Skip to song content
Chordier homepage
14,015 TRANSITIONS ANALYZED#1 at 23%: Which Transition?The 100 most repeated chord transitions extracted from thousands of songs. Even the first 10 will transform your guitar practice routine.

Paul Simon - American Tune Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsC, F, Dm, G, E, Am, E7, D
Strumming↓-↓↓↑

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

CMany’sCtheFtimeCI’veDmbeenCmistaken,
AndAmmanyE7times Amconfused.
CYes,andI’veFoftenDmfeltCforsaken,
AmAnd E7certainly Ammisused.
Oh,butFI’m Galright,I’mFalright,
I’mjustFwearyGtoEmyE7bones.
FStill,youGdon’texpecttobeCbrightandDbonvivant,
SofarFawayGfromEhome,
DmSoCfar GawayfromChome
CIdon’tknowFasoulCwhoseDmnotCbeenGbattered,
Idon’thaveaAmfriendwhoE7feelsatAmease,
CIdon’tknowaFdreamCwhoseDmnotCbeenGshattered,
OrAmdrivenE7toitsAmknees.
Oh,butIt’sFalright,It’sFalright,
ForweFlivedGsoEwellsoE7long.
FStillGwhenIthinkoftheCroadGwe’reDtravelingGon,
IFwonderCwhat’sGgoneEwrong.
IDmcan’thelpbutCwonderGwhat’sgoneCwrong
AndICdreamIwasdying,
IdreamedthatmyGsoulrose Amunexpectedly,
AndGlookingbackFdownatCmesmiled Greassuringly.
AndICdreamedIwasflying,
AndhighupaboveGmyeyescouldAmclearlysee
TheStatueofGLiberty,Fsailing CawaytoGsea,
AndIdreamedIwasCflying.
WecomeontheFshipCtheyDmcallCthe GMayflower,
WecomeontheAmshipthatE7sailedtheAmmoon.
CWecomeintheFage’sDmmostCunccertainAmhours,
AndsinganE7AmericanAmTune.
Oh,andit’sFalright,it’sFalright,
YoucanFbe GforeverE7blessed.
FStill Gtomorrow’sgonnabe CanotherDworkingGday,
AndI’mFtryingtoCgetGsomeErest,
DmThat’sallI’mCtrying,toGgetsomeCrest.
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.
ArtistPaul Simon
AlbumThere Goes Rhymin' Simon
GenresFolk, Folk Rock, Rock
Year1973
KeyC
DifficultyIntermediate

How to play American Tune on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Paul Simon - American Tune 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.

American Tune uses these transitions most often: C → G (18), F → C (14), and G → E (11). 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 C - F chord transition.

1. C → F chord transition

Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram

Here's how to move from C to F:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 9 times.

C to F

2. C → Dm chord transition

Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram

Switching from C to Dm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

C to Dm

3. C → G chord transition

Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram

To move from C to G:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 18 times.

C to G

4. G → E chord transition

Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram
Guitar E chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-1-0-0Guitar E chord diagram

Here's how to move from G to E:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 11 times.

G to E

5. E → Am chord transition

To move from E to Am:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 5 times.

6. Am → E7 chord transition

Here's how to move from Am to E7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

7. Am → C chord transition

Switching from Am to C:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

8. Am → F chord transition

Switching from Am to F:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

9. F → G chord transition

To move from F to G:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 9 times.

10. E → E7 chord transition

Switching from E to E7:

  1. While playing E, lift your ring finger from D string fret 2.
  2. Keep index finger on G string fret 1.
  3. Keep middle finger on A string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

11. E7 → F chord transition

Here's how to move from E7 to F:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

12. C → D chord transition

To move from C to D:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

13. D → G chord transition

Switching 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.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

14. E → Dm chord transition

To move from E to Dm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

15. G → Am chord transition

Here's how to move from G to Am:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

American Tune chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in American Tune.

  • American Tune includes 135 chord transitions, 15 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.04% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • American Tune contains 7 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how American Tune connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After C, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (35%), F (16%), and D (11%).
    • C → G: 35%
    • C → F: 16%
    After G, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (25%), D (24%), and Am (13%).
    • G → C: 25%
    • G → D: 24%
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.