John Denver wrote “Back Home Again” in 1974. It reached #1 on the country chart and in 1975 won the Country Music Association’s “Song of the Year” award, with John Denver also being named “Entertainer of the Year” by the CMA.
Category: Country
Wayfaring Stranger – Fingerstyle #Ukulele with Chords & Lyrics
Wayfaring Stranger is a popular folk song that likely originated in the early 19th century. It’s been recorded by many including notable versions by Johnny Cash, Rhiannon Giddens, Doc Watson, and Trace Adkins. I played it in the key of Am, with Travis picking fingerstyle accompaniment (alternating thumb).
This song uses “Travis Picking” fingerstyle accompaniment on the ukulele. Many of my songs use the same technique and it’s simple once you get the hang of it, although it may take quite a bit of practicing it slowly to master it.
The first three example patterns on my fingerstyle tutorial show you how to play it. Here’s a link:
https://ezfolk.com/fingerstyle-ukulele-tutorial/
I’ve also created a separate category just for the Travis Picking style where you can find other songs that I play in the same style. You can find it here:
https://ezfolk.com/category/travis-picking/
Bad Moon Rising – #Ukulele Strum-Along with Chords & Lyrics
John Fogerty wrote this song, performed by his group, Creedence Clearwater Revival. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1969 and the single sold more than 2 million copies. It was the lead single from the CCR album, “Green River.” CCR played it in the key of D, which is way too high for my voice, so I played it in the key of G in order to hit the high notes without getting a hernia.
In This Life (Collin Raye) – #Ukulele Strum-Along with Chords & Lyrics
“In This Life” was written by Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin, and was a #1 country hit for Collin Raye in 1992. Notable cover versions have been recorded by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (Bruddah IZ), Ronan Keating, and the Irish pop band Westlife.
Love’s Gonna Live Here – Clawhammer #Ukulele Accompaniment with Chords & Lyrics
“Love’s Gonna Live Here” was a huge hit for Buck Owens in 1963. It spent 16 weeks at #1 on the Hot Country Singles chart, and after that, it was 49 years before another song would spend even 10 weeks at #1. I like the way it sounds clawhammer style so that’s the way I played it but, of course, you can just strum normally if you prefer. Just as a little intro I did a hammer-on on the 3rd string 4th fret with my pinkie while playing the G chord. Feel free to ignore that if you want to. Other than that it’s just straight clawhammer accompaniment.
Help Me Make it Through the Night – #Ukulele Strum-Along with Chords & Lyrics
Another one of Kris Kristofferson’s great country songs, it first became a hit in 1970 when recorded by Sammi Smith, reaching #1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart. I recorded it in the key of C. I should probably mention that I used some suspended chords but didn’t write them in over the lyrics, partly because it was hard to fit them in but also because they’re optional and you can just omit them if you want to and stay on the regular chord. Here are the notes in case you have trouble figuring it out: For the C chord you add the 2nd string 1st fret, and for the G or G7 chord you add the 1st string 3rd fret. That’s all there is to it.