Dublin Blues

In today’s lesson I’ll teach you how to play Dublin Blues, the Guy Clark classic from 1995. This is a three chord song (D, G, and A) where we’ll have a capo on the 2nd fret – but we’ll only put the capo on the thinnest five strings. This gives us a tuning similar to Drop D, where the D-major chord is played with all six strings (e.g. 000232) — but the G and A major are played like normal, which is great! I’ll teach you the chords, break down the intro riff step by step, and show you a few options for strumming. Enjoy!

Free Video Lesson

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Playthrough
• 1:17 Chord Shapes
• 1:55 Intro: Bass Notes
• 5:25 Intro: Adding Basic Strums
• 8:37 Intro: Adding Full Strums
• 10:37 Strumming (Verse & Chorus)
• 16:07 Adding an Optional D-Riff
• 19:03 About the Texas Chili Parlor

Print-Friendly Song Sheet 4 pages

Lesson Discussion

Guy Clark Performing This Song

Album version:

Live version from Austin City Limits:

Additional Tuning and Capo Notes

To the ear, this song is in the Key of E (using the chords E, A, and B). But by adding a capo on the 2nd fret, we’re able to use the chords D, G, and A. This is what I do in my lesson, and likewise what Guy Clark does when he plays it. With regard to tuning and how you apply the capo, you have a few options.

Option 1: Stay in Standard Tuning, Capo 2nd Fret on thinnest 5 Strings

I suggest playing this song with a capo (2nd fret) across the thinnest 5 strings only, while keeping the strings tuned to standard tuning (EADGBe). This lets you play a D chord using all six strings, while also playing the G chord like you normally would. Best of both worlds! This is what I recommend, and likewise what I use in my main video lesson.

•• e ––2–––3–––0––
•• B ––3–––0–––2––
•• G ––2–––0–––2––
•• D ––0–––0–––2––
•• A ––0–––2–––0––
   E ––0–––3––––––
       D   G   A

Option 2: Tune Thinnest String Down to D, Capo 2nd Fret on thinnest 5 Strings

To play it exactly like Guy Clark, use the same 5-string capo approach as above (2nd fret), but also tune the thinnest string down a whole step, to a D. This modifies the chord voicings slightly, as shown below. Note, I don’t think you need to use this approach — as option #1 shown above gets the job done just fine, especially if you’re just getting started with things.

•• d ––0–––0–––2––
•• B ––3–––0–––2––
•• G ––2–––0–––2––
•• D ––0–––0–––2––
•• A ––0–––2–––0––
   E ––0–––3––––––
       D   G   A

Option 3: Drop-D Tuning, Capo 2nd Fret on all 6 Strings

You can also play this song with typical Drop-D tuning, along with a capo on the 2nd fret (across all strings). For the G chord, use your left ring finger on the 5th fret note. That same finger can mute the 5th string, so it doesn’t make a sound. Meanwhile, put your left index finger on the 3rd fret note (thinnest string).

•• e ––2–––3–––0––
•• B ––3–––0–––2––
•• G ––2–––0–––2––
•• D ––0–––0–––2––
•• A ––0–––x–––0––
•• D ––0–––5––––––
       D   G   A

Additional Lessons To Help With This Song

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

How to play A-major with one finger (barred on 2nd fret)

★ Instructional PDF

Bass Note Strumming (Essential Technique)

★ Instructional PDF

Playing around in Drop-D tuning