I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool chords by Barbara Mandrell, George Jones (Official Version)

GuitarPianoUkulele

Cmaj7
C6
Cadd9
G
G6
F
G/F
C
E7/B
Am7
Am/G
Fmaj7
Dm7
Dm/C
C7
F/G

Intro 1

Verse 1
G 
I remember  (G major) wearin'
G6 
G 
straight  (G6) leg Levis  (G major) Flannel shirts
G6 
Cmaj7 
C6 
 (G6) Even when they weren't  (C minoraj7) in       style  (C6) 
Cmaj7 
C6 
 (C minoraj7)  (C6) 
G 
G6 
I remember  (G major) singin' with Roy  (G6) Rogers
G 
at the  (G major) movies
G6 
Cmaj7 
C6 
 (G6) when the West was  (C minoraj7) real      (C6) ly  wild
Cmaj7 
C6 
 (C minoraj7)  (C6) 
F 
I was  (F major) listenin' to the Opry
G/F 
When  (G/F) all   of my friends
C 
E7/B 
were diggin'  (C major) Rock 'n Roll and  (E7/B) Rhythm & Blues
Am7 
Am/G 
Fmaj7 
 (A minor7)  (A minor/G)  (F minoraj7) 
Dm7 
Dm/C 
I was  (D minor7) Country,  (D minor/C) 
G 
G6 
G 
when  (G major) Country  (G6) wasn't  (G major) cool
Cmaj7 
C6 
Cmaj7 
C6 
 (C minoraj7)  (C6)  (C minoraj7)  (C6) 

New- Play with audio & scroll
Upgrade to play 20,000+ songs ads free, and enjoy playing with music.
Get now
Verse 2
G 
G6 
I remember  (G major) circlin'  (G6) the drive-in,
G 
G6 
 (G major) pullin' up  (G6) and turnin' down
Cmaj7 
C6 
Cmaj7 
C6 
 (C minoraj7) George  (C6) Jones  (C minoraj7)  (C6) 
G 
G6 
I remember  (G major) when no one  (G6) was lookin'
G 
G6 
Cmaj7 
C6 
 (G major) I  was puttin'  (G6) peanuts in my  (C minoraj7) Coke  (C6) 
Cmaj7 
C7 
 (C minoraj7)  (C7) 
F 
I  (F major) took a lot of kiddin'
G/F 
'Cause I  (G/F) never did fit in
C 
E7/B 
Now  (C major) look at everybody  (E7/B) 
Am7 
Am/G 
Fmaj7 
Tryin' to  (A minor7) be    what  (A minor/G) I      was then  (F minoraj7) 
Dm7 
Dm/C 
I was  (D minor7) Country,  (D minor/C) 
G 
when  (G major) Country wasn't cool
Cmaj7 
C6 
Cmaj7 
C6 
 (C minoraj7)  (C6)  (C minoraj7) Oooh  (C6) 

Chorus 1
G 
G6 
G 
I was  (G major) Country,  (G6)  (G major) 
G6 
G 
when Country  (G6) wasn't  (G major) cool
C 
C6 
C 
C6 
 (C major)  (C6)  (C major)  (C6) 
C 
G 
G6 
I  (C major) was  (G major) Country,  (G6) 
G 
G6 
G 
C 
C6 
C 
C7 
 (G major) from my hat down  (G6) to my  (G major) boots  (C major)  (C6)  (C major)  (C7) 
F 
G/F 
 (F major) I  still act, and  (G/F) look  the same
C 
E7/B 
What you  (C major) see ain't  (E7/B) nothin' new
Am7 
Am/G 
Fmaj7 
 (A minor7)  (A minor/G)  (F minoraj7) 
Dm7 
Dm/C 
I was  (D minor7) Country,  (D minor/C) 
G 
when  (G major) Country wasn't cool
Cmaj7 
C6 
Cmaj7 
C6 
 (C minoraj7)  (C6)  (C minoraj7)  (C6) 

