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Lonnie Donegan - My Old Man’s a Dustman Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsG, D, Em, A7, D7, G7, C, F, E
Strumming↓-↓↑-↓-↓↑-↓↑↓↑

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

  • 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
  • Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram
  • Guitar A7 chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-0-2-0Guitar A7 chord diagram
  • Guitar D7 chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-1-2Guitar D7 chord diagram
  • Guitar G7 chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-1Guitar G7 chord diagram
  • 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
  • Guitar E chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-1-0-0Guitar E chord diagram

[Opening]
Now [G]here’s a [D]little [Em]story to [A7]tell it is a [D7]must
[G]About an [D]unsung [Em]hero that [A7]moves away your [D7]dust
Some [A7]people make a [D7]fortune [A7]other’s earn a [D7]mint
[A7]My old man don’t earn much, in [D7]fact [A7]he’s flippin’ [D7]skint

[verse 2]
[D7]Oh! my [G]old man’s a dustman he wears a dustman’s hat [D7]
He wears cor blimey trousers and he lives in a council [G]flat
He looks a proper narner in his great [G7]big hob nailed [C]boots
He’s [D7]got such a job to pull em up that he calls them daisy [G]roots

[verse 3]
[G]Some folks give tips at Christmas and some of them [D7]forget
So when he picks their bins up he spills some on the [G]steps
Now one old man got nasty and [G7]to the council [C]wrote
Next [D7]time my old man went ’round there he punched him up the [G]throat
[G](spoken) I say I say Lez! I ‘er, I found a police dog in my dustbin
(How do you know he’s a police dog?) He had a policeman with him !!

[verse 4]
[G]Though my old man’s a dustman he’s got a heart of [D7]gold
He got married recently though he’s 86 years [D7]old
We said ‘Ere! Hang on Dad you’re [G7]getting past your [C]prime’
He said ‘ [D7]Well when you get to my age it helps to pass the [G]time’

[verse 5]
[G](spoken) I say I say I say! My dustbins full of lillies
(Well throw ’em away then) I can’t Lilly’s wearing them !!

[verse 6]
Now [G]one day while in a hurry he missed a lady’s [D7]bin
He hadn’t gone but a few yards when she chased after [G]him
‘What game do you think you’re playing’ she [G7]cried right from the [C]heart
[D7]’You’ve missed me, am I too late?’ ‘No jump up on the [G]cart’
[G](spoken) I say I say I say (What you again!) My dustbin’s absolutely full with toadstools
(How do you know it’s full) ‘Cos there’s not “mush room” inside !!

[Closing]
He [G]found a tiger’s head one day, nailed to a piece of [D7]wood
The tiger looked quite miserable but I suppose it [G]should
Just then from out a window, a [G7]voice began to [C]wail
[D7]He said (Oi! Where’s me tiger head) Four foot from it’s [G]tail!!
Next time you see a dustman [G7]looking all pale and [C]sad
Don’t [D7]kick him in the dustbin it might be my old [G]dad [F] [E] [D] [D] [F] [G]

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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.
ArtistLonnie Donegan
AlbumSingle
GenresFolk
Year1960
KeyG

How to play My Old Man's a Dustman on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Lonnie Donegan - My Old Man's a Dustman on guitar requires 9 chords and 13 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 Old Man's a Dustman uses these transitions most often: D7 → G (12), A7 → D7 (6), and C → D7 (6). 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 - D chord transition.

1. 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

To move 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.
G to D

2. D → Em chord transition

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

To move from D to Em;

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

3. Em → A7 chord transition

Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram
Guitar A7 chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-0-2-0Guitar A7 chord diagram

To move from Em to A7;

  1. While playing Em, lift your ring finger from D string fret 2.
  2. Lift your middle finger from A string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 2.
  3. Place index finger on D string fret 2.
Em to A7

4. A7 → D7 chord transition

Guitar A7 chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-0-2-0Guitar A7 chord diagram
Guitar D7 chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-1-2Guitar D7 chord diagram

To move from A7 to D7;

  1. Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from B string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
  3. Place ring finger on E string fret 2.
A7 to D7

5. D7 → G chord transition

To move from D7 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 G string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Slide your ring finger on E string from fret 2 to fret 3.

6. G → G7 chord transition

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.

7. G7 → C chord transition

To move 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.

8. C → D7 chord transition

To move from C to D7;

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

9. D7 → G7 chord transition

To move from D7 to G7;

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

10. G → F chord transition

To move from G to F;

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

11. F → E chord transition

To move from F to E;

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

12. E → D chord transition

To move from E to D;

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

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 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 A string fret 3.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 3.

My Old Man's a Dustman chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in My Old Man's a Dustman.

  • My Old Man's a Dustman includes 56 chord transitions, 13 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.01% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • My Old Man's a Dustman contains 3 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how My Old Man's a Dustman 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 → F: 9%
    After D7, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (51%), G7 (18%), and C (6%).
    • D7 → G: 51%
    • D7 → G7: 18%
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.