How to Play You Should Probably Leave

I was so excited to figure out how to play You Should Probably Leave when I first heard it. If you’re like me, you’ve been listening to Chris Stapleton’s new album non-stop. Carly Pearce described this song as, “one of the sexiest songs I’ve ever heard,” and I’m excited to teach it to you!

Today we will review the opening riff to the song, the picking and strumming for the chords in the verses, and the lead guitar riffs in the chorus. We will also review the chords to the bridge of the song, and finally, we’ll review the guitar solo. As a bonus, I’ve included the very last lick of the song here too!

Gear Corner!

To get that authentic like the record sound, I believe you’re going to need a Fender Jazzmaster paired with a Fender Princeton Reverb amplifier. For today’s demonstration, I’ll be using my Classic Player Baja 60’s Telecaster and a Line 6 Pod Pro XT to make our lesson video (since I don’t own every guitar/amp known to man).

Check out our YouTube video below, and please make sure you subscribe to our channel! The video maps out each piece of the song, and includes a practice track so you can play along at home!

And now, I have the full tab for You Should Probably Leave available for purchase on Sheet Music Plus! You can support this website and get your download by clicking here: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/21967718?aff_id=721405

Main Riff and Guitar Solo

The main riff to the song is built on classic R&B guitar licks. It’s pretty easy, so a beginner or intermediate guitarist can pick these licks up. Advanced players should be able to learn these licks very quickly. Check out the tab for the opening riff below! Note, the slide on the D string from the 11th to the 9th fret is very quick!

The next riff you’ll need to know is played during the chorus and is similar to the opening riff. Note, you’ll be dropping to the D and the A chord to end the riff. For intermediate to advanced players, notice that the notes in the second half of the chorus are all part of the D and A bar chords. Nothing complicated there!

Also, notice that the last lick of the chorus is actually the main riff for the song! So no need to learn an extra lick. Awesome!

Next, you’ve got to tackle the guitar solo. This is an easy solo and does not require you to be able to be a lean mean chicken picken machine. It may be one of the most accessible solos out there, and it solidifies Chris Stapleton as every man’s musician. If you’ve played any old 50’s and 60’s R&B solos, this is going to look very familiar.

At the very end of the song, the main riff changes slightly again. To play this, you’re going to add a few extra notes. Check out the tab below!

How to Play The Chords to You Should Probably Leave

Nashville Numbers

You Should Probably Leave follows a common chord progression for rythm and blues songs.

The song is in the key A and it follows a 6-1-4-1 progression in the verses. To determine which chords match with each number, you just assign one number to each note in the A major scale in ascending order. The first note of the scale is A, the 2nd is B, the 3rd is C#, the 4th is D, the 5th is E, and the 6th is F#. The 6th chord for this song will be a minor so…

The chords are A, F#m, and D for the verses! The chorus is similar, but the first chord played is an E chord. Adding the E chord changes our progression to a 5-6-4-1, or E-F#m-D-A.

Finally, the bridge breaks the form entirely and follows a 4-2 progression. You will play a D power chord, then drop the bass note for your D power chord to a Db. This creates a D/Db chord. Then you’ll play a B power chord, come back to the D/Db power chord, and finally the D chord again. You will repeat this, but the final chord of the second repeat will be an E chord just before the guitar solo. Check out the lyrics and chords section below to see how to put this all together!

Chord Diagrams

Verse

• 

• 

Bridge

• 

• 

Chorus

• 

• 

• 

• 

Strumming & Picking

The picking and strumming aren’t too difficult, so intermediate to advanced guitarists will find this section easy. If you’re a beginner, this is definitely something that you can play today. It may be a challenge as it will require you to pick out the individual notes in the song. The good news is the picking is easy because you just play the notes in order. The hard part will just be changing the chords, and the little back-beat we play on the A chord (see the verse section of the video).

