Third Coast

About This Lesson

In today’s lesson I want to teach you to play Third Coast by Larry Joe Taylor. This one came in by request from a long-time supporter, and immediately it stood out to me as a song that scratched the Jimmy Buffett sweet spot in my heart. I’ll teach you the chords shapes, explain the strumming, and demonstrate three different walkdowns you can use to add flavor & flourish at the end of each 8-measure progression. This lets you capture the full-band vibe of LJT’s studio recording with just your acoustic guitar.

I’ll also show you how to play things in the Key of C, if that’s your goal — I’ve seen LJT himself play it like this in a recent live performance online. To be honest, I’m not sure if he recorded this using Key of G chords (capo 4) or Key of C chords (no capo, tune down 1/2 step). But either way, the lessons I’m sharing here will show you the way. Good luck with it!

• 0:00 Lesson Overview
• 0:54 Chords & Strumming
• 3:30 Verse and Chorus
• 4:52 Walkdown #1
• 8:16 Walkdown #2
• 10:56 Walkdown #3
• 13:28 Bridge

Quick Links

• Lyric & chords
• Larry Joe Taylor official website
• LJT Fest - Annual Festival in Texas

Practice Notes 4 pages

Lesson Discussion

Extended Video Lessons

Here’s a few extra videos, made in thanks to those supporting me with Premium membership here on my Song Notes website. To those showing your support, you have my true thanks and appreciation — and I hope you find these additional videos helpful!

Play-Along Cover

Transposing to Key of C

Instead of using Key of G chords (capo 4), you can also play this song using Key of C chords without a capo. Just be sure you tune down 1/2 step to play along with Larry Joe Taylor’s album recording.

Other Recommended Videos

Live Performance by Larry Joe Taylor (Key of C)

Here’s a 2015 performance from Larry Joe, captured with nice audio quality from a live show. He’s playing this with the Key of C chords I teach in my transpose video above.

Cover from John Crocker

This is literally the only cover of this song I could find online! So sharing it here. He too is using the Key of C chords shown in my tranpose video above.

Lessons I’ve Made That Help

If you want more help with the walkdowns, or alternatively need to learn how to tune down 1/2 step (to play this song using Key of C chords), check out these lessons I’ve made:

Strummy Walkdowns in Key of G

★ Instructional PDF

How to Tune Down 1/2 step (E-Flat Tuning)

★ Instructional PDF

Who Inpsired Larry Joe Taylor to Write “Third Coast”

In a live performance from Larry Joe Taylor from February 2015, he describes how he wrote this song after meeting a guy name Jack on a dock:

I had my guitar with me when a guy on his boat called out to me and asked what I was doing. I told him I was a songwriter, and he dismissed it, saying, “Yeah, yeah, everyone is.” Then he said, “If you really are a songwriter, my life story would make a great song.” I laughed and said, “Everyone thinks that.”

We hit it off right away. His name was Jack, and he had a Chris-Craft boat he got in Florida. I spent some time with him on his boat—he taught me a little about sailing, and I taught him a little about drinking tequila. He told me his life story, and then he passed away. Before he died, he said, “Dying is easy. Living is what scares me.”

So, here’s Jack’s story, as he told it to me on his boat.

This made me smile, as this song is exactly like Buffett’s A Pirate Looks at Forty in that regard. Meaning, neither song is autobiographical. Buffett’s classic is about bout Phil Clark — a real-life smuggler and drug runner who lived in Key West. Clark was an old-school sailor who had spent his life on the water, running contraband and living a free-spirited, outlaw lifestyle. The song reflects on the fading era of pirates and adventurers, blending nostalgia, regret, and acceptance of aging.

With that said, here’s my lesson for A Pirate Looks at Forty if you’re interested in learning that one: