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Johnny Cash - Big River Chords

Chord reference F, Bb, C7, G, F7
Rhythm tips ↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

[F] [F] [F] [F] [Bb] [Bb] [F] [F] [C7] [F] [F] [F]Now I taught the weeping willow how to cry [F]And I showed the clouds how to cover up a [G]clear blue [C7]sky And the [F]tears that I cried for that [F7]woman, are gonna [Bb]flood you Big River Then [F]I’m gonna sit right [C7]here until I [F]die

[F]I met her accidentally in St. Paul, Minnesota [F]And it tore me up every time I heard her [G]drawl, southern [C7]drawl Then I [F]heard my dream was back [F7]downstream, [Bb]cavorting in Davenport And I [F]followed you, Big [C7]River, when you [F]called

[F] [F] [F] [F] [Bb] [Bb] [F] [F] [C7] [F] [F]

[F]Then you took me to St. Louis later on down the river [F]A freighter said she’s been here but she’s [G]gone, boy, she’s [C7]gone [F]I found her trail in Memphis, but she [Bb]just walked up the block She raised a [F]few eyebrows and then she [C7]went on down a[F]lone

[F]Now, won’t you batter down by Baton Rouge, River Queen, roll it on [F]Take that woman on down to New Or[G]leans, New Or[C7]leans [F]Go on, I’ve had enough, dump my [Bb]blues down in the gulf [F]She loves you, Big [C7]River, more than [F]me

[F]Now I taught the weeping willow how to cry [F]And I showed the clouds how to cover up a [G]clear blue [C7]sky And the [F]tears that I cried for that [F7]woman, are gonna [Bb]flood you Big River Then [F]I’m gonna sit right [C7]here until I [F]die

Artist Johnny Cash
Album Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous
Genres Country, Rock and roll, Rockabilly
Year 1958
Key F

How to Play Big River on Guitar?

Johnny Cash - Big River can be played in the key of F using the F, Bb, C7, G, F7 chords.

  • For F, To play F, barre fret 1 from the B string to the high E string with finger 1, press fret 1 on the low E string with finger 4, let A ring open, mute D, G.
  • For Bb, To play A# | Bb, barre fret 1 from the low E string to the A string with finger 1, press fret 1 on the high E string with finger 4, let D ring open, mute G, B.
  • For C7, To play C7, press fret 1 on the B string with finger 2, let low E, G, high E ring open, mute A, D.
  • For G, To play G, press fret 2 on the A string with finger 2, let D, G, B ring open, mute low E, high E.
  • For F7, To play F7, barre fret 1 from the B string to the high E string with finger 1, press fret 1 on the low E string with finger 4, press fret 1 on the D string with finger 4, let A ring open, mute G.

Barre: Use your index finger to press multiple strings on the same fret, keeping your finger flat.

You can play Big River with the ↓-↓↑-↑↓↑ strumming pattern.