Greg shows you another of Norman Blake’s most popular originals this month, a song Blake first released on his Whiskey Before Breakfast album in 1976. Many others have recorded and performed the song, including Tony Rice, Sierra Hull, and Punch Brothers, who put their own inimitable spin on this busker’s-eye view of being down and out in downtown Nashville. Blake first recorded the song in the key of F#, but he played it out of C position with a capo up the neck at the sixth fret. In more recent years, the capo has come down a step or so as his voice has dropped. For this lesson, Greg teaches it in the key of C in the open position. You can add a capo to find the spot that suits your own voice once you’ve learned how to play it. As in previous lessons, Greg starts you off by showing you how to play the melody on the bass strings before adding the picking and strumming elements that give it that Norman Blake feel. You’ll learn a more complex version of the song in a later lesson, but this will give you a serviceable version to play while you pick up more skills. Note that the nature of the melody doesn’t allow for a completely square boom-chuck rhythm. You’ll need to adjust your picking and strumming a little to make the two components dance well together. In this video, Greg shows you the chord progression, the basic melody, a double-string harmonized melody, plus a few hammer-ons to embellish the Carter-style arrangement. Watch out for the fast-moving chords in the chorus.