Down in the Valley

Two chords, one movement

G lives at 0232 with fingers 1, 2, 3; D7 lives at 2223 with all four. The efficient way to move between them is to leave your index finger planted on the second fret of the C string — it belongs to both shapes. Only three fingers move, and they move as a block.

The C chord appears twice per verse and always on the same word ("over" in line two, "dear" in line three). That consistency is what makes the song easy to memorise.

Breathing and tempo

At 84 bpm this song wants space. The trick is to strum the pattern and then get out of the way: on the last line of each verse, stop strumming on beat 3 and let the voices finish alone for two beats.

• Verse tempo: steady, no acceleration on the repeated "hear the wind blow".
• Dynamics: softer on the first line, louder on line three, soft again to close.
• If you are playing alone, add a C chord on beat 4 of the final bar to lead back to the top.

A note on the words

This is an Appalachian folk song with dozens of collected variants; some printed versions change "hang your head over" to "hang your head, darling". Both are traditional. Sing whichever fits the group you are with, and say so if someone asks — this song has no single authorised text.