Jolene | Chords + Lyrics (capo 4)
Intro
||: Am11 | Am11 :||
Chorus 1
| Am C |2/4 G |4/4 Am11 |
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
| G | Am11 | Am11 |
I’m begging of you please don’t take my man.
| Am C |2/4 G |4/4 Am11 |
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.
| G | Am11 | Am11 |
Please don’t take him just because you can.
Verse 1
| Am C | G Am |
Your beauty is beyond compare with flaming locks of auburn hair.
| G | Am (Am/E) | Am (Am/E) |
With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green.
| Am C | G Am |
Your smile is like a breath of spring, your voice is soft like summer rain.
| G | Am11 | Am11 |
And I cannot compete with you, Jolene.
| Am C | G Am |
He talks about you in his sleep and there’s nothing I can do to keep.
| G | Am11 | Am11 |
From crying when he calls your name, Jolene.
| Am C | G Am |
And I can easily understand how you could easily take my man.
| G | Am11 | Am11 |
But you don’t know what he means to me, Jolene.
Chorus 2
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.
I’m begging of you please don’t take my man.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.
Please don’t take him just because you can.
Verse 2
| Am C | G Am |
You could have your choice of men but I could never love again.
| G | Am11 | Am11 |
He’s the only one for me, Jolene.
| Am C | G Am |
I had to have this talk with you, my happiness depends on you.
| G | Am11 | Am11 |
And whatever you decide to do, Jolene.
Chorus 3
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.
I’m begging of you please don’t take my man.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.
Please don’t take him even though you can.
Jolene, Jolene.
Jolene | Chords + Lyrics (no capo)
Intro
||: C#m11 | C#m11 :||
Chorus 1
| C#m E |2/4 B |4/4 C#m11 |
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.
| B | C#m11 | C#m11 |
I’m begging of you please don’t take my man.
| C#m E |2/4 B |4/4 C#m11 |
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.
| B | C#m11 | C#m11 |
Please don’t take him just because you can.
Verse 1
| C#m E | B C#m |
Your beauty is beyond compare with flaming locks of auburn hair.
| B | C#m | C#m |
With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green.
| C#m E | B C#m |
Your smile is like a breath of spring, your voice is soft like summer rain.
| B | C#m11 | C#m11 |
And I cannot compete with you, Jolene.
| C#m E | B C#m |
He talks about you in his sleep and there’s nothing I can do to keep.
| B | C#m11 | C#m11 |
From crying when he calls your name, Jolene.
| C#m E | B C#m |
And I can easily understand how you could easily take my man.
| B | C#m11 | C#m11 |
But you don’t know what he means to me, Jolene.
Chorus 2
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.
I’m begging of you please don’t take my man.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.
Please don’t take him just because you can.
Verse 2
| C#m E | B C#m |
You could have your choice of men but I could never love again.
| B | C#m11 | C#m11 |
He’s the only one for me, Jolene.
| C#m E | B C#m |
I had to have this talk with you, my happiness depends on you.
| B | C#m11 | C#m11 |
And whatever you decide to do, Jolene.
Chorus 3
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.
I’m begging of you please don’t take my man.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.
Please don’t take him even though you can.
Jolene, Jolene.
Jolene Chords: Learn the progressions
In order to play Jolene‘s chords in a way that sounds like the original, you must use a capo on fret 4 and think in the key of Am.
Only by doing this can you get the hammer on/pull off chord riff to sound right.
If you include all notes played in the riff, you could call the chord an Am11, but this will only make sense if you know how to play this riff which is best described using TAB.
Here’s a link to that part of the lesson: Jolene – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
There’s TAB for how to play the main riff without a capo as well which would only work on the electric guitar in a band.
Following this initial investigation, there’s TAB for a verse and chorus where this riff is constantly integrated.
Once you’ve gotten to terms with the TAB, Jolene’s chords are easy to remember, the only difference between the verse and the chorus is the time signatures, here’s the chorus:
| Am (VI) C (I) |2/4 G (V) |4/4 Am |
| G | Am11 | Am11 |
And here are the verse chords from Jolene:
||: Am (VI) C (I) | G (V) Am |
| G | Am11 | Am11 :||
Using TAB, a capo and the original recording, you’ll soon learn how to play this Dolly Parton classic. All you need to bring to the gig is a simple chord chart, here’s one I made for you.
Jolene Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Above, you saw a chord chart for Jolene which assumed you played using a capo on fret 4.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Jolene Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Jolene iReal Pro.
Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key. This will be useful if you don’t have a capo and play it in a band (change the key to C#m).
Jolene is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser!
Imagine writing a tune as great as Jolene and then on the same day, also writing I Will Always Love You. Apparently, that’s what Dolly Parton did back in 1973.
Jolene is Dolly’s most covered song, even Jack White has attempted it. From personal experience I can reveal that it always works, Jolene is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
There’s also a bunch of parody versions around and plenty of jokes based on this song, this only happens when a song is so famous that everybody knows it, I’m sure Dolly sees it as a compliment.
To hear the original, live, Jack White, Miley Cyrus, and even the Post-Modern Jukebox versions of Jolone, check the playlist at the top of this page.
Jolene Chords | Related Pages
Jolene | Guitar Lesson + TAB
With this guitar lesson, you can learn to play Jolene by Dolly Parton using TAB and chord analysis.
| Am C |2/4 G |4/4 Am |
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- 9 To 5 chords by Dolly Parton
- Creepin’ In chords by Norah Jones
- Folsom Prison Blues chords by Johnny Cash
- Me and Bobby McGee chords by Janis Joplin
- Ring of Fire chords by Johnny Cash
Dolly Parton tunes
With 44 top-ten country albums and 110 chartered singles, Dolly Parton is the most famous country singer in the world.
Hits include I Will Always Love You, Jolene, 9 To 5, and almost 4 decades after her first release, Creepin’ In with Norah Jones.
Dolly Parton on the web
Jack White tunes
Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Jack White formed The White Stripes in 1997 and The Raconteurs in 2006.
His best tunes include Fell In Love With The Girl, I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself, Seven Nation Army, and Steady, As She Goes.
Jack White on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Jolene chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.