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Editorβs notes
Hey friends β hereβs a guitar lesson teaching you how to play the Johnny Cash song βRing of Fireβ from 1963 (orig. written by June Carter and Merle Kilgore). In this tutorial Iβll teach you how to play the chords, strumming, and explain how to mimic that Mariachi horn sound with your acoustic guitar (tab included). Typically, Johnny Cash played this with his full band, benefiting from their drum / bass / electric guitar β but this lesson will teach you how to play the distinctive lead riff while strumming at the same time β which roughly approximates the sound of multiple instruments. Check it out and enjoy!
Timestamps:
- 0:00 Playthrough & overview
- 2:04 Chords and strumming basics
- 6:25 Mariachi lead riff w/ tab
Lyrics w/ chords
INTRO
e ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
B ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
G ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
D ββββββββ0ββ0β0ββ0β0ββ2βββββ0ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
A ββ2β3β4βββββββββββββββββ3ββββββββ2ββ2β2ββ2β2ββ3ββ0ββ2βββ
E ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
G C G G D7 G
VERSE
G C G G D G
Love is a burning thing... and it makes a fiery ring
G C G G D G
Bound by wild desire... I fell in to a ring of fire
CHORUS
D C G
I fell into a burning ring of fire
D C G
I went down, down, down... and the flames went higher
G
And it burns, burns, burns
G C G D G
...The ring of fire... the ring of fire
G C G G D G
The taste of love is sweet... when hearts like ours meet
G C G G D G
I fell for you like a child... oh, but the fire went wild
D C G
I fell into a burning ring of fire
D C G
I went down, down, down... and the flames went higher
G
And it burns, burns, burns
G C G D G
...The ring of fire... the ring of fire
[ repeat chorus ]
ENDING
G
And it burns, burns, burns
G C G D G
...The ring of fire... the ring of fire
Chords needed
The whole song can be played with standard G, C, and D chords:
e βββ3ββββ0ββββ2ββββ
B βββ0ββββ1ββββ3ββββ
G βββ0ββββ0ββββ2ββββ
D βββ0ββββ2ββββ0ββββ
A βββ2ββββ3βββββββββ
E βββ3ββββββββββββββ
G C D
If you want, you can use a D7 in place of any D chord (it looks like Johnny Cash did this when he played the song):
e βββ2ββββ
B βββ1ββββ
G βββ2ββββ
D βββ0ββββ
A ββββββββ
E ββββββββ
D7
Likewise, an easy way to approach these chords is as follows. Note how your ring finger is on the same note (3rd fret of the second string) for all the chords. This makes switching easy.
e βββ3ββββ3ββββ2ββββ
B βββ3ββββ3ββββ3ββββ
G βββ0ββββ0ββββ2ββββ
D βββ0ββββ2ββββ0ββββ
A βββ2ββββ3βββββββββ
E βββ3ββββββββββββββ
G C D
Strumming pattern
For simple starters, do all down strums⦠one per each count⦠and accent the 2 and 4 counts.
d = light down strum
D = heavy down strum
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
d D d D down DOWN down DOWN...
> >
From there, you can fill things out a bit by doing this. If you can, accent the 2 and the 4 if you can - but that becomes less important here.
D = down strum
U = up strum
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
D D U U D U down, down up... up down up
> >
Mariachi riff on guitar
Hereβs the main melody notes for the distinctive mariachi riff. Start by learning these notes and hearing the riff in your head.
e ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
B ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
G ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
D ββββββββ0ββ0β0ββ0β0ββ2βββββ0ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
A ββ2β3β4βββββββββββββββββ3ββββββββ2ββ2β2ββ2β2ββ3ββ0ββ2βββ
E ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
G C G G (D7) G
From here, I recommend keeping your hands in the G and C chord shapes - and if you wish, feel free to strum notes from those chords. See my video lesson for context here.
e ββββββββ3ββββββββββββ3βββββ3βββββ3ββββββββββββββββββ3βββ
B ββββββββ3ββββββββββββ3βββββ3βββββ3ββββββββββββββββββ0βββ
G ββββββββ0ββββββββββββ0βββββ0βββββ0ββββββββββββββββββ0βββ
D ββββββββ0ββ0β0ββ0β0ββ2βββββ0βββββ0ββββββββββββββββββ0βββ
A ββ2β3β4β0ββββββββββββ3ββ3ββ2βββββ2ββ2β2ββ2β2ββ3ββ0ββ2βββ
E ββββββββ3ββββββββββββββββββ3βββββ3ββββββββββββββββββ3βββ
G C G G (D7) G
My other Johnny Cash guitar lessons
Iβve got plenty others, all of which have PDF chord sheets available β here they are!
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