Johnny Cash - Best Friend: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Best Friend" on your guitar with our detailed chord guide and lyrics. 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.

Learn Best Friend Guitar Chords and Lyrics by Johnny Cash

This section will guide you through each part of the song, providing the guitar chords placed directly above the lyrics for easy playing. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, these elements will help you perform "Best Friend" smoothly on your guitar.

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

A#                                       D#
An old man on his death bed once said to me
            A#         F        A#
You are the master of your destiny

Chorus:
   G#                          C#
A diamond is a diamond and a stone is a stone
       G#                         C#
But a man's not all good nor all bad
          G#                         A#
When the chips're all down and your back's at the wall
You're the best friend that you've ever had
You're the best friend that you've ever had

A#                      G#      A#
So you laugh when it's time to laugh
A#                     G#      A#
and you cry when it's time to cry
                 G#      A#
Live while it's time to live cause
you'll die when it's time to die

Then he closed his eyes and he left me alone
This old man's wisdom brought his meaning home

Chorus

So you laugh when it's time to laugh
and you cry when it's time to cry
Live while it's time to live cause
you'll die when it's time to die hmm
Well now that I'm older I found this is true
The thing that remains is the good that you do

Chorus


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

A

Guitar chord A

A#

Guitar chord A#

C#

Guitar chord C#

D#

Guitar chord D#

F

Guitar chord F

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 "Best Friend" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Best Friend" by Johnny Cash.

Johnny Cash Song List