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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.

Johnny Cash - My Grandfather’s Clock Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsD, A7, G, E7, B7, Em, E, A, F#7, C#7, F#m
Strumming↓-↓↑

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

DTick,DTock,DTick,DTock,DTick,DTock,DTick,DTock
DMygrandfather’sA7clockwastooDlargefortheGshelf
SoitDstoodninetyA7yearsontheDfloor
ItwastallerbyA7half,thantheDoldman Ghimself
ThoughitDweighednotaA7penny-weightDmore.
ItwasDboughtonthemornoftheGdaythathewasDborn
AndwasDalwayshisE7treasureandA7pride
ButitDstoppedA7shortDnevertoB7go Emagain
WhentheDoldA7manDdied.
MyDgrandfatherA7saidthatofDthosehecouldhire
NotaDservantso A7faithfulheDfound
ForitwastednoA7timeandhadDbutone Gdesire
AttheDcloseofeachA7weektobeDwound
Anditkeptinits’placenotaGfrownuponits’Dface
Andits’handsneverE7hungbyitsA7side
ButitDstoppedA7shortDnevertoB7go Emagain
WhentheDoldA7manDdied.
ForitDstrucktwentyfourwhenheGenter’dattheDdoor
WithaDbloomingandE7beautifulbride
ButitDstoppedA7shortDnevertoB7go Emagain
WhentheDoldA7manDdied.
ItErangan B7alarmintheEdeadoftheAnight
An EalarmthatforB7yearshadbeenEdumb
AndweknewthathisB7spiritwasEplumingforAflight,
ThathisEhourfor B7departurehadEcome.
StilltheEclockkepttheEtime,withits’AsoftandmuffledEchimes
AsweEproudlyF#7stoodbyhisB7side
ButitEstoppedB7shortEnevertoC#7go F#magain
WhentheEoldB7manEdied.
ENinetyyearswithoutslumbering,E(Dahdahdahdah,dahdahdah!)
EHislifesecondsnumbering,E(Dahdahdahdah,dahdahdah!)
ItEstoppedB7shortEnevertoC#7go F#magain
WhentheEoldB7manEdied.
WhentheEoldB7manEdied.
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.
ArtistJohnny Cash
AlbumSongs of Our Soil. Evelyn Knight
GenresBlues, Country, Rockabilly
Year1959
KeyD
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play My Grandfather's Clock on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Johnny Cash - My Grandfather's Clock on guitar requires 11 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.

My Grandfather's Clock uses these transitions most often: A7 → D (17), D → A7 (14), and B7 → E (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 D - A7 chord transition.

1. D → A7 chord transition

Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram
Guitar A7 chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-0-2-0Guitar A7 chord diagram

Here's how to move from D to A7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 14 times.

D to A7

2. 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

Here's how 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.

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

D to G

3. D → E7 chord transition

Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram
Guitar E7 chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-0-1-0-0Guitar E7 chord diagram

To move from D to E7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

D to E7

4. E7 → A7 chord transition

Guitar E7 chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-0-1-0-0Guitar E7 chord diagram
Guitar A7 chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-0-2-0Guitar A7 chord diagram

Here's how to move from E7 to A7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

E7 to A7

5. D → B7 chord transition

To move from D to B7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

6. B7 → Em chord transition

To move from B7 to Em:

  1. While playing B7, first lift your index finger and pinky.
  2. Keep middle finger on A string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

7. Em → D chord transition

To move from Em to D:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

8. D → E chord transition

To move from D to E:

  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 A string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 3 and place it on D string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse.

9. E → B7 chord transition

Switching from E to B7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 9 times.

10. E → A chord transition

To move from E to A:

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 1 and place it on D string fret 2.
  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 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

11. E → F#7 chord transition

Here's how to move from E to F#7:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

12. F#7 → B7 chord transition

To move from F#7 to B7:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

13. E → C#7 chord transition

Here's how to move from E to C#7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

14. C#7 → F#m chord transition

To move from C#7 to F#m:

  1. While playing C#7, lift your middle finger from D string fret 3.
  2. Lift your index finger from B string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 2.
  3. Keep ring finger on A string fret 4.
  4. Slide your pinky from G string fret 4 to D string fret 4.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

15. F#m → E chord transition

Here's how to move from F#m to E:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

My Grandfather's Clock chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in My Grandfather's Clock.

  • My Grandfather's Clock includes 92 chord transitions, 15 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • My Grandfather's Clock contains 2 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how My Grandfather's Clock connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After D, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (29%), A (17%), and Em (17%).
    • D → G: 29%
    • D → E: 3%
    After E, the most likely next chords across Chordier are A (25%), D (14%), and B (11%).
    • E → A: 25%
    • E → B7: 0%
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.