Skip to song content

Janis Ian - Jesse Chords

ChordsC, Em, Gm, A7, A, Dm, Dm7, F, G, E7, G7
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

Before you play, tune your guitar and use the tools below to set up your view and flow.

  • Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
  • Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram
  • Guitar Gm chord diagram Fingering: 3-1-0-0-3-3Guitar Gm chord diagram
  • Guitar A7 chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-0-2-0Guitar A7 chord diagram
  • Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram
  • Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram
  • Guitar Dm7 chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar Dm7 chord diagram
  • Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram
  • Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram
  • Guitar E7 chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-0-1-0-0Guitar E7 chord diagram
  • Guitar G7 chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-1Guitar G7 chord diagram


[C] [Em] [Gm] [A7]
[C]Jesse come home, there’s a [Em]hole in the bed
Where we [Gm]slept, now it’s growing [A]cold [A7]
Hey [Dm]Jesse, your face in the [Dm7]place where we lay
By the [F]hearth, all a[G]part, it [C]hangs on my [E7]heart


And I’m [A7]leaving the light on the [Dm]stairs
No, I’m not [G]scared, I wait for [C]you [A]
[Dm]Hey Jesse, I’m [G]lonely, come [C]home


[C]Jesse, the floors and the [Em]boards
Recalling your [Gm]step and I remember [A], too [A7]
All the [Dm]pictures are fading and [F]shaded in grey
But I [G]still set a place on the [C]table at [E7]noon


And I’m [A7]leaving the light on the [Dm]stairs
No, I’m not [G]scared, I wait for [C]you [A]
[Dm]Hey Jesse, I’m [G]lonely, come [C]home


[C] [Em] [Gm] [A7]


[C]Jesse, the spread on the [Em]bed
Is like when you [Gm]left, I’ve kept it all for [A]you [A7]
And all the [Dm]blues and the [Dm7]greens have been [F]recently cleaned
And they’re [G]seemingly new, hey [C]Jess’, me and [E7]you


We’ll [A7]swallow the light on the [Dm]stairs
We’ll do up my [G]hair, we’ll sleep [C]unaware [A]
Hey [Dm], Jesse, I’m [G]lonely, come [C]home [A7] [Dm] [G7] [C]

Report Error
ArtistJanis Ian
AlbumStars
GenresFolk
Year1973
KeyC

How to play Jesse on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Janis Ian - Jesse on guitar requires 11 chords and 19 core chord transitions. You can find the full step-by-step guide below. Before you start, tune your instrument. The song uses the ↓-↓↑-↑↓↑ pattern; practice it muted first, or simplify to downstrokes while you learn the changes.

Jesse uses these transitions most often: G → C (9), A7 → Dm (7), and Dm → G (6). These transitions may feel a little challenging at first, but with steady practice you can play this song quickly.When you are ready, begin with C - Em chord transition.

1. C → Em chord transition

To move from C to Em;

  1. While playing C, lift your index finger from B string fret 1.
  2. Lift your middle finger from D string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger from A string fret 3 to D string fret 2.
C to Em

2. Em → Gm chord transition

To move from Em to Gm;

  1. Lift your middle finger from A string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 3.
  2. Slide your ring finger from D string fret 2 to B string fret 3.
  3. Place index finger on A string fret 1.
  4. Place pinky on E string fret 3.
Em to Gm

3. Gm → A7 chord transition

To move from Gm to A7;

  1. While playing Gm, first lift your ring finger and pinky.
  2. Lift your index finger from A string fret 1 and place it on D string fret 2.
  3. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to B string fret 2.
Gm to A7

4. A7 → C chord transition

To move from A7 to C;

  1. Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from B string fret 2 to D string fret 2.
  3. Place ring finger on A string fret 3.
A7 to C

5. Gm → A chord transition

To move from Gm to A;

  1. While playing Gm, lift your pinky from E string fret 3.
  2. Lift your index finger from A string fret 1 and place it on D string fret 2.
  3. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to G string fret 2.
  4. Slide your ring finger on B string from fret 3 to fret 2.

6. A → A7 chord transition

To move from A to A7;

  1. While playing A, lift your ring finger from B string fret 2.
  2. Keep index finger on D string fret 2.
  3. Lift your middle finger from G string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 2.

7. A7 → Dm chord transition

To move from A7 to Dm;

  1. Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from B string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
  3. Place ring finger on B string fret 3.

8. Dm → Dm7 chord transition

To move from Dm to Dm7;

  1. While playing Dm, lift your ring finger from B string fret 3.
  2. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on B string fret 1.
  3. Keep middle finger on G string fret 2.

9. Dm7 → F chord transition

To move from Dm7 to F;

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
  2. Keep middle finger on G string fret 2.
  3. Place ring finger on A string fret 3.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 3.

10. F → G chord transition

To move from F to G;

  1. While playing F, lift your pinky from D string fret 3.
  2. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  3. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  4. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 3.

11. G → C chord transition

To move from G to C;

  1. Lift your index finger from A string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to D string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from E string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 3.

12. C → E7 chord transition

To move from C to E7;

  1. While playing C, lift your ring finger from A string fret 3.
  2. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on G string fret 1.
  3. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to A string fret 2.

13. E7 → A7 chord transition

To move from E7 to A7;

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 1 and place it on D string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from A string fret 2 to B string fret 2.

14. Dm → G chord transition

To move from Dm to G;

  1. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 3.

15. C → A chord transition

To move from C to A;

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on D string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on B string fret 2.

16. A → Dm chord transition

To move from A to Dm;

  1. Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 1.
  2. Keep middle finger on G string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger on B string from fret 2 to fret 3.

17. Dm → F chord transition

To move from Dm to F;

  1. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
  2. Keep middle finger on G string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger from B string fret 3 to A string fret 3.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 3.

18. Dm → G7 chord transition

To move from Dm to G7;

  1. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 1.

19. G7 → C chord transition

To move from G7 to C;

  1. Lift your index finger from A string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to D string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from E string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 3.

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Jesse.

  • Jesse includes 65 chord transitions, 19 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Jesse contains 3 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Jesse connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After C, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (35%), F (16%), and D (11%).
    • C → Em: 8%
    • C → E7: 1%
    After Dm, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (18%), G (16%), and Am (14%).
    • Dm → G: 16%
    • Dm → F: 14%