The Band - Life Is A Carnival: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Life Is A Carnival" 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.

E
You can walk on the water, drown in the sand
You can fly off a mountaintop if anybody can
Run away, run away--it's the restless age
Look away, look away--you can turn the page

      A                A7                       E
Hey, buddy, would you like to buy a watch real cheap
E
Here on the street
F#m   E/G#        A        B7               E
I got six on each arm and two more round my feet

Chorus:
E
Life is a carnival--believe it or not
Life is a carnival--two bits a shot

Saw a man with the jinx in the third degree
Trying to deal with people, people you can't see
Take away, take away, this house of mirrors
Give away, give away, all the souvenirs

We're all in the same boat ready to float off
the edge of the world
The flat old world
The street is a sideshow from the peddler to the corner girl

Chorus:
Life is a carnival, it's in the book
Life is a carnival, take another look

Hey, buddy, would you like to buy a watch real cheap?
Here on the street
I got six on each arm and two more round my feet

Chorus:
Life is a carnival, believe it or not
Life is a carnival, two bits a shot

Life is a carnival
Life is a carnival
Life is a carnival


You can simplify chords by removing barre

Transpose

Reset

Font Size

Reset

Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

A

Guitar chord A

A7

Guitar chord A7

E

Guitar chord E

F#m

Guitar chord F#m

G#

Guitar chord G#

B7

Guitar chord B7

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 Is A Carnival" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Life Is A Carnival" by The Band.

The Band Song List