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.

Alec Benjamin - Gotta Be A Reason Chords

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

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

  • Guitar Am chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-1-0Guitar Am 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 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

[Opening]
[Am] [Em] [F] [C]
There’s [Am]gotta be a reason that I’m [Em]here on Earth
[F]Gotta be a reason for the [C]dust and the dirt
The [Am]changing of the seasons never [Em]changed my hurt
So [F]what’s it worth? What’s it [G]worth?
Worth [Am]another shot of whiskey and [Em]another sip of gin
[F]Another drop of poison that is [C]slowly sinking in
If we’re [Am]going down together, better [Em]take another hit
We [F]won’t be here forever, so let’s [G]make the best of it

[chorus]
Ooh, [Am]ooh, ooh, [Em]ooh-ooh-ooh, [F]ooh, ooh, [C]ooh
Ooh, [Am]ooh, ooh, [Em]ooh-ooh-ooh, [F]ooh, ooh, [G]ooh

[verse 2]
[Am]Walking down to the [Em]burial ground
With a [F]sad song in his [C]brain
[Am]General Cloud is an [Em]old man now
But it [F]feels like [G]yesterday
He was on the [Am]front lines, stranded on the [Em]beach
Crawling to his [F]best friend, floating in the [C]sea
But he didn’t [Am]make it, he still can’t [Em]believe
How arbitrary [F]fate is, he [G]says

[verse 3]
There’s [Am]gotta be a reason that I’m [Em]here on Earth
[F]Gotta be a reason for the [C]dust and the dirt
The [Am]changing of the seasons never [Em]changed my hurt
So [F]what’s it worth? What’s it [G]worth?
Worth [Am]another shot of whiskey and [Em]another sip of gin
[F]Another drop of poison that is [C]slowly sinking in
If we’re [Am]going down together, better [Em]take another hit
We [F]won’t be here forever, so let’s [G]make the best of it

[chorus]
Ooh, [Am]ooh, ooh, [Em]ooh-ooh-ooh, [F]ooh, ooh, [C]ooh
Ooh, [Am]ooh, ooh, [Em]ooh-ooh-ooh, [F]ooh, ooh, [G]ooh

[verse 4]
[Am]She went down to her [Em]job in town
With a [F]sad song in her [C]heart
3[Am]3 with a [Em]wasted dream to [F]become a movie [G]star
Living out a [Am]suitcase, serving at a [Em]bar
Saving up some [F]pennies, working after [C]dark
Is she gonna [Am]make it? She still can’t [Em]believe
How arbitrary [F]fate is, she [G]says

[verse 5]
There’s [Am]gotta be a reason that I’m [Em]here on Earth
[F]Gotta be a reason for the [C]dust and the dirt
The [Am]changing of the seasons never [Em]changed my hurt
So [F]what’s it worth? What’s it [G]worth?
Worth [Am]another shot of whiskey and [Em]another sip of gin
[F]Another drop of poison that is [C]slowly sinking in
If we’re [Am]going down together, better [Em]take another hit
We [F]won’t be here forever, so let’s [G]make the best of it

[chorus]
Ooh, [Am]ooh, ooh, [Em]ooh-ooh-ooh, [F]ooh, ooh, [C]ooh
Ooh, [Am]ooh, ooh, [Em]ooh-ooh-ooh, [F]ooh, ooh, [G]ooh

[Closing]
There’s [Am]gotta be a reason that I’m [Em]here on Earth
[F]Gotta be a reason for the [C]dust and the dirt
The [Am]changing of the seasons never [Em]changed my hurt
So [F]what’s it worth? What’s it [G]worth?
Worth [Am]another shot of whiskey and [Em]another sip of gin
[F]Another drop of poison that is [C]slowly sinking in
If we’re [Am]going down together, better [Em]take another hit
We [F]won’t be here forever, so let’s [G]make the best of it

[chorus]
Ooh, [Am]ooh, ooh, [Em]ooh-ooh-ooh, [F]ooh, ooh, [C]ooh
Ooh, [Am]ooh, ooh, [Em]ooh-ooh-ooh, [F]ooh, ooh, [G]ooh

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.
ArtistAlec Benjamin
AlbumNarrated For You
GenresPop
Year2018
KeyAm
DifficultyIntermediate

How to play Gotta Be A Reason on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Alec Benjamin - Gotta Be A Reason on guitar requires 5 chords and 6 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.

Gotta Be A Reason uses these transitions most often: Am → Em (33), Em → F (33), and C → Am (17). 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 Am - Em chord transition.

1. Am → Em chord transition

Guitar Am chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-1-0Guitar Am chord diagram
Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram

To move from Am to Em;

  1. While playing Am, 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 G string fret 2 to D string fret 2.
Am to Em

2. Em → F chord transition

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

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.
Em to F

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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.

6. G → Am chord transition

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.

Gotta Be A Reason chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Gotta Be A Reason.

  • Gotta Be A Reason includes 131 chord transitions, 6 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.03% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Gotta Be A Reason contains 3 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Gotta Be A Reason connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After Am, the most likely next chords across Chordier are F (26%), G (21%), and C (16%).
    • Am → Em: 10%
    After Em, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (26%), G (18%), and D (18%).
    • Em → F: 8%
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.