Skip to song content
Chordier homepage
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.

Marc Cohn - Walking in Memphis Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsG, C, Am, F, D, Dm, Em, F#m, A
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 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
  • Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram
  • Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram
  • Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram
  • Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em 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 A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram

[Opening]
[G] [C] [Am] [C] [Am] [F]
[C]Put on my blue suede [D]shoes, and I [C]boarded the plane [Am]
[Am]Touched down [C]in the land of the Delta Blues
[F]In the middle of the [C]pouring rain [Am] [F]

[verse 2]
W.C. [C]Handy , won’t you [F]look down [C]over me
[C]Yeah, I got a first class ticket
[F]But I’m as [C]blue as a boy can be

[chorus]
[C]Then I’m walking in [F]Memphis [G] [C]
[Am]Was [F]walking with my feet, ten feet off of [C]Beale
[Am]Walking [F]in [G]Memphis
[C]But do I really [Dm]feel the way I [C]feel [F] [Am]
[F]Saw the ghost of [Am]Elvis on [F]Union [C]Avenue
Followed him [F]up to the [C]gates of Graceland
Then I [F]watched him walk [C]right through

[verse 3]
Now [F]security they did not see [C]him
They just [F]hovered [G]’round his [C]tomb
[Dm]But there’s a [F]pretty little [G]thing, [C]waiting for the king
[F]Down in the Jungle Room

[chorus]
[C]Then I’m walking in [F]Memphis [G] [C]
[Am]Was [F]walking with my feet, ten feet off of [C]Beale
[Am]Walking [F]in [G]Memphis
[C]But do I really [Dm]feel the way I [C]feel [F] [Am]
[F]Saw the ghost of [Am]Elvis on [F]Union [C]Avenue
Followed him [F]up to the [C]gates of Graceland
Then I [F]watched him walk [C]right through

[verse 4]
[C]They’ve got [Am]catfish on the [C]table , they’ve got [Am]gospel in the [C]air
And Reverend [Em]Green, be [F]glad to see you
When you [F#m]haven’t got a [G]prayer
Boy, you got a prayer in [F]Memphis

[interlude]
[G] [C] [Am] [F] [C] [F]

[verse 5]
[G]Now Muriel, plays [C]piano [F]every Friday at the [C]Hollywood [Am]
[F]And they brought me down to [C]see [Dm]her and they [F]asked me if I [C]would
[F]Do a [G]little [C]number and I [F]sang with all [C]my might

[verse 6]
She [F]said, “Tell me are you a [C]Christian [Am]child?”
And I [C]said, “[Em]Ma’am, I am [C]tonight”

[chorus]
[C]Then I’m walking in [F]Memphis [G] [C]
[Am]Was [F]walking with my feet, ten feet off of [C]Beale
[Am]Walking [F]in [G]Memphis
[C]But do I really [Dm]feel the way I [C]feel [F] [Am]
[F]Saw the ghost of [Am]Elvis on [F]Union [C]Avenue
Followed him [F]up to the [C]gates of Graceland
Then I [F]watched him walk [C]right through

[chorus]
[C]Then I’m walking in [F]Memphis [G] [C]
[Am]Was [F]walking with my feet, ten feet off of [C]Beale
[Am]Walking [F]in [G]Memphis
[C]But do I really [Dm]feel the way I [C]feel [F] [Am]
[F]Saw the ghost of [Am]Elvis on [F]Union [C]Avenue
Followed him [F]up to the [C]gates of Graceland
Then I [F]watched him walk [C]right through

[verse 7]
[C]Put on my blue suede [D]shoes, and I [C]boarded the plane [Am]
[Am]Touched down [C]in the land of the Delta Blues
[F]In the middle of the [C]pouring rain [Am] [F]

[Closing]
[A]Touched down [C]in the land of the Delta Blues
[F]In the middle of the [C]pouring rain [Am] [F] [Am] [F] [C]

Report Error
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.
ArtistMarc Cohn
AlbumMarc Cohn
GenresCountry
Year1991
KeyG

How to play Walking in Memphis on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Marc Cohn - Walking in Memphis on guitar requires 9 chords and 14 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.

Walking in Memphis uses these transitions most often: F → C (32), C → F (29), and Am → F (23). 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 - C chord transition.

1. 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.
G to C

2. 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

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.
C to Am

3. 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

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.
Am to F

4. F → C chord transition

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

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.
F to C

5. C → D chord transition

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

6. F → G chord transition

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.

7. C → Dm chord transition

To move from C to Dm;

  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 A string fret 3 and place it on B string fret 3.

8. Dm → F chord transition

To move from Dm to F;

  1. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 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 3 to A string fret 3.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 3.

9. C → Em chord transition

To move from C to Em;

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

10. Em → F chord transition

To move from Em to F;

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

11. F → F#m chord transition

To move from F to F#m;

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

12. F#m → G chord transition

To move from F#m to G;

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

13. F → A chord transition

To move from F to A;

  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 D string fret 2.
  3. Keep middle finger on G string fret 2.
  4. Slide your ring finger from A string fret 3 to B string fret 2.

14. A → C chord transition

To move from A to C;

  1. Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 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 2 and place it on A string fret 3.

Walking in Memphis chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Walking in Memphis.

  • Walking in Memphis includes 171 chord transitions, 14 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.05% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Walking in Memphis contains 6 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Walking in Memphis 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 → F: 16%
    • C → D: 11%
    After F, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (40%), G (21%), and Am (11%).
    • F → C: 40%
    • F → G: 21%
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.