Chan Chan Chords

Easy tutorial for beginners with some explanations, the tab, the lyrics and the chords to play Chan Chan by Compay Segundo and Buenavista Social Club on guitar.

Chan Chan with chords

The three verses are played in the same way.

So we will only look at chorus and verse 1.

Chords of Chan Chan

Here are the four chords you need to know to play the Buenavista Social Club song :

chan chan chords

When this positions are ready, you can follow the tabs to play this music.

Chorus of the song

Chan Chan start by the chorus. To play it, you need to know the previous chords and follow the next tab by three time :

Remember that the chords are written above the lyrics so that you can play them at the right time. Therefore, it’s better to play while singing. Chords that are to the right of a phrase (not above a word) are played between the two phrases.

chan chan guitar
Tab text
Am C
De Alto Cedro voy para Marcané
Bø E
Llego a Cueto, voy para Mayarí

Verse 1 of the music

To play the verse, you don’t have to know any other chords. Just follow :

guitar chords
Tab text
Am C
El cariño que te tengo
Bø E
No te lo puedo negar
Am C
Se me sale la babita
Bø E
Yo no lo puedo evitar

The other verses are played in the same way.

If you want, you can go on and play other famous latin music like Guantanamera. Find also all our guitar chords.

Chan Chan video with tab

Chan Chan lyrics

The song Chan Chan by Buenavista Social Club is composed of three verses and a chorus.

The structure of the lyrics is simple :

Chorus – Verse 1 – Verse 2 – Verse 3 – Chorus

Chorus

De Alto Cedro voy para Marcané
Llego a Cueto, voy para Mayarí

Verse 1

El cariño que te tengo
No te lo puedo negar
Se me sale la babita
Yo no lo puedo evitar

Verse 2

Cuando Juanica y Chan Chan
En el mar cernían arena
Como sacudía el jibe
A Chan Chan le daba pena

Verse 3

Limpia el camino de pajas
Que yo me quiero sentar
En aquel tronco que veo
Y así no puedo llegar

Chorus

Before start playing, don’t forget to tune guitar.

Easy PDF score to play Chan Chan on guitar

The following score is a PDF “home-made” easy score for beginners that we created according to the above frameworks and explanations.

This score summarizes everything we just covered. You can download it for free to play the Chan Chan by Compay Segundo on guitar.