Johnny Cash - A Ceiling, Four Walls, And A Floor: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "A Ceiling, Four Walls, And A Floor" 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.

                 A D                    A     D
His daddy said, son you ought to quit dreaming
          A
Put your feet on the ground and your
                            E
future in the hands of the Lord
                   A D             A       D
But the boy said, no, that isn't enough dad

Chorus:
             A               E
All you got here is a ceiling,
                   A
four walls and a floor

             D                A
He left his home in Buckalou County
          D                           A                  E
He went thumbing and sleeping on the roadside living in jeans

Along about Pittsburgh he got him a good job
Bought him a brand new Malibu Chevy that was part of his dreams
He met a pretty girl, she was thinking of a family
He bought a lot of tapes for his Malibu Chevy, but he didn't want more
And the pretty girl said, boy you ought to slow down

Chorus

He did a little drinking, he did a little gambling
Shot a little nine ball, bet a little money on the football games

He picked up a habit, he got it on the sidewalk
His habit got bigger, but his weekly paycheck stayed the same
His daddy wrote letters but he never answered
The pretty girl begged him to give up the habit and to work on a change
It was a real small gun and a real small robbery
They locked him up and they traded him a number for his name
It isn't big news, it isn't a big story
You didn't see it in the paper, so I guess we ought to put it in a song
The boy got hooked and he couldn't get unhooked
And it's happening somewhere now and maybe that's what's wrong

His daddy said son you ought to quit dreaming

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Guitar Chord Diagrams

A

Guitar chord A

D

Guitar chord D

E

Guitar chord E

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 "A Ceiling, Four Walls, And A Floor" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "A Ceiling, Four Walls, And A Floor" by Johnny Cash.

Johnny Cash Song List