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

Learn to play "The Witness 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.

 D
Yeah, yeah, well, well, well, yeah,
well, well, well, yeah, well, well, well
I took a walk down to the port
Where strangers meet and do consort
All blinkered with desire
And a winter fog moved thickly on
   C
a winter fog moved thickly on
   Am                G     D
a winter fog moved thickly on.

Chorus:
 D
Now, who will be the witness,
who will be the witness, who will be the witness
When the fog's too thick to see

And I saw a friend beside a wall
Her hands were raised in supplication
And her face I could not see at all
And I raised my hands in rage
And I brought them down again
And we entered through the eastern door
I entered through the eastern door
She entered through the eastern door

Chorus:
Now, who will be the witness,
who will be the witness, who will be the witness
When you're all to blind to see
Oh yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes

Yeah, and time gets somewhat muddled here
But no matter, no matter
Here come the events all tumbling down
(Who will be the witness?)
Now, beyond the wall was a great garden
(Who will be the witness?)
Into which we passed
(Who will be the witness?)
Me and my friend
(Who will be the witness?)
And the place was all overgrown with weeds
(Who will be the witness?)
And behold from its center there rose
a great fountain (Who will be the witness?)
A fountain with the healing waters
(Who will be the witness?)
Yes the fountain with the healing waters
(Who will be the witness?)
And we knelt down by the rim
(Who will be the witness?)
And I dipped my hand in
(Who will be the witness?)
And she dipped her hand in too
(Who will be the witness?)
And I said "Are you healed?"
(Who will be the witness?)
And she said "Well, are you healed?"
(Who will be the witness?)
And I said "Yes, I'm healed"
(Who will be the witness?)
And she said "Well, yes I'm healed then too"
(Who will be the witness?)
             Dm
and I said "babe you are a liar"
"babe you are a liar"
"babe you are a liar"
  C
"babe you are a liar"
 Am              G
"babe you are a liar too"

Chorus:
Now, who will be the witness,
who will be the witness, who will be the witness
When you're all to healed to see

And I kissed her once,
I kissed her twice (And I kissed her once,
I kissed her twice)
And made my way to leave her
(And made my way to leave her)
And she raised her hand up to her face
(And she raised her hand up to her face)
And brought it down again
(And brought it down again)
I said "That gesture, it will haunt me"
("That gesture, it will haunt me")
"That gesture it will haunt me"
And I left there by the eastern door
She left there by the western door

Now, who will be the witness,
who will be the witness there
When you're blind and you can't see
Who will be the witness,
yeah baby, who will be the witness there
When you're all so clean and you cannot see
Who will be the witness,
yeah, who will be the witness
Who will be the witness,
who will be the witness
Who will be the witness,
yeah baby, who will be the witness, there
When your friends are everywhere
Who will be the witness,
who will be the witness there
And your enemies have ceased to care
Who will be the witness,
who will be the witness
Who will be the witness,
who will be the witness
Who will be the witness,
yeah baby, who will be the witness there
Yeah, who will be the witness,
who will be the witness
Who will be the witness,
who will be the witness
Who will be the witness,
yeah, who will be the witness, yeah
Who will be the witness,
who will be the witness

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Guitar Chord Diagrams

Am

Guitar chord Am

C

Guitar chord C

D

Guitar chord D

Dm

Guitar chord Dm

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

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Song List