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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.

Joan Baez - There But For Fortune Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsA, Dm, F#m, B, E7, D, Bm, C#m
Strumming↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑

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

  • Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram
  • Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram
  • Guitar F#m | G♭m chord diagram Fingering: 2-4-4-2-2-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar F#m | G♭m chord diagram
  • Guitar B chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-4-4-4-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar B chord diagram
  • Guitar E7 chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-0-1-0-0Guitar E7 chord diagram
  • Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram
  • Guitar Bm chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-4-4-3-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar Bm chord diagram
  • Guitar C#m | D♭m chord diagram Fingering: x-4-2-1-2-xGuitar C#m | D♭m chord diagram

[Opening]
[A] [Dm] [A] [Dm]
[A]Show me the [Dm]prison, [A]show me the [Dm]jail
[A]Show me the [F#m]prisoner, whose [B]life has gone [E7]stale
And I’ll [A]show you, young [F#m]man,
With so [D]many reasons [Bm]why
[C#m]There but for [F#m]fortune, go [B]you or [E7]I,
mh [A]mh [Dm] [A]

[verse 2]
[A]Show me the [Dm]alley, [A]show me the [Dm]train
[A]Show me the [F#m]hobo, who [B]sleeps out in the [E7]rain
And I’ll [A]show you, young [F#m]man,
With so [D]many reasons [Bm]why
[C#m]There but for [F#m]fortune, go [B]you or [E7]I,
mh [A]mh [Dm] [A]

[verse 3]
[A]Show me the [Dm]whiskey [A]stains on the [Dm]floor
[A]Show me the [F#m]drunkard, as he [B]stumbles out the [E7]door
And I’ll [A]show you, young [F#m]man
With so [D]many reasons [Bm]why
[C#m]There but for [F#m]fortune, go [B]you or [E7]I, mh [A]mh [Dm] [A]

[Closing]
[A]Show me the [Dm]country, where the [A]bombs had to [Dm]fall
[A]Show me the [F#m]ruins of the [B]buildings, once so [E7]tall
And I’ll [A]show you, young [F#m]land
With so [D]many reasons [Bm]why
[C#m]There but for [F#m]fortune, go [B]you and [E7]I,
you and [A]I
[A] [Dm] [A] [A]

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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.
ArtistJoan Baez
AlbumJoan Baez/5
GenresFolk
Year1965
KeyA

How to play There But For Fortune on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Joan Baez - There But For Fortune on guitar requires 8 chords and 9 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.

There But For Fortune uses these transitions most often: A → Dm (14), Dm → A (14), and A → F#m (8). 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 A - Dm chord transition.

1. A → Dm chord transition

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

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.
A to Dm

2. A → F#m chord transition

Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram
Guitar F#m | G♭m chord diagram Fingering: 2-4-4-2-2-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar F#m | G♭m chord diagram

To move from A to F#m;

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

3. F#m → B chord transition

Guitar F#m | G♭m chord diagram Fingering: 2-4-4-2-2-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar F#m | G♭m chord diagram
Guitar B chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-4-4-4-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar B chord diagram

To move from F#m to B;

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

4. B → E7 chord transition

Guitar B chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-4-4-4-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar B chord diagram
Guitar E7 chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-0-1-0-0Guitar E7 chord diagram

To move from B to E7;

  1. While playing B, first lift your ring finger and pinky.
  2. Lift your index finger from E string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 1.
  3. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 4 to A string fret 2.
B to E7

5. E7 → A chord transition

To move from E7 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. Place ring finger on B string fret 2.

6. F#m → D chord transition

To move from F#m to D;

  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 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger from A string fret 4 to B string fret 3.
  4. Place middle finger on E string fret 2.

7. D → Bm chord transition

To move from D to Bm;

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

8. Bm → C#m chord transition

To move from Bm to C#m;

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

9. C#m → F#m chord transition

To move from C#m to F#m;

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

There But For Fortune chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in There But For Fortune.

  • There But For Fortune includes 76 chord transitions, 9 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • There But For Fortune contains 1 of the top 25 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how There But For Fortune connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After A, the most likely next chords across Chordier are D (29%), G (13%), and E (12%).
    • A → F#m: 6%
    • A → Dm: 2%
    After Dm, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (18%), G (16%), and Am (14%).
    • Dm → A: 3%
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.