When the Saints Go Marching In Guitar Chords
Key of G 4/4 120 BPM 4 chords: G D G7 C Beginner
The 4 chords of When the Saints Go Marching In
When the Saints Go Marching In is the perfect second song on guitar: a happy, marching tune in four beats with only four chords, G, G7, C and D. The first half of every verse stays on G for six bars, which gives you plenty of time to get the strumming going, before the chords start moving in the "Oh Lord, I want to be in that number" line. This page has three verses with the chords over the words, the sixteen-bar progression, and a guitar that strums along at the tempo you choose. Start slowly, then speed it up until it swings like a New Orleans brass band.
Strings from the low E (left) to the high E (right), numbers are fingers. Tap a chord for every other way to play it.
When the Saints Go Marching In chords and lyrics
Each chord sits over the word where it changes. Keep strumming the same chord until the next one. Song credits: Traditional American spiritual, a New Orleans jazz standard.
How to strum When the Saints Go Marching In
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. Start with four down strums, then try down, down-up, up-down-up: the classic folk pattern that makes it march.
Tips for When the Saints Go Marching In on guitar
The chords
Four open chords: G, G7, C and D. G7 adds the first fret of the high E string to G and leads into C.
The tricky part
The words start before the first chord: "Oh when the" is a pickup. Sing it, then strum the first G on "saints".
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 When the Saints Go Marching In
When the Saints Go Marching In began as an African American spiritual about the Day of Judgement. Its words were printed in hymn books from the 1890s, and in the 20th century it became the anthem of New Orleans jazz, played by brass bands at funerals and parades.
Louis Armstrong made it famous around the world with his recording of 1938. Today it is sung in schools, in football stadiums and at every jazz festival, and it is a classic first song on the trumpet too.
Source: Traditional spiritual (words in hymnals from the 1890s), public domain; chords in G by GOONS Studio.
Frequently asked
What chords are in When the Saints Go Marching In?
In G: G, G7, C and D. The verse is six bars of G, two of D, then G, G7, two bars of C, and G, D, G to finish.
Is When the Saints easy on guitar?
Yes: four open chords and a slow change rate. It is one of the best songs to practise the change from G to C and from D back to G.
How many verses does When the Saints have?
There is no fixed number: singers add verses like "when the sun refuse to shine" and "when the trumpet sounds its call". This page has three, all on the same chords.
Record your own When the Saints Go Marching In
The guitar on this page is free, with no account. GOONS Studio adds the rest of the band in the browser - drum machines, a bass, a sampled piano and a sequencer - to record your own version of the song, with a 7-day free trial, no card required.