Five great country songs to learn on guitar

There’s something about country music that’s perfect for a six-string. Here are five great country songs you can learn on guitar – and the step-by-step lessons to learn them. 

Tennessee Whiskey – Chris Stapleton 

Chris Stapleton’s cover of “Tennessee Whiskey” is a huge crossover hit – it made it to number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 after its release in 2015. The original version was recorded by David Allen Coe in 1981.

Wagon Wheel – Darius Rucker/Old Crow Medicine Show

This song, popularized by Darius Rucker, is made up of a simple four-chord progression. The chorus and melody were written by Bob Dylan in the 1970s, and Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show wrote the verses 25 years later. 

Somethin’ Bad – Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert

Country stars Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert teamed up for this 2014 hit – an all-woman take on the “bro country” genre that was rising in popularity at the time. The song was originally written as a male/female duet, but the lyrics were tweaked for the Underwood/Lambert pairing. 

Man! I Feel Like a Woman! – Shania Twain

Country superstar Shania Twain wrote this track for her third studio album with longtime collaborator and then-husband Robert John “Mutt” Lange. Twain said the title of the song was inspired by drag queens who worked at the same Canadian resort she worked at while providing for her brothers and sisters after their parents’ death. The video is a gender-swapped homage to Robert Palmer’s videos which featured glassy-eyed models as backup dancers. 

Friends in Low Places – Garth Brooks

Songwriters Earl Bud Lee and Dewayne Blackwell penned this jukebox classic in 1989. According to Lee, he was at lunch in Nashville with a group of fellow songwriters when he realized he forgot his wallet, but said “Don’t worry, I have friends in low places, I know the cook”. Lee and Blackwell gave the song to Garth Brooks – who they had met when he was a salesman at a Nashville shoe store – and it was the last demo session Brooks ever did as a singer. Brooks’ version was the lead single on his second studio album. 

Check out these lessons for other great country songs on Fret Zealot!