Cotton Eye Joe | Chords + Lyrics
Chorus 1 (N.C)
||: N.C | N.C :||
If it hadn’t been for Cotton-Eye Joe, I’d been married a long time ago.
Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe?
Chorus 2 (synth riff)
| A5 | A5 |
If it hadn’t been for Cotton-Eye Joe, I’d been married a long time ago.
| D5 | E5 D5 Bm7 |
Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe?
Interlude 1 (all in)
| A5 | A5 | D5 | E5 D5 Bm7 |
Hey, hey, hey…
Chorus 3
||: A5 | A5 |
||: If it hadn’t been for Cotton-Eye Joe, I’d been married a long time ago.
| D5 | E5 D5 Bm7 :||
Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? :||
Interlude 2
| A5 | A5 | D5 | E5 D5 Bm7 |
Hey, hey, hey…
Verse 1
| A5 | A5 |
He came to town like a midwinter storm.
| D5 | E5 |
He rode through the fields, so handsome and strong.
| A5 | A5 |
His eyes was his tools and his smile was his gun.
| D5 | E5 :||
But all he had come for was having some fun.
Chorus 4 (as chorus 3)
||: If it hadn’t been for Cotton-Eye Joe, I’d been married a long time ago.
Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? :||
Banjo solo
||: A | D | B | E :||
Verse 2
He brought disaster wherever he went
The hearts of the girls was to Hell, broken, sent
They all ran away so nobody would know
And left only men ’cause of Cotton-Eye Joe
Chorus 5 (as chorus 3)
||: If it hadn’t been for Cotton-Eye Joe, I’d been married a long time ago.
Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? :||
Interlude 3
| A5 | A5 | D5 | E5 D5 Bm7 |
Hey, hey, hey…
Chorus 6 (as chorus 3)
||: If it hadn’t been for Cotton-Eye Joe, I’d been married a long time ago.
Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? :||
Interlude 4
| A5 | A5 | D5 | E5 D5 Bm7 |
Hey, hey, hey…
Chorus 7
| A5 | A5 |
If it hadn’t been for Cotton-Eye Joe, I’d been married a long time ago.
| D5 | N.C |
Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe?
Cotton Eye Joe Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning December, 1963 (Oh What A Night!). I’ve used stem-seperation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, horns, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
At first glance, Cotton Eye Joe might seem like a beginner-friendly song, given its straightforward chord progression.
However, the fast tempo and intricate fiddle and banjo parts make it anything but easy! If you attempt to play those lead lines, you’ll quickly realise this tune demands serious skill.
Chorus
The chorus follows a classic I – IV – V progression, with a quick IV – II turnaround. In the key of A, it looks like this:
| A5 (I) | A5 | D5 (IV) | E5 (V) D5 (IV) Bm7 (II) |
For the best feel, I recommend a driving, consistent rhythm, similar to Blowin’ in the Wind.
I’ve put together TAB showing exactly how to play it—check it out further down this guitar lesson.
Verse
The verse is even simpler, sticking strictly to I – IV – V, like this:
| A5 (I) | A5 | D5 (IV) | E5 (V) |
Since the original recording doesn’t feature guitar, I’ve arranged parts for rhythm guitar, vocal melody, and even a banjo solo on guitar—all designed for a band setting.
Once you’ve worked through the TAB, a chord chart is all you need as a quick reference. Here’s one I made for you.
Cotton Eye Joe Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Cotton Eye Joe chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Cotton Eye Joe iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Cotton Eye Joe | TAB
As there’s no guitar on the original recording, we need to invent something that fits the context of the song and chords. Here’s an idea you could try for the chorus and verse – notice how the verse is more sparse:
There’s also that vocal melody you may want to play – here it is in TAB:
And then we have the banjo solo – this is not easy!
Be sure to check all intervals over every chord – this is not the blues. Pay special attention to the last bar as it goes up using the maj7 and down using the b7.
When you feel ready, try it all with the backing tracks above.
Country + Eurodance = Rednex
Swedish group Rednex burst onto the scene in 1994 with their unique fusion of Eurodance and country—a genre that, despite their success, never truly caught on beyond them.
As is often the case, it was a catchy hit that put them on the map. Their debut single, Cotton Eye Joe (1994), topped the charts in 15 countries and sold over 2 million copies.
Their first album, Sex & Violins (1995), produced one more notable hit: Wish You Were Here (not a Pink Floyd cover). Interestingly, this track was produced by Max Martin, who saw potential in their sound.
However, Rednex struggled to maintain their momentum. Their 2000 album Farm Out featured a cover of The Devil Went Down to Georgia, but it never quite recaptured their early success.
Perhaps the genre they created only had room for one big hit!
Cotton Eye Joe Chords: Continue Learning
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