Level: 2
Tuning: Standard

This simple, plaintive tune, consisting of a 4-bar chord progression repeated over and over, has been described as both a prison song and a spiritual. It was first released by the Band in their influential 1968 debut album, "Music From Big Pink," and dozens of artists and bands have recorded it, including Dylan (the composer!), who included a new version on a 1971 greatest hits album. This fingerpicking version in C employs a three-finger pattern, evident in the first bar, that evokes the song's slow, rock-ballad feel. There's one up the neck chord (The F at the 5th fret); otherwise the solo and backup consist of first-position C, Dm, Em, F and G chords.