Apr162021

Eric Church – People Break Chords on Piano & Ukulele

Updated January 8, 2026

KeyKeyCapo

View

[Intro]
G  Cadd9

[Verse]
G
  Staring at the background
  a heartland sky
Cadd9
  Smoke from the mill stack
  turnin’ that blue white
G
  Right here was our first time
  on the hood of my car
Cadd9
  Now it’s just a spot where
  I wonder where you are

[Chorus]
            G       D
People break people try
       Em            Cadd9
Things happen people cry
        G      D
Someone leaves love dies
        Em            Cadd9
Someone changes their mind
       G               D
Baby I get it I really do
          Em
But now I gotta go and
D                  Cadd9
do the hardest part
          Am        D           G
Break the news to a broken hеart
Cadd9

Check out Musical Tips from our BLOG

[Verse]
G
  The ice on Hawk Lake this
  timе of year
Cadd9
  Broken and busted just like
  my bathroom mirror
G
  So hard to see what lies
  there beneath
Cadd9
  Shattered reflections like
  the pieces of me

[Chorus]
            G       D
People break people try
       Em            Cadd9
Things happen people cry
        G      D
Someone leaves love dies
        Em            Cadd9
Someone changes their mind
       G               D
Baby I get it I really do
          Em
But now I gotta go and
D                  Cadd9
do the hardest part
          Am        D
Break the news to a broken hеart

Feel free to use our free Chord Shape Generator to see every chord in this song on guitar, ukulele and piano.

[Instrumental]
Cadd9 D Cadd9 D x2

[Bridge]
    Em
And where I’m going now man,
        Am
I don’t really know
Em
  This truck felt hungry and
        B
  she’s chewing up this road
Em
  Staring through a windshield
       Am
  same heartland sky
           Am    D            C
But it’s a broken heartland tonight
       Am     D           G    Cadd9
It’s a broken heartland tonight

[Tag]
G
  Staring at the background
                 Cadd9
  a heartland sky
            G              Cadd9
People break, people break...

How to play People Break: key, chords and progression

These are the chords for People Break by Eric Church on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar, and Keyboard

To play People Break by Eric Church, think in G major (one sharp: F♯). It takes 7 chords: G, Cadd9, D, Em, Am, B and C.

The backbone of the song is Cadd9 – G – D – Em (IVadd9 – I – V – vi in G major), a rotation of the four-chord pop progression that starts on the IV chord. In solfa, that is fah – doh – soh – lah. Practise these 4 changes until they feel natural and you can play most of it.

Beginner-friendly: almost every chord here is an open shape on guitar: no capo, no barre chords needed.