (133211). In a band context, you're best to leave the bass notes off so you don't muddy the sound of the bass guitar.

💡 Struggling with palm mute and other rock techniques? This free beginner course will help you out!

On bars 9 and 10, we go back to D and G. Then, on bar 11, we switch to A and stay there until the end of bar 12, playing the same rhythm. I use a mini-barre with finger 1, but if that's too tricky, go for the standard fingering I teach with fingers 1, 2, and 3.

I think I can hear the guitarist playing A7 (X02223) on the final strum. You can easily get to this chord from the mini-barre by adding finger 3 to 1:3. After two verse reps (12 bars each), the song speeds up big time!

Should I Stay Or Should I Go? – Fast Rhythm Guitar Section

In this section, the rhythm goes a little crazy! The chords and the timing of the chord changes stay the same, but the rhythm is completely different.

Strum 1 2 + 4 + at double the speed of the previous section. This means you fit four bars in where there were only two before. This is called double time. And there are no pauses in this section. :) If you need to check what you're doing is right, you can listen to the original or check out the video for this lesson.

I don't think I played this song right as a teenager, so my muscle memory was programmed wrong! It was a little bit ropey, but it didn't sound bad, did it? 😅

Have loads of fun with Should I Stay Or Should I Go – this is a wicked party song and loads of fun to play. I really need to do more songs by The Clash! Cheers. :)

Learn more! Check out over 600 free song lessons and get TABS to follow along with them. :)