The Cars - Drive
Hello! Below you'll find my "Drive" chords & lyrics chart as well as a tutorial video on how to play the piano accompaniment.
This song by The Cars is pretty simple at it's core. There are a lot of layers of keyboards on the recording, and I work them all into the arrangement I teach in the video. As always, you can pick and chose what details to include in your version.
Enjoy!
Drive Piano Tutorial
Here's a piano tutorial video for Drive:
Drive Chords & Lyrics
[Intro]
| B | Bmaj7 | Badd2 | B |
| B | Bmaj7 | Badd2 | B |
[Verse 1]
B Bmaj7 Badd2 B
Who's gonna tell you when it's too late
B Bmaj7 Badd2 B
Who's gonna tell you things aren't so great
[Chorus]
G#m C# G#m C#
You can't go on, thinkin' nothing's wrong, but now
B/F# F#6 (B)
Who's gonna drive you home tonight
[Post - Chorus]
| B | B |
[Verse 2]
B Bmaj7 Badd2 B
Who's gonna pick you up when you fall
B Bmaj7 Badd2 B
Who's gonna hang it up when you call
B Bmaj7 Badd2 B
Who's gonna pay attention to your dreams
B Bmaj7 Badd2 B
And who's gonna plug your ears when you scream
[Chorus]
G#m C# G#m C#
You can't go on, thinkin' nothing's wrong, but now
B/F# F#6 (B)
Who's gonna drive you home tonight
[Instrumental]
| B | G#m | B | G#m |
| D#m | E | B/F# | F# |
[Verse 3]
B Bmaj7 Badd2 B
Who's gonna hold you down, when you shake
B Bmaj7 Badd2 B
Who's gonna come around, when you break
B Bmaj7 Badd2 B
Who's gonna hold you down, when you shake
B Bmaj7 Badd2 B
Who's gonna come around, when you break
[Chorus]
G#m C# G#m C#
You can't go on, thinkin' nothing's wrong, but now
B/F# F#6 B
Who's gonna drive you home tonight
G#m C# G#m
Ohhh, you know you can't go on, thinkin'
C#
Nothing's wrong, but now
B/F# F#6 (B)
Who's gonna drive you home tonight
Who's gonna drive you home tonight
[Outro]
| B | B | B | B |
This document is the author's own work and represents his interpretation of this song. It's intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.
This chord chart is here only to support online learning. We recommend buying official transcripts from a licensed and reputable publisher.
Drive Piano Tips
1. Take It Slow: It's counterintuitive, but the quickest way to get comfortable and sound great playing a song is to practice it very slowly at first. Steady rhythm and counting are crucial to sounding like a pro, so let yourself get used to feeling the beat at a slow, easy tempo. Once you can nail "Drive" slowly, *gradually* speed it up. You'll sound much better than if you jumped in at full speed!
2. Use The Pedal Wisely: Utilize the sustain pedal to connect the chords smoothly, timing your lifts with the arrival of a new chord. For help with sustain pedal timing, check out this video.
3. Simplify if need be: "Drive" still sounds great even if you simply hold out the chords and ignore most of the rhythm patterns and extra details in the tutorial video. Feel free to keep it simple, especially if you sing while playing. As you get comfortable, you can always add the fancy stuff later.
