I WALK THE LINE Chords & Guitar Lesson

Welcome to the I Walk The Line guitar chord chart by the late great Johnny Cash. I like Johnny's songs because they tend to be pretty straight forward for beginner guitar students. You can also do some fun strum variations like the one I have below.

This version is an easier version with only 3 chords. If you would like to learn the original version, that uses a capo and has 5 chords including a B7 chord. You can learn that right here when you are ready.

I WALK THE LINE Guitar Chords:

I WALK THE LINE Strumming Patterns:

For Johnny Cash songs, I love to use what we call Boom Chuck style strumming patterns. It is an eighth note strumming pattern where we alternate playing just the base note of the chord (the lowest note) and then strumming the rest of the chord. We call this Boom Chuck strumming.

The Bass note is marked in the strumming pattern as B.

Strumming: Boom Chuck
1 +  2+   3+  4+
BD  BD  BD BD

Strumming 2: Boom Chuck-ah
1 + a  2+a  3+a  4+a
BDU  BDU BDU BDU

See video below for demonstrations.

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I WALK THE LINE Guitar Lesson:

I WALK THE LINE Chord Chart:

We do not distribute printable chord and lyrics charts. These charts are here only to support online learning. We highly recommend buying music from Hal Leonard or a reputable online sheet music store.

                   E                                                   A 
I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
                      E                                          A 
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
                      D                                             A 
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
                                  E                         A 
Because you're mine I walk the line

                 E                                       A 
I find it very, very easy to be true
                   E                                                         A 
I find myself alone when each day is through
                     D                          A
Yes, I'll admit I'm a fool for you
                                  E                       A
Because you're mine I walk the line

                       E                                           A
As sure as night is dark and day is light
                      E                                              A
I keep you on my mind both day and night
                        D                                                   A
And happiness I've known proves that it's right
                                  E                          A 
Because you're mine I walk the line

                           E                                             A 
You've got a way to keep me on your side
                            E                                             A 
You give me cause for love that I can't hide
                      D                                                  A 
For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide
                                 E                          A 
Because you're mine I walk the line

This file is the author’s own work and represents his interpretation of this song. It’s intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.

We do not distribute printable chord and lyrics charts. These charts are here only to support online learning. We highly recommend buying music from Hal Leonard or a reputable online sheet music store.

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