Highwayman here… thought I’d just have a more of a reflective post for a change and share with everyone my favourite songs to play with my acoustic guitar.

I started with easy songs, then did a few harder ones, but the one’s that stick around are the ones that sound truly good on their own without needing drums and harmonica to bring them to life. Here’s my pick of the best:

To Beat The Devil - Kris Kristofferson - View Chords
Large parts of this song are just talking, telling a story about a struggling guitar player who won’t stop playing his music, which is all he wants to do. The chorus has some real nice notes, the lyrics flow like the Mississippi River and the chords for the whole song are so easy, which I reckon makes ‘em sound even better!

Desperado - Johnny Cash/Clint Black/Various - View Chords
As one of my all-time favourite songs anyway, this song is a pleasure to play. If you check out the chords I’ve linked to, be sure to put a capo on the 2nd fret and play them as normal. If you can nail the lead parts too you’ve got a great song to play through with just you and your guitar.

Streets of Laredo - Arlo Guthrie - View Chords
If you know every word by heart when playing this song (as I do), you can just sit back, relax and play it through without even thinking. It’s got a repetitive chord pattern but inspired lyrics about a dying cowboy. With a capo on the 4th fret those high notes sound even better.

Solitary Man - Neil Diamond - View Chords
A strong and perfect-sounding set of simple chords turns this song into a great acoustic number. Johnny Cash’s version sounds more similar what you’ll play than Neil Diamond’s original. The chorus and change of key sounds terrific and really brings the song to life. I put a capo on the 3rd fret as it sounds just as good.