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Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsDm, C, Bb, A, A7, F
Strumming↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑

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

  • Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm 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 A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram
  • Guitar A7 chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-0-2-0Guitar A7 chord diagram
  • Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram

[Opening]
[Dm]You get a shiver in the dark,
It’s a [C]raining in the [Bb]park but mean[A]time [A7] [A]
[Dm]South of the river you [C]stop and you hold every[Dm]thing [A7] [A]
[F]A band is blowing Dixie, double [C]four time
[Bb]You feel alright when you hear the music [Dm]ring [Bb] [C]

[verse 2]
Well now you [Dm]step inside but you [C]don’t see [Bb]too many [A]faces [A7]
[Dm]Coming in out of the [C]rain they hear the [Bb]jazz go [A]down [A7]
[F]Competition in other [C]places
Uh [Bb]but the horns they blowin’ that [Dm]sound
[Bb] [C]Way on downsouth
[Bb] [C]Way on downsouth London town

[verse 3]
Check out [Dm]guitar george, [C]he knows [Bb]all the [Dm]chords [A7]
[Dm]Mind he’s strictly rhythm
He doesn’t [C]want to make them [Bb]cry or [A]sing [A7] [A]
[F]They said an old guitar is [C]all he can afford
[Bb]When he gets up under the lights to play his [Dm]thing [Bb] [C]

[verse 4]
And [Dm]Harry doesn’t [C]mind, if [Bb]he doesn’t [A]make the scene [A7] [A]
[Dm]He’s got a [C]daytime [Bb]job, he’s doing al[A]right [A7] [A]
[F]He can play the honky tonk like any[C]thing
[Bb]Savin’ it up, for Friday [Dm]night

[verse 5]
[Bb] [C]With the Sultans
[Bb] [C]We’re the Sultans of Swing

[verse 6]
[Dm]Then a crowd a young boys they’re a [C]foolin’ a[Bb]round in the [A]corner [A7] [A]
[Dm]Drunk and dressed in their best brown [C]baggies
And their [Bb]platform [Dm]soles [A7] [A]
[F]They don’t give a damn about any [C]trumpet playin’ band
[Bb]It ain’t what they call rock and [Dm]roll

[verse 7]
[Bb] [C]Then the Sultans, [Bb] [C]Yeah the Sultans they play creole, creole
[Dm]And then the man he [C]steps right [Bb]up to the [A]microphone
[Dm]And says at [C]last just as the [Bb]time bell [A]rings [A7] [A]
[F]Goodnight, now it’s [C]time to go home
[Bb]And he makes it fast with one [Dm]more thing

[Closing]
[Bb] [C]We are the Sultans
[Bb] [C]We are the Sultans of [Dm]Swing

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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.
ArtistDire Straits
AlbumSingle
GenresRock
Year1977
KeyDm

How to play Sultans of Swing on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing on guitar requires 6 chords and 10 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.

Sultans of Swing uses these transitions most often: C → Bb (21), Dm → C (12), and Bb → C (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 Dm - C chord transition.

1. Dm → C chord transition

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

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.
Dm 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 → A chord transition

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

To move from Bb to A;

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

4. A → A7 chord transition

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

To move from A to A7;

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

5. A → Dm chord transition

To move from A to Dm;

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

6. Dm → A7 chord transition

To move from Dm to A7;

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

7. A → F chord transition

To move from A to F;

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

8. F → C chord transition

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.

9. Bb → Dm chord transition

To move from Bb to Dm;

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

10. A7 → F chord transition

To move from A7 to F;

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

Sultans of Swing chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Sultans of Swing.

  • Sultans of Swing includes 110 chord transitions, 10 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.03% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Sultans of Swing contains 1 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Sultans of Swing 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 → Dm: 5%
    • C → Bb: 2%
    After Bb, the most likely next chords across Chordier are F (34%), C (20%), and Dm (9%).
    • Bb → C: 20%
    • Bb → Dm: 9%
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.