R.E.M. - Life And How To Live It: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Life And How To Live It" 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 Life And How To Live It Guitar Chords and Lyrics by R.E.M.

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 "Life And How To Live It" smoothly on your guitar.

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

C                                   D
Burn bright through the night, two pockets lead the way
C                           D
To doors to go between the wall was raised today
C                           D
To doors remain before your others and your own
C                                       D
Keep these books well stocked away and take your happy home.

Chorus:
    G
My carpenter's out and running about,
                    D
talking to the street
My pockets are out and running about
Barking in the street to tell what
I have hidden there

Burn bright through the night, two pockets lead the way
Two doors to go between the wall was raised today
Raise the walls to chide its flaws, the carpenter should rest
So that when you tire of one side, the other serves you best

Chorus

     F                               C
The hills ringing hear the words in time
               D
Listen to the holler
Listen to my walls within my tongue
Can't you see you made my ears go tin?
The air quicken tension building
inference and suddenly
Life and how to live it

Raise the walls to chide its flaws, the carpenter should rest
So that when you tire of one side, the other serves you best
Read about the wisdom lost, the knock-knock-knock
A secret knock, one hammer's locked, the other wisdom lost

Chorus:
My carpenter's out and running about
and talking to the street
My pockets are out and running about
and barking in the street
To tell what I have hidden there
My carpenter's out and running about
and barking in the...
Listen to the holler
My pockets are out and running about
and barking in the street
To tell what I have hidden there

Listen, listen to the holler
I'm gonna write a book, it will be called Life
and How to Live It


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

C

Guitar chord C

D

Guitar chord D

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 "Life And How To Live It" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Life And How To Live It" by R.E.M..

R.E.M. Song List