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Taylor Swift - Death By A Thousand Cuts Chords

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

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

[Opening]
My, my, my, my (my, my, my, my)
My, my, my, my (my, my, my, my)

[verse 2]
[C]My, [G]my, my, my
[Am]My, [C]my, my, my
[F]My, [Am]my, my, my
[Dm]My, [G]my, [G]my, my

[chorus]
[C]Saying goodbye is [G]death by a thousand [Am]cuts
Flashbacks [C]waking me up
[F]I get drunk, but it’s [Am]not enough
‘Cause the [Dm]morning comes and you’re [G]not my [G]baby

[chorus]
[C]I look through the [G]windows of this [Am]love
Even though we [C]boarded them up
[F]Chandelier still [Am]flickering here
‘Cause I [Dm]can’t pretend [G]it’s [G]okay when it’s [C]not
[G]It’s death by a [Em]thousand [F]cuts [G]

[verse 3]
[C]I dress to kill my [G]time, I take the long way [Em]home [F]
I ask the traffic lights if it’ll [G]be alright, they say, “I don’t know”
[C]And what once was [G]ours, is no one’s [Em]now [F]
I see you everywhere, the only [G]thing we share is this small town
[C]You said it was a great [G]love, one for the [Em]ages [F]
But if the story’s over, why am I [G]still writing pages?

[chorus]
‘Cause [C]saying goodbye is [G]death by a thousand [Am]cuts
Flashbacks [C]waking me up
[F]I get drunk, but it’s [Am]not enough
‘Cause the [Dm]morning comes and you’re [G]not my [G]baby

[chorus]
[C]I look through the [G]windows of this [Am]love
Even though we [C]boarded them up
[F]Chandelier still [Am]flickering here
‘Cause I [Dm]can’t pretend [G]it’s [G]okay when it’s [C]not
[G]It’s death by a [Em]thousand [F]cuts [G]

[verse 4]
[C]My heart, my hips, my body, my [G]love
Tryna find a part of me that [Em]you didn’t [F]touch
Gave up on me like I was a bad [G]drug
Now I’m searching for signs in a haunted [C]club

[verse 5]
Our songs, our films, united we [G]stand
Our country, guess it was a [Em]lawless [F]land
Quiet my fears at the touch of your [G]hand
Paper cut stings from our paper-thin [C]plans

[verse 6]
My time, my wine, my spirit, my [G]trust
Tryna find a part of me you [Em]didn’t take [F]up
Gave you too much but it wasn’t [G]enough
But I’ll be alright, it’s just a [C]thousand cuts [G] [Am] [G]

[verse 7]
[F]I get drunk, but it’s [Am]not enough
[Dm]’Cause you’re [G]not my [G]baby
[C]I look through the [G]windows of this [Am]love
Even though we [C]boarded them up
[F]Chandelier still [Am]flickering here
‘Cause I [Dm]can’t pretend [G]it’s [G]okay when it’s [C]not, no it’s not
[G]It’s death by a [Em]thousand [F]cuts [G](you didn’t touch)

[verse 8]
Tryna find a part of me that you didn’t [C]touch
My body, my [G]love, my trust (it’s death by a [Em]thousand [F]cuts)
But it wasn’t [G]enough, it wasn’t enough, no, no

[Closing]
[C] [G] [Am]I take the [C]long way home
[F]I ask the [Am]traffic lights if it’ll [Dm]be alright
They say, [G]”I [G]don’t know”

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.
ArtistTaylor Swift
AlbumLover
GenresPop
Year2019
KeyC
DifficultyIntermediate

How to play Death By A Thousand Cuts on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Taylor Swift - Death By A Thousand Cuts on guitar requires 6 chords and 10 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.

Death By A Thousand Cuts uses these transitions most often: C → G (18), G → C (17), and Em → F (10). 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 - G chord transition.

1. C → G chord transition

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

To move from C to G;

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

2. G → Am chord transition

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

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

3. Am → C chord transition

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

To move from Am to C;

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

4. C → F chord transition

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

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.
C to F

5. F → Am chord transition

To move from F to Am;

  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. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on G string fret 2.

6. 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.

7. Dm → G chord transition

To move from Dm to G;

  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 3.

8. G → Em chord transition

To move from G to Em;

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

9. 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.

10. 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.

Death By A Thousand Cuts chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Death By A Thousand Cuts.

  • Death By A Thousand Cuts includes 113 chord transitions, 10 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.03% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Death By A Thousand Cuts contains 5 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Death By A Thousand Cuts connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After G, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (25%), D (24%), and Am (13%).
    • G → C: 25%
    • G → Am: 13%
    After C, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (35%), F (16%), and D (11%).
    • C → G: 35%
    • C → F: 16%
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.