Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Chords)

Posted by chris on December 27, 2007

The lyrics used by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole are a little off from the original lyrics of both songs. These chords reflect his version of the songs, as taught in my video tutorial, but of course, if you wanted a “Hawaiian” version of either of these songs by themselves (As was performed, for example by the Worthless Peons – seen in the TV Show, Scrubs), feel free to insert those lyrics using these chords. For the Ukulele Chords, visit: http://www.ezfolk.com/uke/chords/. Happy playing! – CE.

 Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World
 Composed By:  E.V. Harburg/Harold Arlen
 Performed By: Israel Kamakawiwo`ole

 C C Em Em F F C C
 ooh...    ooh...
 F F E7 E7 Am Am F F
 ooh...    ooh...

(Somewhere Over the Rainbow)
 C         Em               F      C
 Somewhere over the rainbow way up high
 F       C                        G              Am     F
 And the dreams that you dream of once in a lullaby
 C         Em               F          C
 Somewhere over the rainbow blue birds fly
 F       C                         G                     Am     F
 And the dreams that you dream of, dreams really do come true
     C                          G                                  Am   F
 Someday I'll wish upon a star, wake up where the clouds are far behind me
       C
 Where trouble melts like lemon drops
 G                              Am           F
 High above the chimney tops is where you'll find me
 C         Em               F         C
 Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly
 F       C                           G                 Am     F
 And the dreams that you dare to, oh why, oh why can't I?

(What a Wonderful World)
             C       Em        F            C
 Well I see trees of green and red roses too,
 F               C         E7     Am
 I'll watch then bloom for me and you
       F                G                Am     F
 And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
            C        Em             F         C             F             C
 Well I see skies of blue and I see clouds of white and the brightness of day
 E7         Am          F               G                C        F    C
 I like the dark and I think to myself, what a wonderful world
     G                        C
 The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
     G                    C
 are also on the faces of people passing by
       F               C              F          C
 I see friends shaking hands saying, ³How do you do?
 F              C       Dm7             G
 They're really saying, I,      I love you
        C      Em        F          C
 I hear babies cry and I watch them grow,
 F                  C     E7        Am
 They'll learn much more than we'll know
       F                G                Am     F
 And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

(Somewhere Over the Rainbow)
 C                              G                                  Am    F
 Someday I'll wish upon a star, wake up where the clouds are far behind me
        C
 Where trouble melts like lemon drops
 G                              Am           F
 High above the chimney tops is where you'll find me
 C         Em               F      C
 Somewhere over the rainbow way up high
 F       C                           G                 Am     F
 And the dreams that you dare to, oh why, oh why can't I?

Chording By: Robbie Gehring

Filed Under: Chords, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Ukulele

Carol said,

Thank you for posting this. I just got my uke and was able to play this, although my strumming & tuning stinks I’m sure.

Thank you taking the time to add all lessons. Hope to see more on uke.
Linda Lee said,

Hey, thank you for this, I was inspired to learn this song after hearing Jason Castro perform this American Idol. Your site has greatly helped me learn this wonderful song.

Thank you, and God bless you.
Jon B. said,

Hey, nice of you to put this up, makes it way easier to start on it. Do you have the chord intro, before he gets into the ‘ooooo’ part?

Appreciate what you’ve done here.
Vanessa said,

This is to be played only on Ukulele or also on acoustic guitar?:) GB
chris said,

you can absolutely play it on the acoustic guitar!
Ben said,

Hi, great tutorial, you really should do more because you are the first, who set up the camera correctly to see the chords.
Keep it up!
josh said,

NICE! This is definitely the most accurate uke lesson of this song on the internet. Thanks sooo much. Now I only need to learn how to sing…
Michael said,

Just want to say thanks! This is my first song (well, two in one rather) I’m learning on the ukulele and your video is really helpful.
kieran said,

hey mate thanks for that it was an excellent tutorial. i just started playing round with this uke we have at home. you should do one of these for “your arms around me” – Jens Lekman
Jake Z said,

thank you so much for the chords! i played it on piano =D
Sentimental Dad said,

My daughter picked up an old family uke over the holiday weekend and pretty much learned enough to play from this website. She actually seems to enjoy letting me sing along. What dad wouldn’t eat that up?!!
Take said,

Hey Chris
Thank you so much for your great work on you tube and code chart. After several trips to Hawaii, finally I got uke for me and start learning this beautiful version by Iz.
Keep up the good work!
James said,

awesome i come here everyday to play this song. keep it up
violeta said,

why the fuck is this beautiful song so hard to find?! thankyou man you helped me out heaps. can’t wait to learn this. if i ever meet you, i’ll ask you over and bake you a cake. xxx
Chris said,

lol, you’re welcome
Rich said,

Thank you for such a great tutorial. I really love the format! It’s perfect for a beginner like myself. Any plans for more? Can you do more IZ covers?
Joel said,

the BEST!
john said,

thanks!
Great song and it was very well explained on your youtube and chord sheet
thanks again!

john@sjebcdmz.com
Leana said,

omg this is incredible! i only started playing the ukelele two weeks ago and this is the first song i learned! so clear and so easy to follow! the only chord i still can’t get is the Dm7…advice?
Mike said,