Verses

In the verses, Chris Stapleton switches between simply muting the strings and strumming the chords on each beat. This is how he plays the song live on many YouTube videos from 4 or 6 years ago. You’ll play the F#m minor chord for 3 beats, the A for 5 beats, the D for 3 beats, and the A for 5 beats again. This may sound weird, but all you’re doing is playing the A chord 1 beat early. The song is still in 4/4 time.

Now that the song has been recorded, the record adds a picking element to the electric guitar part. You simply pick the lowest note of the song on the beat, and then play the next string, and the next string after that. Easy! When you get to the A chord, he’ll pay the A with an up stroke on the 3rd beat. Check this out in the video, and check out our tab below!

Chorus

The chorus follows this same 3 beat & 5 beat strumming. The only change is the chords like we discussed earlier.

Bridge

The bridge is the only part of the song that goes to a straight 4/4 beat, and the notes for each chord are played right on the beat. This will sound really cool if you’re new to fingerpicking or to rolls. Because the bridge uses power chords, it’s much easier to focus on the picking pattern if you’re a beginner. Check out the bridge section in the video and the tablature below!

Lyrics & Chords!

Now that you know all the parts, let’s put them together with the lyrics! I’ll write the chords above the lyrics so you can see where you are in the song. Let’s get jamming!

F#m……..A……D………A…..

I know it ain’t all that late

………………………F#m………A…….D…….A

But you should probably leave

F#m……A…………D……………….A

I recognize that look in your eyes

………………………….F#m………A…….D…….A

Yeah, you should probably leave

………….E……….F#m……D…………….A

‘Cause I know you and you know me

…….E…………..F#m…………………….D……….A

And we both know where this is gonna lead

……..E………………F#m……….D……………….A

You want me to say that I want you to stay

…………………….F#m………A…….D…….A

So you should probably leave

………………………….F#m………A…….D…….A

Yeah, you should probably leave

F#m………….A……………………D……………..A

There’s still time for you to finish your wine

…………………………F#m………A……..D…….A

Then you should probably leave

………….F#m………..A……………..D………….A

And it’s hard to resist, alright, just one kiss

…………………………F#m………A……..D…….A

Then you should probably leave

………….E……….F#m……D…………….A

‘Cause I know you and you know me

…….E…………..F#m……………………..D……….A

And we both know where this is gonna lead

……..E………………F#m……….D……………….A

You want me to say that I want you to stay

…………………….F#m………A…….D…….A

So you should probably leave

………………………….F#m………A…….D…….A

Yeah, you should probably leave

……….D……………….D/Db…………………..B……………..D/Db…..D

Like a devil on my shoulder you keep whisperin’ in my ear

…………..D……………….D/Db…….B………………..D/Db……….E…..

And it’s gettin’ kinda hard for me to do the right thing here

E………………………………………………

I wanna do the right thing, baby

F#m……………A……D…A

Sun on your skin, 6AM

……………….F#m…………….A…….D……A

And I been watchin’ you sleep

………………..F#m…….A…………………………D………………..A

And honey, I’m so afraid you’re gonna wake up and say

………………………..F#m………A…….D…..A

That you should probably leave

………….E……….F#m……D…………….A

‘Cause I know you and you know me

…….E…………..F#m…………………….D……….A

And we both know where this is gonna lead

……..E………………F#m……….D……………….A

You want me to say that I want you to stay

…………………….F#m………A…….D…….A

So you should probably leave

………………………….F#m………A…….D…….A

Yeah, you should probably leave

That’s IT!

You’ve just learned how to play You Should Probably Leave! If you’re a fan of Chris Stapleton, go check out our lesson on How to Play Starting Over!

Also, go check out some of our other country lessons! If you’re a beginner looking for more simple chords, try Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show or Willin’ by Little Feat! These simple songs are great to learn!

If you’re an intermediate to advanced player, how about trying Can’t You See by The Marshall Tucker Band or Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line by Waylon Jennings!

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And if you struggled with any part of this lesson, reach out and let me know! I’d be happy to help you work through one part of the song or another!