Ukulele Anthem

Amanda Palmer

Ukulele Anthem - Single (2011)

Chords

Intro
C x2   C7 x2   F x2   Fsus2   G7

Verse 1
    C                                   C7
sid vicious played a four-string fender bass guitar and couldn?t sing 
    F                     Fsus7             G7
and everybody hated him except the ones who loved him 
  C                             C7 
a ukulele has four strings, but sid did did not play ukulele 
F                                    Fsus7            G7
he did smack and probably killed his girlfriend nancy spungen 

   C                     C7                             F
if only sid had had a ukulele, maybe he could have been happy 
                        Fsus7           G7
maybe he would not have suffered such a sad end 
   C                                  C7
he maybe would have not done all that heroin instead 
         F                                Fsus7             G7
he maybe would?ve sat around just singing nice songs to his girlfriend 

   C                                C7
so play your favorite cover song, especially if the words are wrong 
     F                               Fsus7               G7
?cos even if your grades are bad, it doesn?t mean you?re failing 
C
do your homework with a fork 
    C7
and eat your fruit loops in the dark 
    F
and bring your etch-a-sketch to work 
    Fsus7        G7
and play your ukulele 

F
ukulele small and forceful 
G7
ukulele brave and peaceful 
C                        F
you can play the ukulele too it is painfully simple 
F                        G7
play your ukulele badly, play your ukulele loudly 
Gm
ukulele banish evil 
Gm
ukulele save the people 
Gm
ukulele gleaming golden on the top of every steeple 

Verse 2
C                              C7
lizzie borden took an axe, and gave her father thirty whacks 
     F                               Fsus7         G7
then gave her mother thirty-one, and left a tragic puzzle 
   C                          C7 
if only they had given her an instrument, those puritans 
     F
had lost the plot completely 
         Fsus7            G7
see what happens when you muzzle 
  C
a person?s creativity 
    C7
and do not let them sing and scream 
    F                                    Fsus7     G7
and nowadays it?s worse ?cause kids have automatic handguns 
   C                            C7
it takes about an hour to learn how to play the ukulele 
 F                             Fsus7            G7
about same to teach someone to build a standard pipe bomb 
G7
YOU DO THE MATH 

   C                                C7              
so play your favorite cover song, especially if the words are wrong 
     F                               Fsus7               G7
?cos even if your grades are bad, it doesn?t mean you?re failing 
C
do your homework with a fork 
    C7
and eat your fruit loops in the dark 
    F
and bring your flask of jack to work 
    Fsus7        G7
and play your ukulele 

F
ukulele, thing of wonder 
G7
ukulele, wand of thunder 
C                         F
you can play the ukulele, too 
F
in london and down under 
F
play joan jett, and play jacques brel 
    G7                        Gm
and eminem and neutral milk hotel 
Gm
the children crush the hatred 
Gm
play your ukulele naked 
Gm
and if anybody tries to steal your ukulele, let them take it 

Verse 3
 C                           C7
imagine there?s no music, imagine there are no songs 
        F                               Fsus7         G7
imagine that john lennon wasn?t shot in front of his apartment 
 C                            C7                        F
imagine if john lennon had composed ?oeimagine? on the ukulele 
F                           Fsus7           G7
maybe folks would have more clearly got the message 

    C                               C7
you may think my approach is simple-minded and naïve 
            F                                   Fsus7             G7
like if you want to save the world then why not quit and feed the hungry 
    C                         C7
but people for millennia have needed music to survive 
    F                                  Fsus7           G7
and that?s why i?ve promised john that i will not feel guilty 

   C 
so play your favorite beatles? song 
    C7
and make the subway fall in love 
        F                   Fsus7        G7
they?re only $19.95, that?s not a lot of money 
C
play until the sun comes up 
    C7
and play until your fingers suffer 
F                          Fsus7      G7
play LCD soundsystem songs on your ukulele 
C
quit the bitching on your blog 
    C7
and stop pretending art is hard 
     F
just limit yourself to three chords 
    Fsus7           G7
and do not practice daily 
       C
you?ll minimize some stranger?s sadness 
C7
with a piece of wood and plastic 
F                            Fsus7      G7
holy fuck it?s so fantastic, playing ukulele 
C
eat your homework with a fork 
    C7
and do your fruit loops in the dark 
F
bring your etch-a-sketch to work 
     F
your flask of jack 
     F
your vibrator 
     F
your fear of heights 
     F
your nikon lens 
     C
your mom and dad 
     C
your disco stick 
     C7  
your soundtrack from ?oekarate kid? 
     F
your ginsu knives 
     F
your rosary 
     Fsus7       G7
your new rebecca black CD 
     C
your favorite room 
     C
your bowie knife 
     C7
your stuffed giraffe 
     C7
your new glass eye 
     F
your sousaphone 
     F
your breakfast tea 
     Fsus7
your nick drake tapes 
     G7
your giving tree 
     C
your ice cream truck 
     C
your missing wife 
     C7
your will to live 
     C7
your urge to cry 
  F
remember we?re all going to die 
   F            C
so PLAY YOUR UKULELE