Progression

Songs You Can Play with C, F, G

Popular guitar songs built on the C–F–G progression, a common shape that's great for jamming and practice.

The C–F–G progression uses just 3 chords (C, F, and G) and powers 1,612 of the most-played songs on ChordLines. It's one of the most common progressions in pop, rock and worship, so learning it unlocks a huge amount of music at once. The songs below all use these chords; try Cats in the cradle and Bien to hear it in action.

  1. 1321 Cats in the cradle Harry Chapin A 771
  2. 1322 Bien Babasónicos C 771
  3. 1323 Hold Me Down Daniel Caesar D#m 771
  4. 1324 I Wouldn't Mind He Is We Am 771
  5. 1325 Wreck This Heart Bob Seger C 771
  6. 1326 Too Sick To Pray Willie Nelson C 770
  7. 1327 Don't Judge Me Chris Brown C 770
  8. 1328 Flor Do Mar Ale de Maria Am 770
  9. 1329 Semente Almir Sater Em 770
  10. 1330 Mercy Duffy G 770
  11. 1331 When My Wife Tells Me She Burned Some Calories Today Tyler Cassidy F 770
  12. 1332 El Mensaje Andrés Cepeda C# 770
  13. 1333 Peace Weezer C 770
  14. 1334 Sparta Sabaton Am 770
  15. 1335 Two Rooms At The End Of The World Elton John Dm 770
  16. 1336 Anong Nangyari Sa Ating Dalawa Aiza Seguerra C 770
  17. 1337 Serei O Amor Míria Kolling C 770
  18. 1338 Soul Kiss Olivia Newton John G 770
  19. 1339 Grandpas Farm Adam Hood G 770
  20. 1340 For What Its Worth The Cardigans C 769
  21. 1341 Number Ten Ed Kuepper Em 769
  22. 1342 Perfectly Lonely John Mayer C 769
  23. 1343 Colours Airbag Am 769
  24. 1344 Jesus Only Aaron Shust F 769
  25. 1345 Montreal Beau Dommage C 769
  26. 1346 Burn for You INXS G 769
  27. 1347 Forever Reign Hillsong United C 769
  28. 1348 Oceans Coasts F 769
  29. 1349 So Long ABBA G 769
  30. 1350 Demons Boyce Avenue C 769
  31. 1351 Prepare Ye The Way Of The Lord Godspell G 768
  32. 1352 Thunder Jessie J G 768
  33. 1353 Sad Forever Lauv C 768
  34. 1354 I've Been All Around This World Grateful Dead C 768
  35. 1355 Policeman Caravan B 768
  36. 1356 Matros I Skumsprøjt Anders Matthesen C 768
  37. 1357 Alta Marea Antonello Venditti C 768
  38. 1358 Past Lives Ke$ha C 768
  39. 1359 Learn 2 Fly A1 C 768
  40. 1360 Help Me Rhonda Beach Boys C 768
  41. 1361 Independence Day Elliott Smith Cm 768
  42. 1362 How Big How Blue How Beautiful Florence and the machine Am 768
  43. 1363 Crybaby LiL PEEP F 767
  44. 1364 Dynamite Sigrid F 767
  45. 1365 Temple Of The King Rainbow Am 767
  46. 1366 Eternity Imelda May D 767
  47. 1367 Chand Sifarish Shaan Dm 767
  48. 1368 New World In The Morning Roger Whittaker C 767
  49. 1369 A Country Boy Can Survive Hank Williams Jr D 767
  50. 1370 Dusk Till Dawn Zayn Malik Am 766
  51. 1371 Ternura Adalberto e Adriano A 766
  52. 1372 Il Maledito Violins C# 766
  53. 1373 Grace's Song Tab Benoit C 766
  54. 1374 Whole Damn Town Turnpike Troubadours F 766
  55. 1375 faithful Lobo C 766
  56. 1376 Against all Odds Westlife Dm 766
  57. 1377 Necesito Un Encuentro New Wine Cm 766
  58. 1378 Boys Do Fall In Love Robin Gibb C 766
  59. 1379 Tapas No Beiço Kaquinho Big Dog C 766
  60. 1380 I Don't Wanna Live Forever Zayn Malik F 766

Frequently asked questions

What songs use the C–F–G progression?

Popular examples include Cats in the cradle, Bien, and Hold Me Down, along with everything else in the list above.

Is the C–F–G progression easy to play?

It mixes in a couple of trickier shapes, but it's extremely common and well worth learning early on.

Can I play these songs in a different key?

Yes. Open any song and use the transpose buttons to shift it up or down. The chords and diagrams update automatically, so you can match your voice or a capo.

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