Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Ship Song: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "The Ship Song" 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.

Chorus:
G                D
Come sail your ships around me,
C               G      D
and burn your bridges down
G                 D
We make a little history, baby,
C              G     D
everytime you come around
G                D
Come loose your dogs upon me,
C             G         D
and let your hair hang down
G                 D
You are a little mystery to me,
C               G      D
every time you come around

C                G          D
We talk about it all night long
C              G      D
We define our moral grounds
Em                  G
But when I crawl into your arms
C                 G        D
Everything comes tumbling down.

Chorus:
Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down
We make a little history, baby
Every time you come around

Your face has fallen sad now
For you know the time is nigh
When I must remove your wings
And you, you must try to fly

Chorus:
Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down
We make a little history, baby
Every time you come around
Come loose your dogs upon me
And let your hair hang down
You are a little mystery to me
Every time you come around
Come sail your ships around me
(Come sail your ships around me)
And burn your bridges down
(And burn your bridges down)
We make a little history, baby
(We make a little history, baby)
Every time you come around
(Every time you come around)

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Guitar Chord Diagrams

C

Guitar chord C

D

Guitar chord D

Em

Guitar chord Em

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

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Song List