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Home ❯ Songs ❯ Jerry Jeff Walker ❯

London Homesick Blues

by Jerry Jeff Walker • Lesson #593 • Jun 14, 2025

About This Lesson

In today’s lesson I’ll teach you how to play London Homesick Blues from Jerry Jeff Walker’s classic album Viva Terlingua. This song starts out quite simple, moving through the typical G-C-D chords with a country strum in a leisurely manner. But as things move into the chorus, the musical hooks settle in — giving us an all-timer sequence that’s as fun to play as it is to sing.

I’ll teach you everything you need to know to pull this one off, no matter your skill level. I’ll start with a simple version and level things up from there, should you want to capture the essence of the full band recording. A final note: this song was originally written (and sung) by Gary P. Nunn, a friend of Jerry Jeff’s who played along with the band during that infamous concert in Luckenbach, TX.

  • 0:00 Welcome
  • 0:32 10 Years in Austin!
  • 1:35 Verse
  • 5:58 Strumming Pattern
  • 7:49 Chorus (Basics)
  • 10:05 Chorus (Intermediate)
  • 12:17 Alternating Bass Notes
  • 15:49 Full Playthrough

Practice Notes 4 pages

It includes all of my notes for this lesson, allowing you to follow along at your own pace. You're free to download, print, and share the PDF across your devices.

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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!

Slow Playthrough - Basic Strum

No singing, zoomed-in playthrough where I use the basic strum I demonstrate in my main lesson. Start with this one!

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Slow Playthrough - Intermediate Strum

No singing, zoomed-in playthrough where I use the alternating bass note strum during the verse, and embrace the walking bass lines during the chorus. Trickier to learn, but captures the full-band vibe of the recorded version.

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Learning Chords in Key of G

★ Instructional PDF

Bass Note Strumming

★ Instructional PDF

Alternating Bass Notes

★ Instructional PDF

Walking Up & Down in Each Major Key

★ Instructional PDF

"Mr. Bojangles" by Jerry Jeff Walker

$ Song Sheet Available

More About This Song

Bob Livingston tells the story of how the song came together:

Gary P. Nunn tells the story behind the song:

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