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Sandy Denny - Whispering Grass Chords

ChordsC, Bb, Dm, G7, Em, F, Fm, Am, E7, D7, Ab7
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

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

  • 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 Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram
  • Guitar G7 chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-1Guitar G7 chord diagram
  • Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram
  • Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram
  • Guitar Fm chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-1-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar Fm chord diagram
  • Guitar Am chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-1-0Guitar Am chord diagram
  • Guitar E7 chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-0-1-0-0Guitar E7 chord diagram
  • Guitar D7 chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-1-2Guitar D7 chord diagram
  • Guitar G#7 | A♭7 chord diagram Fingering: x-x-1-1-1-2 Barre at fret 1.Guitar G#7 | A♭7 chord diagram


[C] [Bb] [Dm] [G7]
[C]Why do you whisper, [Em]green grass
[F]Why tell the trees what ain’t [Fm]so
[C]Whispering [Am]grass, the [Dm]trees don’t [G7]need to [C]know
[Bb]No, [Dm]no [G7]


[C]Why tell them all your [Em]secrets
[F]Who kissed there long a[Fm]go
[C]Whispering [Am]grass, the [Dm]trees don’t [G7]need to [C]know


[F] [C] [G7]
[C]Don’t you tell it [Am]to the trees
Or [F]she will tell the [G7]birds and bees
And [C]everyone will [Am]know
‘Cause you [Dm]told the blabbering [G7]trees


Yes, you [Am]told them [E7]once be[Am]fore
[D7]It’s no [Dm]secret [Bb]any[Dm]more [G7]


[C]Why tell them all the [Em]old things?
[F]They’re buried under the [Fm]snow
[C]Whispering [Am]grass don’t [Dm]tell the [Ab7]trees
‘Cause the [Dm]trees don’t [Ab7]need to [C]know


[C]Don’t you tell it [Am]to the trees
Or [Dm]she will tell the [G7]birds and bees
And [C]everyone will [Am]know
‘Cause you [Dm]told the blabbering [G7]trees


Yes, you [Am]told them [E7]once be[Am]fore
It’s no [Dm]secret [D7]any[Dm]more [G7]


[C]Why tell them all the [Em]old things?
[F]They’re buried under the [Fm]snow
[C]Whispering [Am]grass, [Dm]don’t tell the [Fm]trees
Because the [Dm]trees don’t [Ab7]need to [C]know [G7] [C]

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AlbumLike an Old Fashioned Waltz
GenresFolk
Year1974
KeyC

How to play Whispering Grass on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Sandy Denny - Whispering Grass on guitar requires 11 chords and 20 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.

Whispering Grass uses these transitions most often: G7 → C (10), Dm → G7 (9), and Am → Dm (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 C - Bb chord transition.

1. C → Bb chord transition

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

2. 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.
Bb to Dm

3. Dm → G7 chord transition

To move from Dm to G7;

  1. Lift your index finger from E 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. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 1.
Dm to G7

4. 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.
G7 to C

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. F → Fm chord transition

To move 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.

8. Fm → C chord transition

To move 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.

9. C → Am chord transition

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.

10. Am → Dm chord transition

To move from Am 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 G string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 3.

11. C → F chord transition

To move from C 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. Place pinky on D string fret 3.

12. Am → F chord transition

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.

13. F → G7 chord transition

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.

14. G7 → Am chord transition

To move from G7 to Am;

  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 G string fret 2.

15. Am → E7 chord transition

To move from Am to E7;

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

16. Am → D7 chord transition

To move from Am 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 G string fret 2 to E string fret 2.

17. D7 → Dm chord transition

To move from D7 to Dm;

  1. Lift your index finger from B 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 E string fret 2 to B string fret 3.

18. Dm → Ab7 chord transition

To move from Dm to Ab7;

  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 1.
  3. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to E string fret 2.

19. Ab7 → C chord transition

To move from Ab7 to C;

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

20. Dm → Fm chord transition

To move from Dm to Fm;

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

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Whispering Grass.

  • Whispering Grass includes 81 chord transitions, 20 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Whispering Grass contains 3 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Whispering Grass 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 → Am: 10%
    After Dm, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (18%), G (16%), and Am (14%).
    • Dm → Bb: 9%
    • Dm → G7: 6%