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.

Richard Thompson - Keep Your Distance Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsF, C, Bb, Dm
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 A,D,G keys to play this song with easier chords.

  • Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram
  • Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
  • Guitar A# | B♭ chord diagram Fingering: x-1-3-3-3-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar A# | B♭ chord diagram
  • Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram

[Opening]
[F] [C] [Bb] [F]
If I [F]cross your path a[F]gain who knows [F]where who knows [Bb]when
On some [F]morning without [F]number on some [Bb]highway without [Bb]end [C]
Don’t [F]grasp my hand and [F]say fate has [F]brought you here [Bb]today
For [F]fate is only [C]fooling with us [Bb]friend [C]

[chorus]
[F]Keep your [Bb]distance [Bb]keep your [F]distance [F]
[Dm]When I feel you [C]close to me what [Bb]can I do but [C]fall
Keep your [Bb]distance [Bb]keep your [F]distance [Bb]
With [F]us it must be [C]all or none at [Bb]all [C] [F]

[Closing]
[F] [C] [Bb] [F]
It’s a [F]desperate game we [F]play, throw our [F]souls our lives a[Bb]way
[F]Wounds that can’t be [F]mended and [Bb]debts that can’t be [Bb]paid [C]
Oh I [F]played and I got [F]stung now I’m [F]biting back my [Bb]tongue
I’m [F]sweeping out the [C]footprints where I [Bb]strayed [C]

[chorus]
[F]Keep your [Bb]distance [Bb]keep your [F]distance [F]
[Dm]When I feel you [C]close to me what [Bb]can I do but [C]fall
Keep your [Bb]distance [Bb]keep your [F]distance [Bb]
With [F]us it must be [C]all or none at [Bb]all [C]

[chorus]
[F]Keep your [Bb]distance [Bb]keep your [F]distance [F]
[Dm]When I feel you [C]close to me what [Bb]can I do but [C]fall
Keep your [Bb]distance [Bb]keep your [F]distance [Bb]
With [F]us it must be [C]all or none at [Bb]all [C] [F] [C]
With [F]us it must be [C]all or none at [Bb]all [C] [Bb] [F]

Report Error
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.
ArtistRichard Thompson
AlbumRumor and Sigh
GenresFolk, Folk Rock, Rock
Year1991
KeyF

How to play Keep Your Distance on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Richard Thompson - Keep Your Distance on guitar requires 4 chords and 5 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.

Keep Your Distance uses these transitions most often: Bb → F (16), C → Bb (15), and F → Bb (12). 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 F - C chord transition.

1. F → C chord transition

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

To move from F to C;

  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 B string fret 1.
  3. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to D string fret 2.
  4. Keep ring finger on A string fret 3.
F to C

2. C → Bb chord transition

Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
Guitar A# | B♭ chord diagram Fingering: x-1-3-3-3-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar A# | B♭ chord diagram

To move from C to Bb;

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

3. Bb → F chord transition

Guitar A# | B♭ chord diagram Fingering: x-1-3-3-3-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar A# | B♭ chord diagram
Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram

To move from Bb to F;

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

4. F → Dm chord transition

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

To move from F to Dm;

  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 E string fret 1.
  3. Keep middle finger on G string fret 2.
  4. Slide your ring finger from A string fret 3 to B string fret 3.
F to Dm

5. Dm → C chord transition

To move from Dm to C;

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

Keep Your Distance chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Keep Your Distance.

  • Keep Your Distance includes 77 chord transitions, 5 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Keep Your Distance contains 1 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Keep Your Distance connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After F, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (40%), G (21%), and Am (11%).
    • F → C: 40%
    • F → Dm: 5%
    After Bb, the most likely next chords across Chordier are F (34%), C (20%), and Dm (9%).
    • Bb → F: 34%
    • Bb → C: 20%
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.