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Home ❯ Songs ❯ Willie Nelson ❯

Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain

by Willie Nelson • Lesson #433 • May 14, 2022

Today I’ll teach you how to play Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain, as played by Willie Nelson on his 1975 album Red Headed Stranger. I’ll start off teaching the simplest way to play this song using the E, A, and B7 chords (0:25). Then, I’ll walk through step-by-step the various ways you can spice things up to capture Willie’s guitar playing vibe: alternating bass notes (6:01), walk-ups & walk-downs (10:56), and adding Willie-esque flourish (15:46).

Part 2 – Play-Along Covers

Here’s two play-along covers showing me playing the song from start to finish. One is with lyrics/chords & my singing (0:00). The other is me playing slowly, using a simplified strum, with the verse & chorus tabs shown on screen (2:31).

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Part 3 – Learning the Solo

Here’s a deep-dive tutorial teaching my version of the solo, which is slightly simplified compared to Willie’s version — but still captures the same vibe and is quite fun to play.

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Part 4 – Jam Track for Practicing the Solo

Lastly, here’s a 5-6 minute practice track I made for you to use when practicing the solo. This loops over the 8 measure sequence the solo (and verse) uses, which repeats over and over, using guitar & drums to keep a steady beat.

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Audio Backing Tracks

I also made two different 5-minute backing track to use while practicing this song. They provide a drum beat using the slight “swing” feel that is hinted at in Willie’s recording. There are two tracks, one at 100bpm and the other at 108bpm — both of which you can use while practicing the chords / progression / solo / etc. Nelson’s album version has a tempo of 120bpm.

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100bpm (download):


108bpm (download):

Licensed Song Sheet 4 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.

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Additional Lessons To Help With This Song

Here’s instructional lessons I’ve made teaching concepts that are useful in this song.

Walking Up & Down Between E A & B7

★ Instructional PDF

Walking Up & Down in Each Major Key

★ Instructional PDF

Other Willie Nelson Lessons

"Pancho and Lefty" by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard

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"On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson

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"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys" by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson

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"Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground" by Willie Nelson

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