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Train - 50 Ways to Say Goodbye Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsBm, Em, A, D, G, F#, C#, F
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

Before you play, tune your guitar and use the tools below to set up your view and flow.

  • Guitar Bm chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-4-4-3-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar Bm chord diagram
  • Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram
  • Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram
  • Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram
  • Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram
  • Guitar F# | G♭ chord diagram Fingering: 2-4-4-3-2-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar F# | G♭ chord diagram
  • Guitar C# | D♭ chord diagram Fingering: x-4-3-1-2-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar C# | D♭ chord diagram
  • Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram

[Opening]
[Bm] [Em] [A] [D] [G] [Em] [F#]
[Bm]My heart is [Em]paralyzed, [A]my head was [D]oversized
[G]I’ll take the [Em]high road like I [F#]should
[Bm]You said it’s [Em]meant to be, [A]that it’s not [D]you, it’s me
[G]You’re leaving [Em]now for my own [F#]good
That’s cool but if my, friends ask where you are I’m gonna say

[chorus]
She went [G]down in an airplane, [D]fried getting suntanned
[A]Fell in a cement [Bm]mixer full of [A]quicksand
[G]Help me, help me I’m no [D]good at [C#]goodbyes [F#]
She met a [G]shark underwater, [D]fell and no one caught her
[A]I returned [Bm]everything I ever [A]bought her
[G]Help me, help me I’m all [D]out of [F#]lies, and ways to say good bye

[verse 2]
[Bm] [Em] [A] [D] [G] [Em] [F#]
[Bm]My pride still [Em]feels the sting, [A]you were my [D]everything
[G]Someday I’ll [Em]find a love like [F#]yours (A love like your’s)
[Bm]She’ll think I’m [Em]Superman, [A]not super [D]minivan
[G]How could you [Em]leave on Yom [F#]Kippur
That’s cool but if my friends ask where you are I’m gonna say

[chorus]
She went [G]down in an airplane, [D]fried getting suntanned
[A]Fell in a cement [Bm]mixer full of [A]quicksand
[G]Help me, help me I’m no [D]good at [C#]goodbyes [F#]
She met a [G]shark underwater, [D]fell and no one caught her
[A]I returned [Bm]everything I ever [A]bought her
[G]Help me, help me I’m all [D]out of [F#]lies, and ways to say you died

[verse 3]
[Bm] [Em] [A] [D] [G] [Em] [F#] [F]
I [A]wanna live a thousand lives with you, I [G]wanna be the one you’re dying to
[A] [G]Love, but you don’t want to
[F#]That’s cool but if my friends ask where you are I’m gonna say
[F#]That’s cool but if my friends ask where you are I’m gonna say

[chorus]
She went [G]down in an airplane, [D]fried getting suntanned
[A]Fell in a cement [Bm]mixer full of [A]quicksand
[G]Help me, help me I’m no [D]good at [C#]goodbyes [F#]
She met a [G]shark underwater, [D]fell and no one caught her
[A]I returned [Bm]everything I ever [A]bought her
[G]Help me, help me I’m all [D]out of [F#]lies,

[Closing]
She was [G]caught in a mudslide, [D]eaten by a lion
[A]Got run over by a [Bm]crappy purple [A]Scion
[G]Help me, help me I’m no [D]good at [C#]goodbyes [F#]
She dried [G]up in the desert, [D]drowned in a hot tub
[A]Danced to death at an [Bm]east side [A]nightclub
[G]Help me, help me I’m all [D]out of [F#]lies, and ways to say you died
[F#] [D] [A] [G] [D] [A]

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SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookDiscover the most-used three-chord combinations in songs and build real command on guitar.
14,015 TRANSITIONS ANALYZED#1 at 23%: Which Transition?Master guitar today with the most repeated high-impact chord transitions.
ArtistTrain
AlbumCalifornia 37
GenresPop, Pop Rock, Rock
Year2012
KeyBm

How to play 50 Ways to Say Goodbye on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Train - 50 Ways to Say Goodbye on guitar requires 8 chords and 15 core chord transitions. You can find the full step-by-step guide below. Before you start, tune your instrument. The song uses the ↓-↓↑-↑↓↑ pattern; practice it muted first, or simplify to downstrokes while you learn the changes.

