Jesse James chords by
Bruce Springsteen (Official Version)

2006Country211 views

Key: F majorDifficulty: Easy

Verse 1
Fadd9 Fadd9 
 
F F 
 
Jesse James was a lad
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
That killed many a man
C7 C7 
 
He robbed the Glendale train
F F 
 
He stole from the rich
F/A F/A 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
And he gave to the poor
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
He'd a hand and a heart and a brain

Verse 2
F F 
 
Well it was Robert Ford
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
That dirty little coward
C7 C7 
 
I wonder now how he feels
F F 
 
For he ate of Jesse's bread
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
And he slept in Jesse's bed
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
And he laid poor Jesse in his grave

Chorus 1
Bb Bb 
 
Well Jesse had a wife
F F 
 
To mourn for his life
C7 C7 
 
Three children, now they were brave
F F 
 
Well that dirty little coward
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
That shot Mr. Howard
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
He laid poor Jesse in his grave

Interlude 1

Verse 3
F F 
 
Well Jesse was a man
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
A friend to the poor
C7 C7 
 
He'd never rob a mother or a child
F F 
 
There never was a man
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
with the law in his hand
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
That could take Jesse James when alive

Verse 4
F F 
 
It was on a Sunday night
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
Well the moon was shining bright
C7 C7 
 
They robbed the Glendale train
F F 
 
And the people they did say
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
o'er many miles away
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
It was those outlaws Frank and Jesse James

Chorus 2
Bb Bb 
 
Well Jesse had a wife
F F 
 
To mourn for his life
C7 C7 
 
Three children, now they were brave
F F 
 
Well that dirty little coward
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
That shot Mr. Howard
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
He laid poor Jesse in his grave

Interlude 2

Verse 5
F F 
 
Now the people held their breath
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
When they heard of Jesse's death
C7 C7 
 
They wondered how he'd ever come to  fall
F F 
 
Robert Ford it was a fact
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
He shot Jesse in the back
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
While Jesse hung a picture on the wall

Verse 6
F F 
 
Jesse went to rest
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
with his head on his breast
C7 C7 
 
The devil upon his knee
F F 
 
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
He was born one day in  County Clay
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
And he came from a so  litary race

Chorus 3
Bb Bb 
 
Well Jesse had a wife
F F 
 
To mourn for his life
C7 C7 
 
Three children, now they were brave
F F 
 
Well that dirty little coward
Bb Bb 
 
F F 
 
That shot Mr. Howard
C7 C7 
 
F F 
 
He laid poor Jesse in his grave

Solo 1

Solo 2

How did you like the song?

You need to to leave a rating.

TunerE A D G B E

ChordsFadd9 F Bb C7 F/A

Chords

Fadd9
F
Bb
C7
F/A

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

Fadd9: x-x-3-2-1-3
F: x-3-3-2-1-x
Bb: x-1-3-3-3-x
C7: x-3-2-3-1-x
F/A: x-0-3-2-1-x

Capo: No capo

Transpose: 0

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

Add9 chords keep the major or minor triad and add a 9th on top, giving a brighter sound. A short course covers the shapes and where they fit. Learn add9 chords

This is the definitive original version of Jesse James by Bruce Springsteen, 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 F major. It suits players who want to learn Jesse James the way Bruce Springsteen intended, without oversimplifying the arrangement.

More songs by Bruce Springsteen

Discover chords for more songs to play

348 More

Thunder Road

4.8

3.1K

Born To Run

4.9

4.1K

Dancing In The Dark

4.9

21.5K

I'm On Fire

5.0

13.8K

Meeting Across The River

5.0

416

Tougher Than The Rest

5.0

1.8K

Born In The U.S.A.

4.6

10.8K

Related songs

Discover chords for more songs to play

800K+ More

Thunder Road

Bruce Springsteen

4.8

3.1K

YellowTabs

Coldplay

4.8

17.9M

Take Me Home, Country RoadsTabs

John Denver

4.8

4.1M

7 Years

Lukas Graham

4.7

4.5M

Born To Run

Bruce Springsteen

4.9

4.1K

The House Of The Rising SunTabs

The Animals

4.9

4.3M

CreepTabs

Radiohead

4.9

29.5M

Popular chords globally

Most played chords & tabs across all users

100 More

Perfect

Ed Sheeran

4.8

48.8M

CreepTabs

Radiohead

4.9

29.6M

YellowTabs

Coldplay

4.8

17.9M

Boulevard Of Broken DreamsTabs

Green Day

4.8

12.5M

ZombieTabs

The Cranberries

4.8

11.9M

Wonderwall

Oasis

4.8

8.3M

Knockin' On Heaven's Door

Bob Dylan

4.8

6.4M

Recently added

Recently added chords & tabs

22K+ More

Problems

Lil Peep

Mourir sur scène

Dalida

Even In Arcadia

Sleep Token

Hab 'ne Tante aus Marokko

Kinderlieder-Superstar

Cafuné

Micro TDH

Past Self