Bob Marley - Roots: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Roots" on your guitar with our detailed chord guide and lyrics. 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.

Learn Roots Guitar Chords and Lyrics by Bob Marley

This section will guide you through each part of the song, providing the guitar chords placed directly above the lyrics for easy playing. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, these elements will help you perform "Roots" smoothly on your guitar.

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

F#m
Root, natty roots
Bm
Dread, Binghi dread
D C#m           F#m
I and I are the roots
F#m
Some are leaf
Bm
Some are branches
D C#m            F#m
I and I are the roots

Some are dry wood (shoo-be-doo)
For the fire (shoo-be-doo)
Whyo, look at that
They need a dry wood (shoo-be-doo)
To cook their raw food (shoo-be-doo)
Whyo, look at that

Chorus:
D      C#m
Got to survive
        F#m
In this man mania downpression
D         C#m
Got to survive
    F#m
In iration

Mi say, root, natty, root
Dread, kinky, dread
I and I are the roots

Some are wolf (shoo-be-doo)
In sheep clothing (shoo-be-doo)
Whyo, look at that
Many are called (shoo-be-doo)
A few are chosen (shoo-be-doo)
Whyo, look at that

Nothing they can do (shoo-be-doo)
To separate I and I (shoo-be-doo)
From the love of our Father
You see, blood is thicker than water
Whyo, look at that

Chorus:
Got to survive in the ghetto
Got to survive, people don't fret, no

We got a root, natty, root
Dread, kinky, dread
I and I are the roots

Root natty
Dread kinky
I and I are the roots


You can simplify chords by removing barre

Transpose

Reset

Font Size

Reset

Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

Bm

Guitar chord Bm

C#m

Guitar chord C#m

D

Guitar chord D

F#m

Guitar chord F#m

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 "Roots" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Roots" by Bob Marley.

Bob Marley Song List