50 Ways to Say Goodbye uses these transitions most often: G → D (17), A → G (11), and D → A (10). These transitions may feel a little challenging at first, but with steady practice you can play this song quickly.When you are ready, begin with Bm - Em chord transition.

1. Bm → Em chord transition

Guitar Bm chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-4-4-3-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar Bm chord diagram
Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram

To move from Bm to Em;

  1. While playing Bm, first lift your index finger and pinky.
  2. Lift your middle finger from B string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger on D string from fret 4 to fret 2.
Bm to Em

2. Em → A chord transition

Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram
Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram

To move from Em to A;

  1. Lift your middle finger from A string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 2.
  2. Slide your ring finger from D string fret 2 to B string fret 2.
  3. Place index finger on D string fret 2.
Em to A

3. A → D chord transition

Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram
Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram

To move from A to D;

  1. Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to E string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger on B string from fret 2 to fret 3.
A to D

4. D → G chord transition

Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram
Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram

To move from D to G;

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 3.
D to G

5. G → Em chord transition

To move from G to Em;

  1. While playing G, lift your index finger from A string fret 2.
  2. Lift your middle finger from E string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger from E string fret 3 to D string fret 2.

6. Em → F# chord transition

To move from Em to F#;

  1. Lift your middle finger from A string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 3.
  2. Slide your ring finger from D string fret 2 to A string fret 4.
  3. Place index finger on E string fret 2.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 4.

7. F# → Bm chord transition

To move from F# to Bm;

  1. Keep index finger on E string fret 2.
  2. Lift your middle finger from G string fret 3 and place it on B string fret 3.
  3. Slide your ring finger from A string fret 4 to D string fret 4.
  4. Lift your pinky from D string fret 4 and place it on G string fret 4.

8. F# → G chord transition

To move from F# to G;

  1. While playing F#, lift your pinky from D string fret 4.
  2. Lift your index finger from E string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 2.
  3. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 3 to E string fret 3.
  4. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 4 and place it on E string fret 3.

9. A → Bm chord transition

To move from A to Bm;

  1. Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to B string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 4.
  4. Place pinky on G string fret 4.

10. A → G chord transition

To move from A to G;

  1. Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 3.

11. D → C# chord transition

To move from D to C#;

  1. Slide your index finger on G string from fret 2 to fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 2 to B string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 3 and place it on D string fret 3.
  4. Place pinky on A string fret 4.

12. C# → F# chord transition

To move from C# to F#;

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from B string fret 2 to G string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from D string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 4.
  4. Slide your pinky from A string fret 4 to D string fret 4.

13. D → F# chord transition

To move from D to F#;

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 2 to G string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 4.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 4.

14. F# → F chord transition

To move from F# to F;

  1. Slide your index finger on E string from fret 2 to fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger on G string from fret 3 to fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger on A string from fret 4 to fret 3.
  4. Slide your pinky on D string from fret 4 to fret 3.

15. F → A chord transition

To move from F to A;

  1. While playing F, lift your pinky from D string fret 3.
  2. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on D string fret 2.
  3. Keep middle finger on G string fret 2.
  4. Slide your ring finger from A string fret 3 to B string fret 2.

50 Ways to Say Goodbye chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in 50 Ways to Say Goodbye.

  • 50 Ways to Say Goodbye includes 127 chord transitions, 15 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.03% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • 50 Ways to Say Goodbye contains 2 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how 50 Ways to Say Goodbye connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After A, the most likely next chords across Chordier are D (29%), G (13%), and E (12%).
    • A → D: 29%
    • A → G: 13%
    After G, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (25%), D (24%), and Am (13%).
    • G → D: 24%
    • G → Em: 9%
SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookThe 200 most popular three-chord chains from real songs. See which songs use each chain and expand your repertoire with patterns that actually matter.