Your tutorial is very helpful, I was just wondering if you could place the strum pattern on the chord sheet also. I just starting playing a couple days ago, and I am having problems transitioning from chord to chord while staying in sync with the lyrics. Thanks again, very helpful.
Mike said,

I’m sorry, is there a way you could post a tutorial for Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours, I’ve found other tutorials but they tend to complicate things.
Tara said,

hey thanks for putting these up man, this is really helpful. ive always wanted to learn this song, its basically the whole reason i got a ukulele so really, thank you.
usexpress said,

Chris,
The lyrics with the chord chart is really helpful..I love IZ’s version. I have a Fluke Uke (concert), it is definetly tuned a little different than what looks to be a soprano or tenor that you have, however I may be out of tune some also.. But I will keep on tryin>>Peace> Thnx..
john mark said,

wow! it has become my daily routine to play this song every morning when i wake up. i’m serious guitar player and i have always tried to play this on classical guitar but i really can’t find the feelings. thankfully, about a year ago, i bought a ukelele as a present for my son’s 3rd b-day and few months ago, out of boredom, i searchd the internet to get some lessons on how to play uke and i accidentally discovered somewhere over the rainbow/what a wonderful world in uke arrangement plus the lesson. i’ve been playing this one in uke eversince. wow! thank you.
Miguel said,

thank you so much for this tab, GOD BLESS YOU

PEACE

From Colombia!!!!
Michael said,

Thank you so much for this great video!!!! I love it. Although, I would like to ask if you could possibly work up some worship song tutorials on the ukulele. I am hoping to use my ukulele to lead small group worship because I think it would be a unique way to worship. Thank you so much.
The Guy said,

Ok, why the heck is this song so flippin difficult to find chords for? It’s amazing!!! (and so is this arrangement)

This is awesome, God bless you
Mads said,

Didn’t you forget to show the G chord?
Mads said,

Never mind, it came later in the video, and I forgot about that.
manu said,

Thank u chris for your great lesson! It’s my first time with an uke and i think soon i’ll be able to play this to my two little girls!
bye

manu from PARIS
adam said,

thanks so much! great lesson.
laura said,

thanks alot i love this song and know i can play it on the ukulele thanks so much
laura said,

thanks alot i love this song and now i can play it on the ukulele thanks so much
finn said,

Well Done Mate…!

Cheers
WongYY said,

After watching your uke video, I actually can play (slowly) the song which i have never thought i can do it within an hour. Thanks so much!!

Hope that you can teach more worship songs in Uke too….
Kia'i said,

Great job on the tutorial. But please, learn how to pronounce Kamakawiwo’ole. Made me smile so much it hurt.
I have been playing the ukulele for a while now. I just wish we had the internet when I first started, it would have made learning so much simpler.
Aloha
Uncle Dee said,

Chris,

Aloha ke Akua for your time and energy putting this together!

“uncoh D”
Kerstin said,

Aloha Chris!

Thank you so much! I started yesterday to learn my first lesson on the ukulele and it is much joy to have you as my teacher – I love that song so much and its a delight to be able to learn it… Thanks ! With love and greetings xxx Kerstin
Jimmy said,

Chris, Thanks so much. My sister bought me a uke so I could play this song in her wedding (in 4 weeks) and this chord sheet with the youtube video was clutch.
Clifford said,

Thank you for this lesson. This should be the first song everyone learns when they first start out on the uke.
Lee said,

Thank you so much for this….. My hubby is learning the banjo so I couldn’t just sit here and not learn something new I heard your rendition on youtube and thought how lovely! You are very kind to help others this way~ Thank you and may God bless you and yours!
Alex said,

Hi chris thank you so much for this lesson. I always wanted to learn to play uke. I first heard the uke in the movie 50 first dates when Israel Kamakawiwo’ole did his rendition of somewhere over the rainbow. I love the sound it produce.Right now I’m planning to buy my own first uke. Thanks again! God bless!
Alex said,

Hi Chris Alex here again. Is it possible if you could post a chord chart for the uke? I’ll greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance!
Alex said,

Thank you for taking the time to make this, i couldn’t find out what that chord was and nobody else had this with E7 posted. These are the chords that IZ actually played.

John B. the intro is C Em Am F C Em Am Am7 F F
(Am7 is played like an F but instead of playing the second to bottom string on the first fret, you play it on the 3rd fret.)
Also you only strum each chord half the time that you do in the rest of the song.
Matt said,

Thanks for the sheet music and the video. This song is a lot of fun with my new ukulele.
Adam said,

This is one of my favorite songs. Thanks so much for your hard work!
Mik said,

Thanks Chris for this. I’ve played the guitar for decades and just got a ukuele. THi such a cool version of the song by a very inspirational man (RIP). Can’t wait to learn more. Keep up the great work man!!!

Mik
brent said,

used this for acoustic guitar and copied the strumming pattern from your video.. nice, thanks
Pete said,

Chris, Thanks a million. Amazing song and a brilliant tutorial! Do some more man!

Pete in Northern Ireland
Connie said,

My grandson loves this song, so I bought a uke to learn how to play it. Your lesson was wonderful, I still need a lot of practice but I intend to continue until I get it right. I bought him a uke as a surprise so we can play it together.
Thank you so much.