Man In Black
View chords used in this chart
Man in Black 4/4 Johnny Cash
Standard Tuning Capo 2
/ C /
Well, you / wonder why I always dress in / black.
/ C / D
Why you / never see bright colors on my / back, and
F - C / F - C
Why does my ap - pearance, seem to / have a sombre tone,
/ D / G7
Well, there's a / reason for the things that I have / on.
/ C /
I wear the / black for the poor and the beaten / down,
C / D
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of / town.
/ F - C / F - C
I / wear it for the prisoner, who has / long paid for his crime.
/ D / G7
But is / there because he's a victim of the / times.
/ C /
I / wear the black for those, who've never / read,
/ C / D
Or / listened to the words, that Jesus / said,
/ F - C / F - C
A - / bout the road to happi - ness, through / love and chari - ty,
/ C / G7
Why, you'd / think He's talking straight to you and / me.
/ C /
Well, we're / doin' mighty fine, I do sup - / pose,
/ C / D
In our / streak-of-lightnin' cars and fancy / clothes,
/ F - C / F - C
But / just so we're re -minded, of, the / ones who are held back,
/ C / G7
Up / front there oughta be a man in / black.
/ C /
I / wear it for the sick and lonely / old,
/ C / D
For the / reckless ones, whose bad trip left them / cold,
/ F - C / F - C
I / wear the black in mournin', for the / lives that could have been,
/ C / G7
Each / week we lose a hundred fine young / men. and
/ C /
I / wear it for the thousands who have / died,
/ C / D
Be - / lievin' that the Lord was on their / side,
/ F - C / F - C
I / wear it for another hundred / thousand who have died,
/ C / G7
Be - / lievin' that we all were on their / side.
/ C /
Well, there's / things that never will be right, I / know, and
C / D
Things need changin' ev'rywhere you / go,
/ F - C / F - C
But / 'til we start to make a move, to / make a few things right,
/ C / G7
You'll / never see me wear a suit of / white.
/ C /
Aw! I'd / love to wear a rainbow every / day, and
/ D
Tell the world that ev'rything's / OK,
/ F - C / F - C
But I'll / try to carry off a little / darkness on my back,
/ C - G7 / C
'Til / things are brighter, I'm the man in / black.
Enjoy!
How to play Man In Black
Use the controls above to change the key and text size. Follow the highlighted chords while listening, then practice each section slowly before playing at the original tempo.
What is the starting chord?
The first identified chord is C. You can transpose without leaving the page.
Can I play it on guitar or keyboard?
Yes. The chord progression works on acoustic guitar, electric guitar and keyboard. Adapt the voicings to your instrument and level.