Tennessee Flat Top Box

by Johnny Cash • Lesson #145 • Apr 21, 2018

Video lesson

Licensed Song Sheet 3 pages

Follow along with my print-friendly guide for this song! It’s available for purchase at Musicnotes.com, the web’s leading provider of licensed sheet music.

On the fence? Here's a guide I made showing the purchase & print process, including answers to common questions about my song sheets.

Buy at Musicnotes.com

Editor’s notes

In this video I’ll teach you how to play “Tennessee Flat Top Box” by Johnny Cash, including a tutorial for the intro tab, the chords needed, strumming patterns used, and more! This is one of the funnest Cash songs to play, in my opinion – it combines simple verse chords & strumming with a complicated (but approachable) riff heard in the intro and interlude. Enjoy! Make sure you put a capo on 3 if you want to play along with Cash’s album version.

0:00 Lesson preview & greeting
1:23 Capo or no capo?
1:57 Verse chords
2:45 Verse strumming
3:45 Verse lyrics & chord changes
4:36 Main riff, part 1 of 2
7:32 Main riff, part 2 of 2
11:01 Riff extras: how to transition back to verse
14:36 Riff extras: how its played in song’s intro
16:10 Full song playthrough

My full play-along cover

Capo to play along with Johnny Cash

If you want to play along with Johnny Cash’s version, use the chords I show you with a capo on the 3rd fret. I’m choosing not to play with a capo to keep things simple and accessible.

Chords needed

These are the chords you’ll need for the verse:

e –––3––––2––––
B –––0––––1––––
G –––0––––2––––
D –––0––––0––––
A –––2–––––––––
E –––3–––––––––
     G    D7

Intro riff

This is what’s heard in the opening measures of the song:

See sheet music for my tab.

Interlude riff

This one is very similar to the intro riff, the only difference being how it begins. Note that they both end the same.

Play through these two sections twice:

See sheet music for my tab.

Then, play this to end it and transition into the next verse:

See sheet music for my tab.

Lyrics w/ chords

See sheet music for the lyrics with chords.

Good luck!

Let me know if you have questions. I hope this was helpful. Be sure to check out my other Johnny Cash lessons, I have a bunch!

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Tennessee Flat Top Box

Video lesson

Licensed Song Sheet 3 pages

Editor’s notes

My full play-along cover

Capo to play along with Johnny Cash

Chords needed

Intro riff

Interlude riff

Lyrics w/ chords

Good luck!

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Browse Related Lessons

Enjoy My Lessons? Show Your Support!

Looking for More Song Lessons?

Featured Courses

Strumming & Rhythm

Fingerstyle & Travis Picking

Blues Starter Kit

Reading Music for Guitarists

Learning Lead Guitar

Beginner Chord Guide

Practical Music Theory

Using a Capo

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

Capo Captain

Key Master

Blank Tabs

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Recent Lessons