Bruce Springsteen - Cautious Man: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Cautious Man" on your guitar with our chord guide. This page provides everything you need to perform this song on the guitar, including lyrics integrated with chords, chord diagrams, and a key transposer to match your vocal range.

For easier playing, use our Simplify Chords feature to remove difficult chords like barre.

G                           C
Bill Horton was a cautious man of the road
           G
He walked lookin' over his
                                       D
shoulder and remained faithful to its code
G                            C
When something caught his eye he'd measure his need
G               D                 G
And then very carefully he'd proceed

Billy met a young girl in the early days of May
It was there in her arms, he let his
cautiousness slip away
In their lovers' twilight as the evening
sky grew dim
He'd lay back in her arms and
laugh at what had happened to him

Chorus:
        C
On his right hand Billy tatooed the word love
            Bm
And on his left hand was the word fear
    G                                          D
And in which hand he held his fate was never clear
 G                                    C
Come Indian summer he took his young lover
for his bride
              G                   D
And with own hands built a great house down
             G
by the riverside

Now Billy was an honest man, he wanted to do
what was right
He worked hard to fill their lives with happy
days and loving night
Alone on his knees in the darkness for
steadiness he'd pray
For he knew in a restless heart the seed
of betrayal lay

Chorus:
One night Billy awoke from a terrible dream
callin' his wife's name
She lay breathing beside him in a peaceful
sleep a thousand miles away
He got dressed in the moonlight and down
to the highway he strode
When he got there, he didn't find nothing but road

Billy felt a coldness rise up inside him
that he couldn't name
Just as the words tattooed 'cross his
knuckles he knew would always remain
At their bedside, he brushed the hair
from his wife's face as the moon shone on
her skin so white
Filling their room in the beauty of
God's fallen light


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

Bm

Guitar chord Bm

C

Guitar chord C

D

Guitar chord D

G

Guitar chord G

Here you can see detailed diagrams for each guitar chord used in the song. Utilize our key transposer to adjust the chords to a key that better fits your singing range. Simply select the desired key, and the chords throughout this page will update automatically, ensuring you can play and sing comfortably.

If you are also interested in learning how to play "Cautious Man" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Cautious Man" by Bruce Springsteen.

Bruce Springsteen Song List