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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 - Understand Your Man Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsC, Am, F, G, D, G7, C7, Fm
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

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

CAmFG
CDon’tcallmynameoutyourAmwindow,I’mleaving
FIwon’teventurnmyGhead
CDon’tsentyourkinfolktoAmgivemenotalking
DI’llbegonelikeIG7said
CYou’djustsaythesameoldthingsthatC7youbeensayingallalong
FLaythereinyourbedandkeepyourFmmouthshuttillI’mgone
CDon’tgivemethatoldfamiliarAmcryandfussandmoan
FUnderstandyourCman
I’mtiredofyourAmbadmouthing
FUnderstandyourCman
CAmFGCAmDG7
CYoucangivemyothersuitstotheAmSalvationArmy
FAndeverythingelseIleave Gbehind
CIain’ttakingnothingthat’llAmslowdownmytraveling
DWhileI’muntanglingmyGmind
CIain’tgonnarepeatwhatIC7saidanymore
FWhileI’mbreathingairthatain’tbeenFmbreathedbefore
CI’llbeasgoneastheAmwildgooseinwinter
FThenyou’ll G7understandyourCman
AmMeditateonit
FUnderstandyourCman
YouhearmeAmtalking,honey?
FUnderstandyourCman
HearwhatIAmtoldyou?
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
AlbumI Walk the Line
GenresCountry, Folk
Year1964
KeyC
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play Understand Your Man on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Johnny Cash - Understand Your Man on guitar requires 8 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.

Understand Your Man uses these transitions most often: C → Am (13), Am → F (9), and G7 → C (7). 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 C - Am chord transition.

1. C → Am chord transition

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

Here's how to move from C to Am:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 13 times.

C to Am

2. Am → F chord transition

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

Here's how to move from Am to F:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 9 times.

Am to F

3. F → G chord transition

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

To move from F to G:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.

F to G

4. G → C chord transition

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

To move from G 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 3 and place it on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 5 times.

G to C

5. Am → D chord transition

To move from Am to D:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

6. D → G7 chord transition

To move from D to G7:

  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 1.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

7. G7 → C chord transition

Here's how 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.

This transition appears in the verse, played 7 times.

8. C → C7 chord transition

Switching from C to C7:

  1. Keep index finger on B string fret 1.
  2. Keep middle finger on D string fret 2.
  3. Keep ring finger on A string fret 3.
  4. Place pinky on G string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

9. C7 → F chord transition

Switching from C7 to F:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

10. F → Fm chord transition

Switching from F to Fm:

  1. While playing F, lift your middle finger from G string fret 2.
  2. Keep index finger on E string fret 1.
  3. Keep ring finger on A string fret 3.
  4. Keep pinky on D string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

11. Fm → C chord transition

Switching from Fm to C:

  1. While playing Fm, 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. Keep ring finger on A string fret 3.
  4. Place middle finger on D string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

12. F → G7 chord transition

Here's how to move from F to G7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 5 times.

13. D → G chord transition

Switching 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.

Understand Your Man chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Understand Your Man.

  • Understand Your Man includes 57 chord transitions, 13 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.01% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Understand Your Man contains 4 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Understand Your Man 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 → Am: 10%
    • C → C7: 2%
    After Am, the most likely next chords across Chordier are F (26%), G (21%), and C (16%).
    • Am → F: 26%
    • Am → D: 7%
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.