Favorite Crime might be the least favorite of Olivia Rodrigo’s songs among critics (1). But there’s no doubt it’s still very popular among her fans and guitar players alike!
So, if you want to learn the guitar chords of this gorgeous little ballad, you’re in the right place. Here you’ll find all you need to know to play it.
Favorite Crime Guitar Chords — Fingerpicking Version
The original version of the song features fingerpicked guitar lines using the following chords:
Favorite Crime Chords — Intro and Verse 1
Favorite Crime Chords — Chorus
The chords for the second verse are exactly the same as for the first verse:
Favorite Crime Chords — Bridge
Favorite Crime — Final Chorus Chords
The chords for the outro session are the same as for the first verse of the song.
• • •
Strumming Version Chords
If you find the fingerpicking version too difficult to play, you can play an easy strumming version of the song with the following chords, using a capo on the second fret of your guitar:
Intro and First Verse chords
Chorus chords
Bridge chords
• • •
Chords And Lyrics
In case you also wanted to learn to simultaneously sing and play this Favorite Crime, here’s how the chords go together with the lyrics:
FIRST VERSE
K
And
D
CHORUS
The things I d
Just so I could call you
The things you d
Well, I hope I was your favorite
SECOND VERSE
Y
And
And now e
’cause
SECOND CHORUS
Oh, the things I
Just so I could call you
The things you
Well, I hope I was your favorite
BRIDGE
It’s b
‘Cause
Yeah, ev
But
Oh, look what we b
FINAL CHORUS
Oh, the things I d
Just so I could call you
Oh, the things y
Well, I hope I was your favorite
OUTRO
Your favorite cr
Your favorite c
’cause baby you were mine
• • •
Best Video Lessons
As is often the case, chord diagrams aren’t enough for learning the nuances of playing a song. Video, on the other hand, is much more likely to do the trick when it comes to learning the chords of any tune.
Here are a few of my favorite YouTube lessons for learning this awesome ballad:
GuitarZero2Hero
Dave Trans’s lesson goes through both the fingerpicking and easy-strum versions in a detailed, step-by-step fashion that will please both beginners and intermediate players.
He uses the chords exactly as shown earlier in this article. And the video displays the tablature and chord names in the lower part of the screen while you see him play the song on the upper part of the screen.
Make sure you watch until the end of the video because Dave finishes up with an excellent full playthrough, accompanying Nadda Mercenary on Lyrics. It will give you a huge motivational boost to learn it!
Easy2PlayMusic
If you want to focus on an easy-strumming version perfect for a campfire or similar settings, this lesson is all you need.
It uses the same chords we show above for playing the song with a capo on the second fret, but the C is replaced with a Cmaj7, which is actually more accurate:
A cool feature of this lesson is that it shows the lyrics in the upper part of the screen at the same time it shows the instructor playing the song, providing a karaoke-like experience.
JoelleOCampo
In this perfectly-executed cover with tabs, Joelle plays the A and F#m chords pressing the root note with her thumb. If you struggle with playing chords with your thumb, you can learn this version of the song as an exercise for improving your thumb skills:
• • •
What’s the next song you Want to learn?
If you want to keep growing your repertoire, make sure to check out these articles on our site to learn a few more epic songs:
- While My Guitar Gently Weeps by The Beatles
- Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd
- That Funny Feeling by Bo Burnham
- Come As You Are Guitar by Nirvana
- 25 Easy Guitar Songs — How To Play Them (With Videos)
• • •
References:
- Larisha Paul, “Every Song Ranked on Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Sour’: Critic’s Picks,” as published here: https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/olivia-rodrigo-sour-review-tracks-ranked-9576109/
