Chords + Lyrics | Folsom Prison Blues
Intro
| N.C C | C7 | F |
Verse 1
| F | F |
I hear the train a-comin’, it’s rolling ’round the bend.
| F | F |
And I ain’t seen the sunshine since I don’t know when.
| Bb | Bb | F | F |
I’m stuck in Folsom prison, and time keeps draggin’ on.
| C7 | C7 | F |
But that train keeps a rollin’ on down to San Antone.
Verse 2
When I was just a baby my mama told me.
“Son, always be a good boy, don’t ever play with guns”.
But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.
When I hear that whistle blowing, I hang my head and cry.
Solo 1
| F | F | F | F |
| Bb | Bb | F | F |
| C7 | C7 | F |
Verse 3
I bet there’s rich folks eating in a fancy dining car
They’re probably drinkin’ coffee and smoking big cigars
Well I know I had it coming, I know I can’t be free
But those people keep a-movin’, and that’s what tortures me.
Solo 2
| F | F | F | F |
| Bb | Bb | F | F |
| C7 | C7 | F |
Verse 4
Well if they freed me from this prison, if that railroad train was mine.
I bet I’d move it on a little farther down the line.
Far from Folsom prison, that’s where I want to stay.
| C7 | C7 | F | C7 | F |
And I’d let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away.
Folsom Prison Blues Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Folsom Prison Blues. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar down to 438Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
Johnny Cash loves playing with time signatures and dropping bars. In Folsom Prison Blues, he removes the last bar, turning it into an 11-bar blues!
I find this fascinating—I didn’t even realise it until I started counting…
Intro
The intro is three bars long and features the same lick that returns at the end of each verse. The chords for the intro are V – I, and I’ve TABBED this for you. Find it further down this guitar lesson
For the F chord, use your thumb over the neck so you can release it quickly, creating a short, snappy note. The fretting hand needs to bounce off the strings to lock in that signature country groove.
Verse
Here are the chords for a Folsom Prison Blues verse—they stay the same throughout (except for the outro, which adds two bars). The progression is almost a standard 12-bar:
||: F (I) | F | F | F |
| Bb (IV) | Bb | F (I) | F |
| C7 (V) | C7 | F (I) :||
I did consider notating the alternating bass throughout—perhaps like this: | F F/C F F/C | or | F (F/C) |—but it ended up looking too messy. Since it’s so consistent, just know the bass should always alternate.
Once you’ve studied the TAB and played along with Johnny, all you’ll need for the gig is a simple chord chart—here’s one I made for you.
Folsom Prison Blues Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
This is a great example of how to arrange a song in a chart when there’s only one chord progression. With verses and solos sharing the same chords, trying to notate everything with bars, chords, and segno signs can quickly become cluttered.
To me, the best solution is to simply write out the form in text, as shown in my chart above.
If you’d like to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Folsom Prison Blues chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro—here’s a link to that file: Folsom Prison Blues iReal Pro.
With the iRealPro app, you can change the key, though much of the song’s character comes from playing in F on the guitar.
Folsom Prison Blues | TAB
When I first started transcribing and arranging this, I was convinced I’d need a capo and to think in a different key than F to combine the bass, electric, and acoustic guitars.
Turns out it worked best in F. That bouncy country feel is best achieved by sticking to the original key and using barre chords.
Remember: you must use your thumb over the neck to make this work.
Here’s the intro.
The little dots above the 8th notes mean “play short”. Do this by releasing pressure with the fretting hand or thumb immediately after playing the note.
Here’s a full verse. Notice the shifting placement of that quick 16th-note rhythm—this irregularity adds variation and excitement.
Once you can play it as the TAB indicates, try it with the backing tracks!
Folsom Prison Blues Chords: Continue Learning
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