Category: Guitar

The 12 bar blues is a musical form which is made up of three chords and 12 measures.  It is used in a lot of really cool music and is considered to be the form that rock and roll was built on.  One famous tune that uses this form is Johnny B. Goode, by Chuck Berry.

Here is the 12 bar blues in the key of A.

[pdf https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17823174/Music%20Resources/12%20Bar%20Blues%20in%20A.pdf 100% 900]

Johnny B. Goode Lyrics:

Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans,
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood,
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode
He never ever learned to read or write so well,
But he could play the guitar just like ringing a bell.

[Chorus:]
Go
Go Johnny Go Go
Go Johnny Go Go Go
Go Johnny Go Go
Johnny B. Goode

He use to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
and sit beneath the trees by the railroad track.
The engineers could see him sitting in the shade,
Strumming with the rhythm that the drivers made.
The people passing by, you know they’d stop and say,
“Oh my, but that little country boy can play”

[Chorus]

His mother told him someday you will be a man,
And you will be the leader of a big old band.
Many people coming from miles around
To hear you play your music ’till the sun goes down
Maybe someday your name will be in lights
Saying Johnny B. Goode tonight.

[Chorus]