Mat Kearney - Can't Look Back: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Can't Look Back" 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.

            Am7              Dsus4
I was on a train out of New Mexico
D               G                    C
Looking for a flame for my heart of coal
               Am7                  Dsus4
Sold my Nikon lenses to get out of town
        D                  G
Don’t know how deep you’re in
                            C
until you’re trying to get out

She was floating like a vision down
through the aisle
Mississippi queen with a Tennessee smile
The smell of cheap coffee and Jamaican rum
We watched the desert fade in the Santa Fe sun

Am7
I said I’m not feeling right
D
She said boy you’ll be just fine
G                       C
Go ahead and rest your eyes

Chorus:
                     Am7              Dsus4
Cause you can’t look back (can’t look back)
     D          G                C
You can’t look back (can’t look back)
               Am7           Dsus4
There ain’t no future in the past
          D         G                C
And you can’t look back (can’t look back)

With characters galore in the Sayulita sun
Pineapple pastor with the señoritas
All the disenfranchised kids in the room
We were baptized in the Pacific moon

Someone put a cactus up to my tongue
You can feel alive and try callin' it love
A boy with a smile handed me his keys
Said, "Go ahead and try but you'll never leave"

Someone was singin' a hymn
And the moon, it started to spin
So I jump right in

Chorus:
Singin' can't look back (Can't look back)
You can't look back (Can't look back)
There ain't no future in the past
And you can't look back (Can't look back)

             Am7               Dsus4
The years go by like you never planned
D                G                  C
I had missed a flight out of Birmingham
                   Am7                 Dsus4
The way her yellow apron walked in the room
D                G                        C
There was no mistake in the way that she moved
            Am7                Dsus4
‘This is my boy and this is my girl
    D              G                         C
Now I’ll be in employed till the end of the world’
            Am7                    Dsus4
Somewhere tonight on the westbound train
    D                G                    C
I know there's wild hearts just running away

That sounded just like a dream
One she's still singing to me
It was so bittersweet

Chorus:
Because you can't look back (Can't look back)
You can't look back (Can't look back)
There ain't no future in the past
And you can't go back (Can't look back)
You can't look back (Can't look back)
You can't go back (Can't look back)
There ain't no future in the past
And you can't look back (Can't look back)

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Guitar Chord Diagrams

Am7

Guitar chord Am7

C

Guitar chord C

D

Guitar chord D

Dsus4

Guitar chord Dsus4

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 "Can't Look Back" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Can't Look Back" by Mat Kearney.