Interlude 1

Bridge 1
F 
They  (F major) call us country bumpkins
G/F 
For  (G/F) stickin' to our roots
C 
E7/B 
I'm just  (C major) glad we're in a country  (E7/B) 
Am7 
Am/G 
Fmaj7 
Where  (A minor7) we're all  (A minor/G) free   to choose  (F minoraj7) 
Dm7 
Dm/C 
I was  (D minor7) Country,  (D minor/C) 
G 
when  (G major) Country wasn't cool
Cmaj7 
C6 
Cmaj7 
C6 
 (C minoraj7)  (C6)  (C minoraj7)  (C6) 

Chorus 2
G 
G6 
G 
Hey I was  (G major) Country,  (G6)  (G major) 
G6 
G 
C 
C6 
C 
when Country  (G6)  (G major) wasn't  (C major) cool  (C6)  (C major) 
C6 
C 
G 
G6 
 (C6) Yeah  (C major) I  was  (G major) country,  (G6) 
G 
G6 
 (G major) from my hat down  (G6) to,
G 
C 
C6 
C 
C7 
woah  (G major) my  (C major) boots  (C6)  (C major)  (C7) 
F 
G/F 
 (F major) I  still act, and  (G/F) look  the same
C 
E7/B 
What you  (C major) see ain't  (E7/B) nothin' new
Am7 
Am/G 
Fmaj7 
 (A minor7)  (A minor/G)  (F minoraj7) 
Dm7 
Dm/C 
'Cause I was  (D minor7) Country  (D minor/C) 
G 
when  (G major) Country wasn't cool
Cmaj7 
C6 
Cmaj7 
C6 
 (C minoraj7)  (C6)  (C minoraj7)  (C6) 
F/G 
G6 
G 
Yeah, I was  (F/G) Country  (G6)  (G major) 
G6 
G 
when Country  (G6) wasn't  (G major) cool
Cmaj7 
C6 
Cmaj7 
C6 
 (C minoraj7)  (C6)  (C minoraj7)  (C6) 
Cmaj7 
C6 
C 
 (C minoraj7)  (C6)  (C major) 

1981Country

Unlock All Tools

100+ tunings, chord games & metronome

Get now

GuitarPianoUkulele

Cmaj7
C6
Cadd9
G
G6
F
G/F
C
E7/B
Am7
Am/G
Fmaj7
Dm7
Dm/C
C7
F/G

Tuning: E A D G B EDifficulty: IntermediateKey: C majorBPM: 105

How did you like the song?

You need to to leave a rating.

803 views

Finger positions, low to high (E A D G B e). 0 is open, x is muted.

Cmaj7: x-3-2-0-0-0
C6: x-3-2-2-1-x
Cadd9: x-3-2-0-3-3
G: 3-2-0-0-0-3
G6: 3-2-0-0-0-0
F: x-3-3-2-1-x
G/F: 1-x-0-0-0-3
C: x-3-2-0-1-0
E7/B: x-2-2-1-3-x
Am7: x-0-2-0-1-0
Am/G: 3-x-2-2-1-0
Fmaj7: x-x-3-2-1-0
Dm7: x-x-0-2-1-1
Dm/C: x-3-x-2-3-1
C7: x-3-2-3-1-x
F/G: 3-x-3-2-1-x

Accurately transcribed by the GuitarTuna team.

F is one of the chords beginners ask about the most. A short walkthrough on how to fret it cleanly and switch in and out of it. Learn the F chord

Barre chords ask a lot of the fretting hand. The barre course walks through hand position, pressure, and the cleanest way to land each shape. Practice barre chords

Even perfectly fretted chords sound wrong on an out-of-tune guitar. Get in tune in seconds, right in your browser, with the free online guitar tuner

This is the definitive original version of I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool by Barbara Mandrell, George Jones, transcribed exactly as it was recorded in the studio. Unlike our simplified arrangement, this chart preserves the precise chord voicings and progressions in the original key of C major. It is designed for guitarists ready to move past the basics and capture the true feel of Barbara Mandrell, George Jones's performance.