Foster the People - Are You What You Want to Be?: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Are You What You Want to Be?" 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.

F#m       A          Bm                        D
I woke up on Champs-Élysées to the Djembe of Ghana
Yeah, a fine lady from Belize said "You got the spirit of Fela"
Yeah, the young one dripping make-up lift her hands up to holla
Well, I gave her what I got but couldn't handle her broken heart
The right words in the hands of dissidents with the fire
Yeah, will rip apart the marrow from the bone of the liars
Yeah, well, I'm afraid of saying too much and ending a martyr
But even more so I'm afraid to face God and say I was a coward, yeah

Chorus:
F#m  C#m   D                  E  C#m  B
With all these things I wait for revelation
These things make me want to duck for cover
With all these things I wait for revolution
These things ask the biggest question to me
And it's "are you what you want to be?"
Well, are you what you want to be?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

The war machine will put out both its hands for a dollar
It's drinking at the table with the chrome hand guerrillas
And the young one dripping make-up lift her leg up to holla
Well, I told her what she's got should be protected in the arms of love
The right things in the hands of dissidents with the fire
Yeah, will rip apart the marrow from the bone of the liars
And, well, I'm afraid of saying too much and ending a martyr
But even more so I'm afraid to face God and say I was a coward, yeah

Chorus

Are you what you want to be?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

So are you what you want to be?
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Are you what you want to be?
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Well, are you what you want to be?
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Are you what you want to be?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

A

Guitar chord A

C#m

Guitar chord C#m

D

Guitar chord D

E

Guitar chord E

F#m

Guitar chord F#m

B

Guitar chord B

Bm

Guitar chord Bm

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 "Are You What You Want to Be?" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Are You What You Want to Be?" by Foster the People.