Song chords
Jolene chords
Dolly Parton
Three chords, one progression, and a chorus that opens the record before a single verse has happened. The capo at the fourth fret is not optional — it is what puts open A minor shapes into the recording's key of C# minor.
Before you start
The chords you need.
3 shapes covers the whole song, fretted with the capo at fret 4. Tap any diagram’s play button to hear it, or open its page for every voicing on six instruments.
The chart
Section by section.
Capo 4 with A minor shapes: Am sounds as C#m, C as E and G as B. Verse and chorus use the identical Am–C–G–Am loop. Hit play on any section to hear it walk through at 110 bpm.
Chorus
4 barsThe song opens here, before the first verse.
Shapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Verse
4 barsIdentical to the chorus — the song has exactly one progression.
Shapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Need it in a different key, or without the capo? Run it through the transposer — move every chord by the same interval and the song is unchanged.
Playing it
What actually trips people up.
The picking pattern rolls constantly at 110 bpm and never lets a chord ring out. Work the right hand on a single Am first — the changes are the easy part.
The chart above is the commonly played arrangement — the version a competent player would hand you, not a bar-for-bar transcription of a specific master. Section labels are there to orient you; live and studio versions repeat, extend and drop sections freely, and none of that changes which chords you need.
About this page
Chord names and song structure are facts; for lyrics and official notation, support the artist. This page carries no lyrics on purpose — Jolene was written and recorded by Dolly Parton, and the words belong to them. What you get here is the harmony: the key, the capo, the tempo, and which chord goes where.
Next
Songs that sit near this one.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask.
What key is Jolene in?
Jolene sounds in C# Minor. The common arrangement gets there with a capo at fret 4 and A Minor shapes, which is why the chords written here are A Minor chords rather than C# Minor ones.
Do I need a capo for Jolene?
Yes for the standard arrangement: capo 4. Without it you would be playing C# Minor shapes, which needs barre chords. With the capo on, the shapes are A Minor — much friendlier under the hand.
What chords are in Jolene?
Am, C and G — 3 chords across 2 sections. Capo 4 with A minor shapes: Am sounds as C#m, C as E and G as B. Verse and chorus use the identical Am–C–G–Am loop.
What is the easiest way to play Jolene?
Beginner overall. The picking pattern rolls constantly at 110 bpm and never lets a chord ring out. Work the right hand on a single Am first — the changes are the easy part.
How fast is Jolene?
About 110 bpm. Every section on this page plays back at that tempo, so you can hear how long each chord is meant to be held before you try it yourself.
Can I play Jolene in a different key?
Yes — the progression is the song, not the letters. Move every chord by the same number of semitones and it still works. The transposer will do the arithmetic, or you can move the capo and keep these shapes.