This is a great song that really converts well to the ukulele. The chords are really simple and if you get the strumming right it’s going to sound really good.
The Chords
Let’s start with the good news – there’s just 4 chords in this song – G, Em, Am and F. The even better news is that they’re all really easy to play.
Verses
The verses are a bar of G followed by a bar of E minor – play this 4 times and then you’re at the chorus.
Chorus
The chorus is really easy, it’s a bar of A minor followed by a bar of F which is a really easy chord change on the uke. Play this sequence twice.
The Rhythm
It’s all in the rhythm with this song, you really need to the fast down-up-down in at the start of each G chord to get it sounding like the record. I could go more heavily into the timings on this but ultimately you just need to play that as fast as you can. Think of the second down strum as the first beat. That means the first down and up strum come directly before that beat.
Strumming Pattern
Without the opening down-up-down, the strumming pattern that I go for is effectively as follows (I do mix it up and play slight variations on this throughout though just to keep it sounding interesting)…
D-D-DUDUDUDU-UDU
That’s pretty much it for this one – enjoy!
Would it not be much easier to play the Em chord after the G chord by just adding the pinky on the third string/fourth?
Great strumming pattern, though. I’ll practise it for sure.
Hi Andreas, thanks for the comment. In a word yes it would! I have no idea why but I never play it that way though – maybe just a bit of a masochist!
It is a great strumming pattern, so immediately recognisable. Good luck with it!
This is fantastic love the jam, can you do passenger by iggy pop
Hi just got ukulele for my birthday, I’m determined to learn to play an instrument even at 53 and as a Jam fan thought this could be pretty straight forward…. So far so good learning the chords my only problem is the tuning.. Seems to go out of tune very quickly, have ordered a clip on tuner. Any tips re keeping it in tune?
Hi Rob, it’s a great song to play. Loads of fun. Yes, the best tip I can give you is to keep playing. The more you play, the more those strings will stretch and settle down.
Thanks Dave… I think I’ve got it now tuner helps keep it sounding good and strings starting to settle down. My next challenge is singing along. Do you have the lyrics and chords aligned based on yours as I can only find different versions on line?