Chords + Lyrics | Rhinestone Cowboy
Intro
||: C F/C | C (F/C) :||
Verse 1
| C F/C | C F/C |
I’ve been walkin’ these streets so long.
| C F/C | C F/C |
Singin’ the same old song.
| C F/C | C F/C | G C/G | G C/G |
I know every crack in these dirty sidewalks of Broadway.
| F Bb/F | F Bb/F |
Where hustle’s the name of the game.
| F Bb/F | F Bb/F | C F/C | C F/C) |
And nice guys get washed away like the snow in the rain.
Bridge 1
| G | G |
There’s been a load of compromising.
| F | C |
On the road to my horizon.
| F | D7/F# | G C/G | G N.C G |
But I’m gonna be where the lights are shinin’ on me.
Chorus 1
| C F/C | C F/C |
Like a rhinestone cowboy.
| Cmaj7 | C6 | G C/G |
Riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo.
| G | C F/C | C F/C |
Like a rhinestone cowboy.
| Cmaj7 | C6 | G C/G |
Getting cards and letters from people I don’t even know.
| G |
And offers comin’ over the phone.
Instrumental 1
| F C/E Dm7 | C G/B Am7 | G F C/E | Dm7 F G |
Verse 2
Well, I really don’t mind the rain.
And the smile can hide all the pain.
But you’re down when you’re ridin’ the train that’s takin’ the long way.
And I dream of the things I’ll do.
With a subway token and a dollar tucked inside my shoe.
Bridge 2
There’s been a load of compromising.
On the road to my horizon.
But I’m gonna be where the lights are shinin’ on me.
Chorus 2
Like a rhinestone cowboy.
Riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo.
Like a rhinestone cowboy.
Gettin’ cards and letters from people I don’t even know.
And offers comin’ over the phone.
Instrumental 2
| F C/E Dm7 | C G/B Am7 | G F C/E | Dm7 F G |
Chorus 3 (to fade)
Like a rhinestone cowboy.
Riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo.
Like a rhinestone cowboy.
Getting cards and letters from people I don’t even know.
And offers comin’ over the phone.
End (suggested)
| F C/E Dm7 | C G/B Am7 | G F C/E | Dm7 F G | C |
Rhinestone Cowboy Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Rhinestone Cowboy. I’ve used stem separation 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.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar sharp to 442Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
Glen Campbell‘s Rhinestone Cowboy is a classic, making full use of familiar chord progressions and proudly embracing every musical trick in the book.
Verse
The verse borrows the IV chord from each chord of a blues progression in the key of C (for a more extreme example, compare this to Can I Get A Witness). The movement goes like this:
| C (I) (F/C) (IV/5) | C (F/C) |
| C (F/C) | C (F/C) |
| C (F/C) | C (F/C) | G (V) (C/G) (I/5) | G (C/G) |
| F (IV) (Bb/F) (bVIIx/5) | F (Bb/F) |
| F (Bb/F) | F (Bb/F) | C (F/C) | C (F/C) |
Bridge
The bridge stays with the I, IV, and V chords but changes their order:
| G (V) | G | F (IV) | C (I) |
| F | D7/F# (IIx/3) | G C/G |
The D/F# is a particularly interesting chord—compare it to F#dim7 and F#m7b5 and you’ll hear subtle but useful differences.
Chorus
In the chorus, we go from V to I, before introducing a descending extension over the I chord (maj7 – 6), like this:
||: G (V) N.C G | C (I) F/C (IV/5) | C F/C |
| Cmaj7 | C6 | G (C/G) :||
The use of Cmaj7 and C6 here is fantastic. These chords stand out more in contrast to the triads used elsewhere. This is a good principle to remember when writing your own songs—don’t overuse extensions or they lose their impact.
Intro + Instrumental
The intro and instrumental sections are best learned with TAB to help understand how it fits with the rest of the tune, keep scrolling down this guitar lesson to find said TAB.
After studying the TAB and playing along with my backing tracks, all you need to bring to the gig is this chord chart, and a cowboy hat, of course.
Rhinestone Cowboy Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Rhinestone Cowboy chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Rhinestone Cowboy iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Rhinestone Cowboy | TAB
Let’s look at each section in detail using TAB. The intro is C – F/C – C – F/C. The top melody moves from the 3rd of the C, to the root of the F, then to the 5th of the C, like this:
The verse uses the trick of moving up to the IV chord and then applying this concept to all chords. So C (chord I) pairs with F/C, G (chord V) with C/G, and F (chord IV) with Bb/F.
If you listen to the bass on the recording, it drops out when this IV chord enters, except for the F – Bb movement, where it does land on the Bb. For a guitarist, it still makes sense to write this as Bb/F.
Here’s some TAB showing how you could play this using open-position (cowboy) chords:
The instrumental section starts on chord IV and descends through the scale using rhythmic displacement. Here’s some TAB to demonstrate this. Try other chord shapes too.
The second instrumental returns to a chorus in the final bar. If you want to use this as the ending, just stop on a C after a ritardando.
Rhinestone Cowboy Chords: Continue Learning
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