Classic Blues Songs You Can Play on a D Harmonica: Full Guide
- Liam Ward

- Apr 15
- 3 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
A key of D harmonica has a bright, cutting range of notes and is used a lot in classic blues tracks because it can be used for the very common guitar key of A (confused?!... more on this below). For this reason, it has been used by great players like James Cotton and Junior Wells as well as many others.
This guide focuses specifically on real blues songs you can play using an D harp because the original recording used one. The list below is a great resource for finding great blues songs that you can use your D harp to play.
Using a Key of D harmonica for Blues Music
Most blues is played in 2nd position (cross harp). On a D harmonica, this means the key of A. To learn more, check out my Guide to Harmonica Positions.
I will indicate in the table below when the song is played in anything other than cross harp.

Classic Blues Songs Using a D Harmonica
Here is a list of more than 60 great blues songs by legendary blues harmonica players, all of which use a key of D harmonica:
Title | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|
All Night Long (Rock Me Baby) | Junior Wells | |
Allergic To Work | Pat Ramsey | |
Blow | George Smith | |
Blues Before Sunrise | Muddy Waters | |
Blues With A Feeling | Little Walter | |
Boogie Thing | The James Cotton Band | |
Brave Woman | Paul deLay | |
Broke & Hungry | William Clarke | |
Born in Chicago | Paul Butterfield | |
Built for Comfort | Howlin' Wolf | |
Champagne & Reefer | Muddy Waters | |
Checkin' Up On My Baby | Junior Wells | |
Chitlin Con Carne | Junior Wells | |
Come On In This House | Junior Wells | |
Come On With It | The Paul deLay Band | |
Could We Just Shoot Your Husband | The Paul deLay Band | |
Crawling King Snake | Muddy Waters | |
Cut That Out | Junior Wells | |
Deal The Cards | William Clarke | |
Dealin' with the Devil | James Cotton | |
Don’t Shame Me | The Paul deLay Band | |
Done with the Devil | Jason Ricci & New Blood | |
Early in the Morning | John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson | |
Eyesight to the Blind | Sonny Boy Williamson II | |
Forty Days & Forty Nights | Muddy Waters | |
Good Things | George "Harmonica" Smith | |
Goin' Down Slow | Howlin' Wolf | |
Harpoon Man | Paul deLay | |
Hate to See You Go | Paul Butterfield | |
Hear Me Talkin' | Charlie Musselwhite | |
Honey Bee | Muddy Waters | |
Hoodoo Man Blues | Junior Wells | |
I Ain’t Got You | Sugar Blue | (3rd position) |
I Turned Into a Martian | Jason Ricci & New Blood | |
Icepick’s Confession | James Harman | |
It’s All Right Now | James Harman | |
It’s Gettin’ Warm in Here | Charlie Musselwhite | |
It Hurts Me Too | Paul Butterfield | |
Just A Dream | Billy Boy Arnold | |
Just to Be With You | Sugar Blue | |
Keep It to Yourself | Sonny Boy Williamson II | |
Killing Floor | Howlin' Wolf | |
Learn to Treat Me Right | Kim Wilson | |
Little Car Blues | James Cotton | (outro A harp 1st position by Junior Wells/Carey Bell?) |
Louisiana Blues | Muddy Waters | |
Mannish Boy | Muddy Waters | |
Mellow Down Easy | Little Walter | |
Miss You | Sugar Blue | (same key for original by Rolling Stones) |
One More Mile to Go | Sugar Blue | |
One Way Out | Sonny Boy Williamson II | |
Orange Dude Blues | Annie Raines & John Sebastian | (D and low D harp duet) |
Out Till Dawn | Sugar Blue | (3rd position) |
Pistol in Your Face | Charlie Musselwhite | |
Ptryptophan Pterodactyl | Jason Ricci & New Blood | (3rd position) |
Shelby County Blues | Charlie Musselwhite | |
Shoulda Kept On Runnin' | William Clarke | |
Skinny Woman | Sonny Boy Williamson I | |
Sloppy Drunk | Jimmy Rogers | |
So All Alone | William Clarke | |
Stop Breaking Down | John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson | |
Stop Your Groanin' | The Paul deLay Band | |
Sugar Mama Blues | John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson | |
Telephone Blues | Bacon Fat | |
The Harmonica Man | Billy Branch & The Sons of Blues | |
Walkin' Blues | The Butterfield Blues Band | |
Walking By Myself | Big Walter Horton | |
Wealthy Man | The Paul deLay Band | |
What I'd Say (It's All Right) | Buddy Guy (feat. Junior Wells) | (3rd position) Last Time Around - Live at Legends album |
What's Coming Next | Paul deLay |
I hope this table has helped you to find some great blues harmonica songs to play!
Also check out the following guides:
Want to Learn Blues Harmonica Properly?
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These are the exact skills behind players like James Cotton and Junior Wells - and I even teach specific songs played by these guys and many more.
If you're serious about improving, click to start your free trial today.




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