DAG Nabbit

August 9, 2008 1:46 PM

I'm looking for a list of songs with the classic D A G (or equivalent) chord progression.

For example, Helpless. Or the close enough Knocking On Heaven's Door, etc.

posted by bodega to media & arts (15 comments total)

Wikipedia, three chord songs, a book.

or see any listing of 3-chord songs.
posted by those are my balloons at 3:11 PM on August 9, 2008

That's the I-V-IV progression, common in a lot of rock songs. You can do a lot with those three chords. Hell, they form the basis of every blues song ever written. Some goolgling turned up this page that mentions a bunch of songs that use this progression or some variation of it.
posted by waxboy at 3:59 PM on August 9, 2008

Knockin' on Heaven's Door isn't DAG according to my Dylan book. I think Blowin' in the Wind is though.
posted by Ironmouth at 4:07 PM on August 9, 2008

Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" has a couple more chords in that riff, but it's basically a I V IV progression as waxboy mentioned.

"Let My Love Open The Door" by Pete Townshend has that I V IV form most of the time, too.
posted by emelenjr at 4:16 PM on August 9, 2008

I don't know anything about music, but there is a Built to Spill song that uses an explanation of that chord progression as filler. The song is called 'Joyride.'
posted by tmt at 5:55 PM on August 9, 2008

The first two I V IV songs that came to mind were Brimful of Asha by Cornershop and Crane Wife Pt. 3 by The Decemberists. The latter is in the key of D, too.
posted by ludwig_van at 6:24 PM on August 9, 2008

You can take the D A G from Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See" and superimpose the extended outro to The Beatle's "Hey Jude" over it.
posted by sourwookie at 6:45 PM on August 9, 2008

The Hey Jude outro goes F Eb Bb, which is I bVII IV.
posted by ludwig_van at 7:14 PM on August 9, 2008

Not a well known "classic", but on Sloan's album One Chord to Another they have a song titled G turns to D (lyrics). Here's a youtube vid with the vocals up way too highand here are the guitar chord progressions.
posted by furtive at 7:30 PM on August 9, 2008

Off the top of my head:
exact chords:
Summer Babe-Pavement
Advice to the Graduate- Silver Jews

different key/variations:
Baba Oreilly- The Who
Ball and Chain- Social D

I'm sure there are countless others that will occur to me months or years from now.
posted by Wayman Tisdale at 9:52 PM on August 9, 2008

ludwig_van: Sorry. When I was thinking F, Eb, Bb, I was locked into a V, IV, I MO in terms of Hey Jude. The I is the F, therefore making it a I. vii, IV, progression and you are correct.

Damn: my ears translated that as an F V chord, Eb IV chord and a Bb I chord .

Still, the Marshall Tucker parallel holds.
posted by sourwookie at 1:33 AM on August 10, 2008

Does Powderfinger - D.A.F. count? I love that song.
posted by a. at 1:44 AM on August 10, 2008

Thanks for all the responses. They have helped me clarify my question. I'm looking for songs where the progression is I V IV (really I V IV IV) over and over and over again. (Like Neil Young's "Helpless".)
Tempo doesn't matter, but there really shouldn't be any other parts to the song. I'll try listen to some of these responses now.
posted by bodega at 10:55 AM on August 10, 2008

Does Powderfinger - D.A.F. count? I love that song.

D A F is I V bIII. So no.
posted by ludwig_van at 5:09 PM on August 10, 2008

"Dead Flowers" by the Rolling Stones goes D-A-G-D. Ever heard that one?
posted by DeWalt_Russ at 4:44 PM on August 12, 2008