Johnny Cash - Unwed Fathers: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Unwed Fathers" 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.

           C         F         C
In an Appalachian, Greyhound station
               Am      G             C
She sits there waiting, in a family way
                        F     C
"Goodbye brother, tell Mom I love her
     C       Am     G                C
Tell all the others, I'll write someday"

Chorus:
C                F                  C
From an teenage lover, to an unwed mother
           C   Am                G
Kept undercover, like some bad dream
           C        F        C
And unwed fathers, can't be bothered
               Am   G                 C
They run like water, in a mountain stream

In a cold and gray town, the nurse says "Lay down"
"This ain't no playground, and you ain't home"
Someone's children, are having children
In a cold gray building, all alone

Chorus

On somewhere else bound, midnight Greyhound
She hangs her head down, and hums a lullaby
Scared half crazy, she holds her baby
She says I think maybe, you got your daddy's eyes

Chorus


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

Am

Guitar chord Am

C

Guitar chord C

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

Johnny Cash Song List