How to Play "Open Season On My Heart" Guitar chords
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[Intro]
Cmaj7 F Fm6 Cmaj7 F Fm6
[Verse 1]
C Cmaj7
Here's to the corners yet to turn
F Fm6
Here's to the bridges yet to burn
C D7
Here's to the whole thing blown apart
F G7 C
It's open season on my heart
[Verse 2]
C Cmaj7
The days go by like flying bricks
F Fm6
Leave gaping holes too deep to fix
C D7
I'd just stay home, if I were smart
F G7 C
It's open season on my heart
[Bridge]
F Em
I can't blame anyone, but me
G7 C
For this restless fool I've come to be
F Em
My tired excuses just don't fit
Dm7 G
It don't look good from where I sit
[Verse 3]
C Cmaj7
I've tried to change without much luck
F Fm6
I reach a point where I get stuck
C D7
I hit the streets and the fireworks start
F G7 C
It's open season on my heart
[Interlude]
Cmaj7 F Fm6 C
D7 F G7 C
[Bridge]
F Em
I can't be something that I'm not
G7 C
I can't give you what I haven't got
F Em
I don't know where or why or when
Dm7 G
I only know the shape I'm in
[Verse 4]
C Cmaj7
Here's to the clown down in the mouth
F Fm6
Here's to the whole thing going south
C D7
My own true love′s turned poison dart
F G7 C
It's open season on my heart
[Guitar Solo]
Cmaj7 F Fm6
[Outro]
C D7
Here′s turning heartaches into art
F G7 C Cmaj7 F Fm6 C
It's open season on my heart
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How to play "Open Season On My Heart" {Chords} on acoustic guitar.
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Song Overview:
Key: C Major
Capo: None
Difficulty: Intermediate
Chords Used:
- Cmaj7 (x32000)
- F (133211) or easy F (x33211)
- Fm6 (xx0111)
- C (x32010)
- D7 (xx0212)
- G7 (320001)
- Em (022000)
- Dm7 (xx0211)
- G (320003)
Alternative suggestions:
- Replace F with Fmaj7 (x33210) for an easier, sweeter sound.
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Strumming Pattern:
- Down Down Down Pause
Tempo: 74 bpm.
Imagine a tired man tapping his foot slowly, heavy-hearted.
Strumming feels plodding, dragging like a reluctant goodbye.
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Sections Breakdown:
Intro:
- Cmaj7 - F - Fm6
- Cmaj7 - F - Fm6
- Play tender, like smoothing wrinkles on old paper.
Verse 1:
- C - Cmaj7 - F - Fm6 - C - D7 - F - G7 - C
- Light strums, let Cmaj7 sparkle, Fm6 sounds almost broken.
- After "open season on my heart," let last C ring quietly.
Verse 2:
- Same as Verse 1.
- Maybe pick individual notes on C to sound more shattered.
Bridge 1:
- F - Em - G7 - C - F - Em - Dm7 - G
- Strumming rises a little.
- Emphasize G7; it's the regret chord.
Verse 3:
- Return to soft, dragging strums.
- C - Cmaj7 - F - Fm6 - C - D7 - F - G7 - C
- Let "fireworks start" have a tiny snap to the strum.
Interlude:
- Cmaj7 - F - Fm6 - C - D7 - F - G7 - C
- Like a sigh between chapters.
Bridge 2:
- F - Em - G7 - C - F - Em - Dm7 - G
- Same musical line as Bridge 1.
- Emphasize the loneliness in "I can't be something I'm not."
Verse 4:
- C - Cmaj7 - F - Fm6 - C - D7 - F - G7 - C
- Play Cmaj7 sweeter; it's the sad acceptance verse.
Solo:
- Cmaj7 - F - Fm6
- Keep it minimal, just let chords hum.
Outro:
- C - D7 - F - G7 - C
- Stretch final C, almost to breaking.
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Common Mistakes:
- Sloppy transitions from F to Fm6.
- Forgetting to pause after third down strum.
- Playing too fast; song should feel like time slowing down.
- Overstrumming the Cmaj7; it needs air, not force.
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General Tips:
- Tune to standard EADGBE.
- No capo needed.
- Use a thumb pick for vintage country feel if you like.
- Guitar with rich mids (like a Martin) sounds amazing here.
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Song Facts:
"Open Season On My Heart" shows Willie Nelson aging in public,
but not as a grand legend — just a worn-out man with regrets.
This song was featured on his 2025 album *Oh What A Beautiful World*,
an album dripping with melancholy but glinting with tiny joys.
Every line here feels lived, not imagined.
First verse toasts to mistakes not yet made but inevitable.
Second verse details exhaustion:
time leaves wounds, no chance to heal them all.
First bridge is brutal honesty:
blame yourself, but it changes nothing.
Third verse reveals self-destruction;
knowing you're doomed but doing it anyway.
Second bridge exposes inability to change.
Final verse wraps all sorrow in resignation.
Ending isn't triumph. It's surrender.
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Song Meaning:
At its core, "Open Season On My Heart" is about self-sabotage.
You know you're hurting. You can't stop.
You wish you could — but you can't.
Verse 1: Anticipation of failure; almost inviting disaster.
Verse 2: Deep wounds from life’s battering.
Bridge 1: Owning your failures, not forgiving them.
Verse 3: Attempts at change crumbling mid-journey.
Bridge 2: Admitting you are broken in ways love can't fix.
Verse 4: Watching everything rot despite hope.
The "open season" is not from others.
It’s an invitation to oneself to be hurt again and again.
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Comparisons to Previous Works:
Earlier Willie tracks like "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain"
showed sadness from loss.
But "Open Season" shows sadness from within.
No lost lover here. Only a lost self.
Compared to "Always On My Mind," where regret was apologetic,
here regret is inevitable, almost proud.
He's not asking for forgiveness anymore.
He knows he won't get it, and maybe doesn't deserve it.
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