Arcade Fire - Afterlife: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Afterlife" on your guitar with our chord guide. This page provides everything you need to perform this song on the guitar, including lyrics integrated with chords, chord diagrams, and a key transposer to match your vocal range.

For easier playing, use our Simplify Chords feature to remove difficult chords like barre.

E     B   F#                       G#m
Afterlife, oh my God, what an awful word
E               B                          F#
After all the breath and the dirt and the fires
      G#m
are burnt
E                   B        F#
And after all this time, and after all
                G#m
the ambulances go
E                  B
And after all the hangers-on are done hanging
          F#
on to the dead light
            G#m
Of the afterglow

G#m
I've gotta know…

Chorus:
F#              E
Can we work it out?
                 G#m                     B F#
If we scream and shout 'till we work it out
                     E
Can we just work it out?
            G#m                    B
Scream and shout 'till we work it out?
                  E                    G#m
'Till we work it out, 'till we work it out
                 F#                     E
'Till we work it out, 'till we work it out

Afterlife, I think I saw what happens next
Oh, it was just a glimpse of you,
like looking through a window
Or a shallow sea
Could you see me?
And after all this time
It's like nothing else we used to know
And after all the hangers-on are
done hanging on to the dead light
Of the afterglow
I've gotta know

Chorus:
Can we work it out?
We scream and shout ‘til we work it out
Can we just work it out?
We scream and shout ‘til we work it out?

But you say
F# E
Oh
              G#m
When love is gone
               B
Where does it go?
And you say
F# E
Oh
              G#m
When love is gone
               B
Where does it go?
                 E
And where do we go?
             G#m
Where do we go?
             F#
Where do we go?
             E
Where do we go?

And after this
Can it last another night?
After all the bad advice
Had nothing at all to do with life
I've gotta know

Chorus:
F#              E
Can we work it out?
                  G#m                    B
Let's scream and shout 'till we work it out
F#                    E
Can we just work it out?
            G#m                      B
Scream and shout 'till we work it out?

But you say
F#  E
Oh
              G#m
When love is gone
               B
Where does it go?
And you say
F#  E
Oh
              G#m
When love is gone
               B
Where does it go?
F#  E
Oh
              G#m
When love is gone
              B
Where did it go?
F#  E
Oh
              G#m
When love is gone
              B
Where did it go?
                 F#   E
And where do we go?

B
It's just an afterlife
It's just an afterlife
It's just an afterlife with you
It's just an afterlife


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

E

Guitar chord E

F#

Guitar chord F#

G#m

Guitar chord G#m

B

Guitar chord B

Here you can see detailed diagrams for each guitar chord used in the song. Utilize our key transposer to adjust the chords to a key that better fits your singing range. Simply select the desired key, and the chords throughout this page will update automatically, ensuring you can play and sing comfortably.

If you are also interested in learning how to play "Afterlife" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Afterlife" by Arcade Fire.

Arcade Fire Song List