Mary Jane's Last Dance Guitar Lesson (Tom Petty)

“She grew up in an Indiana town 

Had a good lookin' mama who never was around

But she grew up tall and she grew up right

With them Indiana boys on an Indiana night…” 

It’s lyrics like these that showcase Tom Petty’s brilliant ability to craft a story that grabs a hold of you. 

And often overlooked, is how powerful his band and his right-hand man guitarist Mike Campbell were. 

Mike’s guitar playing propelled many of the Heartbreaker’s most lasting hits. And in this post, we’ll take a look at a few of his guitar stylings and how this was all made happen.

So grab your guitar, tune up, and let’s dive into this “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” guitar lesson.

Who wrote Mary Jane's Last Dance?

"Mary Jane's Last Dance" was written by Tom Petty and recorded by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. First released as a single in 1993, then it was later included on the band's Greatest Hits album. 

Tom Petty was a brilliant songwriter and a master storyteller. And this song is just one of many that showcase this. The Heartbreakers blended rock, folk, and blues influences. “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” features these elements along with Petty's distinctive vocals and the band's classic rock sound.

Petty described the song as one that came to him quickly and easily. It was produced by Rick Rubin, Tom Petty, and guitarist Mike Campbell. It didn't win major awards, but it has received significant airplay and remains one of Tom Petty's most iconic songs.

What key is Mary Jane's Last Dance played in?

“Mary Jane’s Last Dance” as recorded by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is in the key of A minor. There are just two parts, however, during the chorus section, the song goes to the parallel major. It changes from A minor to A major in the chorus – then back for the verse. However, the final key would be A minor.

To better understand how these chords all relate on the guitar, grab my free fretboard guitar here:

Mary Jane's Last Dance Guitar Chords

To play “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” you’ll only need to know 6 chords Am, G, D, Am7, Em, and A. All of these chords can be played as open chords. Let’s take a look at some common ways they could be played on guitar.

Am is played from the 5th string down like this:

G can be played using 5 strings like this:

Note: sometimes in a rock setting I omit the 5th string.

D is played from the 4th string down like this:

Then we have an Am7, which is just like the Am but with the pinkie added on the 3rd fret of the 1st string like this:

Em comes in during the chorus, here we’ll play all 6 strings like this:

And finally, we have the parallel major chord A which is played from the 5th string down like this:

In music theory, a "parallel major" means a major key that shares the same tonic (starting note) as a minor key. Let’s dive deeper into this as we next look at the…

Mary Jane's Last Dance Chord Progression

There are just two sections to know to play “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” on guitar. The first part is the verse. The verse is a 2 bar chord progression that simply loops around. Each chord in the verse lasts 2 beats it starts with Am to G.

Am, G (1 bar)

Then goes on to D and Am…

D, Am (1 bar)

Then you just loop this over and over. Note: this progression is also played for the instrumental and harmonica interludes.

Am, G (1 bar)

D, Am (1 bar)

From there, we move on to the chorus. The chorus is an 8-bar chord progression. Here the chords get stretched out a little bit longer. We’ll spend 2 bars on each chord to start.

Em (2 bars)

A (2 bars)

Then that repeats again but in the final bar we’ll play G like this:

Em (2 bars)

A (1 bar)

G (1 bar) 

But the chords and progressions won’t sound like much without a solid…

Mary Jane's Last Dance Strumming Pattern

The basic “feel” and strumming for “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” is called a swung sixteenth-note rock feel. It can be counted like this: 

16th notes are typically counted for each measure in 4/4 time as:

"1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a, 3-e-and-a, 4-e-and-a" 

The basic idea is that each beat is divided into four parts (1 e & a), giving you a total of 16 subdivisions per measure. 

Then swinging these 16th notes adds a distinct rhythmic feel to them. This is very common in jazz, blues, and many other genres. Instead of playing the 16th notes evenly. They are played with a "long-short" type of pattern where the first note is slightly longer than the second. 

Here’s an example of this rhythm and style of strumming on the first two chords: 

Mary Jane's Last Dance Guitar Solo Lesson

The melody and also the harmonica solo really point to a heavy use of the A minor pentatonic scale in this song. So that would be the first scale I would explore for soloing. 

The notes of the A minor pentatonic scale are:

A (root note)

C (minor third)

D (perfect fourth)

E (perfect fifth)

G (minor seventh)

In terms of fretboard positions, here is one of the most common ways to play this scale:

Mike Campbell is a genius at using this scale in his solos, and beyond. Here is an example of some licks in the style of Mike Campbell:

Conclusion:

To wrap it up, "Mary Jane's Last Dance" is not only a fun song to play on guitar, but it showcases Tom Petty's songwriting genius and also the instrumental brilliance of his band. Whether it’s the key change from the verse to the chorus, or the innovative guitar work from Mike Campbell, learning this song will benefit players at all levels.

Plus it’s a great one to add to your party song setlist, so… 

Keep practicing, and if you want to learn songs way faster, and not waste years spinning your wheels with guitar, grab my free fretboard guide here right now: 

Jon MacLennan