Ball and Chain was actually the first song I ever played on guitar for a girlfriend. Now I realize that this may not have been a great idea, but I explained that I had a limited repertoire, and the song was not indicative of my feelings towards her. Besides, the song's more about a guy's drinking problem and everything that's dragged him down than just about a woman. Oh, and just for information, the girl I was going out with was basically just using me to go to prom. The price of being trusting I guess.

So without any further ado, here's a rough sketch of how to play the song on the guitar.


Ball and Chain
By Social Distortion
From the Social Distortion album


Intro, chorus, bridges, everything:
D A G D

The song really is quite easy to play. The timing of the rhythm section is not tough to get down, and the solos seem to be roughly built on a pentatonic scale starting at the seventh fret.
For information on how to play these chords, I would suggest The Everything Guide to Guitar Chords.

If you have any questions regarding this, or have suggestions for more information to put here, let me know