Michael, Row the Boat Ashore Guitar Chords
Key of G 4/4 96 BPM 3 chords: G C D Beginner
The 3 chords of Michael, Row the Boat Ashore
Michael, Row the Boat Ashore is a gentle rowing song with an answer everybody can sing: "Hallelujah". On guitar it uses three chords, G, C and D, in a short eight-bar loop that never changes, so it is perfect for a first singalong or a class of beginners. This chord sheet has the chorus and three traditional verses with every chord over its word. Strum it with an easy swing, four beats per bar, and let one person sing the line while everybody answers "Hallelujah". Press Play along to hear the strum at the tempo you choose.
Strings from the low E (left) to the high E (right), numbers are fingers. Tap a chord for every other way to play it.
Michael, Row the Boat Ashore chords and lyrics
Each chord sits over the word where it changes. Keep strumming the same chord until the next one. Song credits: African American spiritual, printed in Slave Songs of the United States (1867).
How to strum Michael, Row the Boat Ashore
The song is in 4/4: 4 beats in every bar. Count them aloud, and strum down on the numbers and up on the "and".
Easy
Full
Four beats per bar with a light swing: down, down-up, up-down-up. Or one down strum per beat.
Tips for Michael, Row the Boat Ashore on guitar
The chords
G, C and D. The chorus and every verse use the same eight bars.
The tricky part
Bar 6 holds two chords: C on beat one, G on beat three. Then D and G for the last "Hallelujah".
Change the key
To sing higher, keep the same shapes and put a capo on fret 2, which raises the song a whole step, or on fret 4 for two whole steps. The chords on this page and the guitar above stay the same; only the pitch changes.
The story of Michael, Row the Boat Ashore
Michael, Row the Boat Ashore was sung by formerly enslaved people on the Sea Islands of South Carolina during the Civil War, and it was printed in 1867 in Slave Songs of the United States, the first collection of African American songs.
The folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s made it a worldwide hit and a staple of campfires and school songbooks.
Source: Traditional spiritual, Slave Songs of the United States (1867), public domain; chords in G by GOONS Studio.
Frequently asked
What chords are in Michael, Row the Boat Ashore?
In G: G, C, G, D for the first half, then G, C-G, D, G. Three open chords in all.
Where does Michael, Row the Boat Ashore come from?
It is an African American spiritual from the Sea Islands of South Carolina, first printed in 1867 in Slave Songs of the United States.
Is Michael, Row the Boat Ashore good for beginners?
Yes: three chords, an eight-bar loop and a slow tempo. It is one of the best songs to practise G, C and D.
Record your own Michael, Row the Boat Ashore
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