# Songs with only I, vi, IV, and V, but not necessarially in that order. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-only-i-vi-iv-and-v-but-not-necessarially-in-that-order/160972 "2003-03-12T23:49:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-only-i-vi-iv-and-v-but-not-necessarially-in-that-order/160972/1 "2003-03-12T23:49:36Z")
I’m teaching some folks guitar, and we’ve got G, Em, C, and D down. What songs can I show them (other than Blue Moon)? Preferably something that won’t require too complicated strumming to sound good. I’ve got Puff the Magic Dragon as one example (well, substuting some chords), but I’d like to come up with something more rock/pop-ish, but am having a brain cramp. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-only-i-vi-iv-and-v-but-not-necessarially-in-that-order/160972/2 "2003-03-13T00:21:02Z")
How about “Please Mr. Postman”? Or “Stay”? ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-only-i-vi-iv-and-v-but-not-necessarially-in-that-order/160972/3 "2003-03-13T00:45:00Z")
Jeez, there must be a million songs that use the I-vi-IV-V7 sequence, it’s a real cliche! Sometimes the IV is iim7, in your case am7. Your folks will have to learn D7, but that’s just as easy as D. Some songs: “Stand by Me”, “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?”, “Blue Moon”, “Beyond the Sea”, “This Boy”. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-only-i-vi-iv-and-v-but-not-necessarially-in-that-order/160972/4 "2003-03-13T02:58:57Z")
Under the Boardwalk!!! (Oh when the Sun beats down and burns the tar up on the roof…you gotta love it) I Feel Fine - G, Bm, C, D You Really Got a Hold on Me!!! C’mon - Smokey Robinson!! Look up the tabulature online at alt.guitar.tab… ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-only-i-vi-iv-and-v-but-not-necessarially-in-that-order/160972/5 "2003-03-13T04:09:11Z")
…and “Heart and Soul”, of course! ---
**Author:** ![cleops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2acd7d/32.png) [@cleops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cleops)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-only-i-vi-iv-and-v-but-not-necessarially-in-that-order/160972/6 "2003-03-13T04:48:55Z")
Donna Needles and Pins, main part Runaway (not the same order, obviously) Add a Dm and E and you can play that Bob Seger tune You’re Still the Same Playing with Fire–Stones You Drive Me Crazy (in G, it would be G-C-Em-D) and millions of others. These are just some of the easy ones I know. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-only-i-vi-iv-and-v-but-not-necessarially-in-that-order/160972/7 "2003-03-13T12:47:18Z")
This will expose me as either a musical genius or a musical moron, but there isn’t a song listed in this thread that I can’t play a dozen different ways, and I can take the chords mentioned in the OP and make up some really interesting tunes … … but I don’t have a clue what “I, vi, IV, and V” means. I never studied theory at all. ---
**Author:** ![EasyPhil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@EasyPhil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EasyPhil)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-only-i-vi-iv-and-v-but-not-necessarially-in-that-order/160972/8 "2003-03-13T15:14:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jack Batty \* > \*\*This will expose me as either a musical genius or a musical moron, but there isn’t a song listed in this thread that I can’t play a dozen different ways, and I can take the chords mentioned in the OP and make up some really interesting tunes … > > … but I don’t have a clue what “I, vi, IV, and V” means. I never studied theory at all. \*\* Crash course: I vi IV V(1 6 4 5) refer to chords and their quality, major/minor, as relates to the major scale. These numbers refer to the degree of the scale that the chord is built on. Take the C major scale for example: C D E F G A B C I - C E G = CMaj ii - D F A = Dmin iii - E G B = Emin IV - F A C = FMaj V - GBD = GMaj(as a triad, when you add the 7th F, the chord becomes dominant. vi - A C E = A min vii - B D F = Bdim The chords are built in 3rds which are combinations of Major 3rds and Minor 3rds.