I first heard “I Love You So Much It Hurts” on John Prine’s 1995 album, “Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings” and thought for a long time that he had written it. It was actually written by Floyd Tillman in 1948 and reached as high as #6 on the Folk Best Seller Chart. Later in 1948, Jimmy Wakely’s version went to #1 on the Folk Best Seller chart. In 1949, the Mills Brothers recorded it, and it went to #8 on the pop chart.

Over the years, many artists have recorded it, including Patsy Cline, Ray Charles, Andy Williams, and Merle Haggard.

It’s in 3/4 time, and I used the same pattern I’ve used in so many 3/4 time songs, Pattern #13 from my Fingerstyle tutorial (link below). I mix that pattern in with a simple measure that’s just the 3rd string, pinch, pinch, with the “pinch” being the 1st and 4th strings with the thumb and middle finger on the counts of 2 and 3.

Here’s a link where you can find the Pattern #13 on my Fingerstyle Tutorial:

Fingerstyle Ukulele Tutorial