Ring of Fire

Basic Guitar Lesson (Lesson #134)

Here’s a guitar lesson teaching you how to play the Johnny Cash song “Ring of Fire” from 1963 (orig. written by June Carter and Merle Kilgore). In this tutorial I’ll 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 – but this lesson will teach you how to play the distinctive lead riff while strumming at the same time – which roughly approximates the sound of multiple instruments. Check it out and enjoy!

Timestamps for lesson #134:

• 0:00 Playthrough & overview
• 2:04 Chords and strumming basics
• 6:25 Mariachi lead riff w/ tab

A Guide to the Strumming & Rhythm (Lesson #387)

Here’s my follow-up video (Lesson #387) where I dive deep into this song’s deceivingly simple rhythm, chord progression, and strumming patterns. This comes years after my original video lesson for this song, which is very popular – but has lead to lots of viewer feedback on this exact topic. I’ll break down the exact chord progression Cash’s album version uses, in addition to showing you a simplified progression chart for the entire song (e.g. if you don’t want to carve out time for the mariachi horn sections during the verse). Let’s get into it!

Timestamps for lesson #387:

• 0:00 Overview
• 2:45 Strumming the Intro: Simple Version
• 4:23 Strumming the Intro: Full Version
• 6:33 Strumming the Verse
• 9:44 Strumming the Chorus
• 10:45 The Weird Rhythm in Verse #2 (“I fell for you like a child…”)

BONUS VIDEO: Full Play-Along Cover (Using Both Progressions)

I also made a separate video, available only to my Patreon supporters, where I play through the entire song (start to finish) twice: one using the chord progression heard in Cash’s album version, and the other using a simplified strumming pattern that removes the horn sections. Thanks to all of you who support me on Patreon, it makes videos like this possible.

👉 Patreon supporters: Watch my bonus video »

My other Johnny Cash guitar lessons

I’ve got plenty others, most of which have my licensed sheet music available for purchase – here they are!

• I Walk the Line
• I’ve Been Everywhere
• When the Man Comes Around
• Tennessee Flat Top Box
• Sunday Morning Coming Down
• Hurt
• Folsom Prison Blues
• Give My Love to Rose