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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.

Ry Cooder - How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsG, D7, D, G7, C, Am
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

Before you play, tune your guitar and use the tools below to set up your view and flow. Using the Transpose tool, switch to D key to play this song with easier chords.

GD7GG
Well,thedoctorcomes DaroundwithhisfaceallGbrightG
AndheGsays,“InalittleGwhileyou’llbeallDright!”D7
Well,allheGgivesisahumbugG7pill
DoseofCdopeandagreatbigAmbill
Tellme,GhowcanapoormanD7standsuchtimesandGlive?G
GThereoncewasatimewhenDeverythingwasGcheap
ButnowGpricesnearlyGputsamantoDsleepD7
WhenweGgetourgroceryG7bill
WejustCfeellikemakingourAmwill
Tellme,GhowcanapoormanD7standsuchtimesandGlive?G
GDGGGDD7GG7CAmGD7GG
WellIrememberwhendryDgoodswascheapasGdirtG
YoucouldGtaketwobitsandGbuyadandyDshirtD7
NowweGpaythreebucksorG7more
MaybegetaCshirtthatanothermanAmwore
Tellme,GhowcanapoormanD7standsuchtimesandGlive?G
MostpreacherswelltheypreachforDgoldandnotforGsoulG
Well,that’swhatGkeepsuspoorfolksalwaysinaDholeD7
Now,wecanGhardlygetourG7breath
TaxedandCschooledandpreachedtoAmdeath
Tellme,GhowcanapoormanD7standsuchtimesandGlive?G
Tellme,GhowcanapoormanD7standsuchtimesandGlive?G
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.
ArtistRy Cooder
AlbumRy Cooder
GenresRock
Year1970
KeyG
DifficultyIntermediate

How to play How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live? on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Ry Cooder - How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live? on guitar requires 6 chords and 7 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.

How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live? uses these transitions most often: D7 → G (12), G → D (10), and G → D7 (7). 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 G - D7 chord transition.

1. G → D7 chord transition

Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram
Guitar D7 chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-1-2Guitar D7 chord diagram

Here's how to move from G to D7:

  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 G string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger on E string from fret 3 to fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 7 times.

G to D7

2. G → D chord transition

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

Switching from G to D:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 10 times.

G to D

3. D → D7 chord transition

Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram
Guitar D7 chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-1-2Guitar D7 chord diagram

Here's how to move from D to D7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 5 times.

D to D7

4. G → G7 chord transition

Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram
Guitar G7 chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-1Guitar G7 chord diagram

Here's how to move from G to G7:

  1. Keep index finger on A string fret 2.
  2. Keep middle finger on E string fret 3.
  3. Slide your ring finger on E string from fret 3 to fret 1.

This transition appears in the verse, played 5 times.

G to G7

5. G7 → C chord transition

Switching from G7 to C:

  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 1 and place it on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 5 times.

6. C → Am chord transition

Switching from C to Am:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 5 times.

7. Am → G chord transition

Here's how to move from Am 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 G string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 5 times.

How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live? chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?.

  • How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live? includes 59 chord transitions, 7 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live? contains 2 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live? connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After G, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (25%), D (24%), and Am (13%).
    • G → D: 24%
    • G → G7: 2%
    After D7, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (51%), G7 (18%), and C (6%).
    • D7 → G: 51%
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.