Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Kindness of Strangers: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "The Kindness of Strangers" 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.

C                     Am
They found mary bellows cuffed to the bed
Dm                             G
With a rag in her mouth and a bullet in her head
F       G       C   G
O poor mary bellows
        C                      Am
She’d grown up hungry, she’d grown up poor
     Dm              G
She left her home in arkansas
F       G       C   G
O poor mary bellows

She wanted to see the deep blue sea
She traveled across Tennessee
O poor Mary Bellows
She met a man along the way
He introduced himself as Richard Slade
O poor Mary Bellows

Poor Mary thought that she might die
When she saw the ocean for the first time
O poor Mary Bellows
She checked into a cheap little place
Richard Slade carried in her old suitcase
O poor Mary Bellows

"I'm a good girl, sir", she said to him
I couldn't possibly permit you in
O poor Mary Bellows
Slade tipped his hat and winked his eye
And turned away without goodbye
O poor Mary Bellows

She sat on her bed and thought of home
With the sea breeze whistling all alone
O poor Mary Bellows
In hope and loneliness she crossed the floor
And undid the latch on her front door
O poor Mary Bellows

They found her the next day cuffed to the bed
A rag in her mouth and a bullet in her head
O poor Mary Bellows
So mothers keep your girls at home
Don't let them journey all alone
Tell them this world is full of danger
And to shun the company of strangers
O poor Mary Bellows
O poor Mary Bellow


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

Am

Guitar chord Am

C

Guitar chord C

Dm

Guitar chord Dm

F

Guitar chord F

G

Guitar chord G

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 "The Kindness of Strangers" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "The Kindness of Strangers" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Song List