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Home ❯ Songs ❯ John Prine ❯

Angel From Montgomery

by John Prine • Lesson #399 • Nov 13, 2021

Video lesson

Licensed Song Sheet 3 pages

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Editor’s notes

Hello friends! New lesson today for the John Prine classic “Angel From Montgomery”, from his 1971 debut album. I’ll teach you to play the song exactly like John Prine does, but also include some strumming pattern explanations in case you prefer the Bonnie Raitt version (which is a bit easier to pull off). This song only uses 4 chords, all of which are major – but in typical Prine fashion, he’s able to create a song that adds up to far more than the sum of its parts. I’ll start with a quick crash-course explanation of things, then get into the usual details on chords, progressions, strumming, and show you some licks & fills to round things out. Finally, I’ll end things with a full play-along cover. Thanks to all of you who suggested this song over the past year… I hope you enjoy!

Video timestamps:

  • 0:00 Preview & Lesson Summary
  • 2:12 Quick Explanation of Entire Song
  • 4:03 Chord Shapes Needed
  • 5:47 Chord Progression & Timing
  • 9:26 Strumming (John Prine version)
  • 14:01 Strumming (Bonnie Raitt version)
  • 16:07 Misc Tips! Licks & Fills
  • 21:26 Full play-along cover

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Instructional Lessons to Help Learn This Song

F Chord Cheat Sheet (Lesson #392)

Need help with the F chord? Check out this lesson where I’ll walk through 8 different ways to play it, most of which are far easier than the full six-string barred version. Watch my video & get PDF »

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