Chords for ♪♫ Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues (Tutorial)

_ [B] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ _
_ Awesome Prison Blues _ iconic song by the man in black himself Johnny Cash top song
_ _ [Em] _ This one is the chords pretty easy.
There's not four [E] chords in it.
E
_ _ _ [A] _
E7 A
_ [B] _ _
And B7.
Okay, that's all you need for this [G] song
_ _ _ _ _ [E] _ [Em] Quickly give you the strum first [E] _ _ _
as _ _ _ _ _ _ they're gonna hit the bass note _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ It's more or less what it is.
Alright, [G] so with the E the bass note is your [E] sixth string _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [C] Your A the bass note is your [A] fifth string
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Your B7 the [Gm] same fifth string
[B] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [E] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Okay, [C] _ _ _ _ yeah the intro starts on B7 _ _
[Ab] Well, in fact _ B11 really you're not [C] really gonna worry too much about the top strings here
Because you're gonna hit the fifth string three [B] times _ _ _ _
and then the fourth string once a _ _ _
_ Little bit of you down up down up on your middle strings
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Hit the fifth string again, you can bring your pinky up onto the [G] sixth [Ab] string to hit the G note _
_ Before coming back [E] to your E _ _
_ _ _ So you get [B] this _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Em] _
_ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ Let me just do the verse once for you [G] slowly
_ _ _ [E] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [A] I'm stuck in _ prison _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [B] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ [E] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ There's four verses in this song and they all use that same progression, _ _ let's [C] just go through the chords _ starts on E
[E] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ And I ain't seen the sunshine _ since
Now you want to E7 here now the E7 is in this song _ _
It's this one where you put you just your pinky comes up onto the second string on the third fret _ _
Okay, you want to play your more traditional E7 that one that's by [Em] releasing the fourth string go right ahead.
It sounds fine but
[E] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ But [A] I'm stuck in wholesome _ prisons
Hey _ and time keeps _ [E] dragging on
Be _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
a set via B7, _ but [B] that train keeps rolling _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ [E] _ _ And do [B] that same run there from the intro _ _ _ _
_ [G] _ Maybe use your pinky or just wanna hit the notes [E] _ whatever finger you find easy _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [C] Use whatever finger hits there first.
I don't have a preference, _ but that's optional.
You don't [F] have to do that
You can [B] just go straight from B7 _ to [E] the E _ _ _
Okay, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ so that's 90% of the song [Gb] now [C] you just need the [G] little solo part the part that goes like [Em] this _
[E] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _
Okay, so
[E] _ with that _
It's [Em] the same chords the solo as it is for the verses.
It's the [G] same repetitive chords over and over [E] but _ just to get that little _
_ lead bit in there _ _ _
Basically all you're doing is [Em] just releasing the E to the E minor briefly _ _ _ _ _
_ Strum the E minor and then [E] hammer back on [Em] for your E
[E] _ _ _ _ _ _
[Em] _ _ _ _ _ _ Then make sure you hit the open second string _
And then your pinky is going to come on for that E7 All right
[G] This is why I was playing that E7 before [C] because in the solo you do need that E7 if you want to play this [E] lead but _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ Hopefully your pinky is just going to come on and off that second string third fret
_ _ You _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ kind of have to modify your strum a little bit if you want to strum [G] and play that solo _ _
Not quite sure exactly what to strum, but you just have to sort [Em] of figure that out yourself I [E] think
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[E] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Bm] _ _
[B] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ [E] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ The only other thing I can suggest _ is when you're on that E in the solo _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ It's not in Johnny Cash's version.
I just like [G] to throw that in just to jazz it up a little bit
[Abm] It's basically just releasing [G] the fifth string and hammering back on and releasing the fourth string and hammering back [E] on _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Bm] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ Optional, just thought I'd mention it
_ _ _ [Ab] _ What else?
The outro, [B] same as the intro _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ [E] _ _
_ _ _ _ Johnny _ _
_ So yeah, not much to that song, but what [Em] a great song it is, isn't it? _ _ _
Awesome Prism Blues.
That'll do for that one.