Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Lyre of Orpheus: Ukulele Chords

Learn to play "The Lyre of Orpheus" on your ukulele with our detailed chord guide and lyrics. This page provides everything you need to play this song on the ukulele, including lyrics integrated with chords, chord diagrams, and a key transposer to match your vocal range.

Learn The Lyre of Orpheus ukulele chords and lyrics

This section will guide you through each part of the song, providing the ukulele chords placed directly above the lyrics for easy playing. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, these elements will help you perform "The Lyre of Orpheus" smoothly on your ukulele.

G
Orpheus sat gloomy in his garden shed
Wondering what to do
With a lump of wood, a piece of wire
And a little pot of glue

Chorus:
    G
Oh mama, oh mama

He sawed at the wood with half a heart
And glued it top to bottom
He strung a wire in between
He was feeling something rotten

Chorus

Orpheus looked at his instrument
And he gave the wire a pluck
He heard a sound so beautiful
He gasped and said O my God

Chorus

He rushed inside to tell his wife
He went racing down the halls
Eurydice was still asleep in bed
Like a sack of cannonballs

Chorus

Look what I've made, cried Orpheus
And he plucked a gentle note
Eurydice's eyes popped from their sockets
And her tongue burst through her throat

Chorus

O God, what have I done, he said
As her blood pooled in the sheets
But in his heart he felt a bliss
With which nothing could compete

Chorus

Orpheus went leaping through the fields
Strumming as hard as he did please
Birdies detonated in the sky
Bunnies dashed their brains out on the trees

Chorus

Orpheus strummed till his fingers bled
He hit a G minor 7
He woke up God from a deep, deep sleep
God was a major player in heaven

Chorus

God picked up a giant hammer
And He threw it with an thunderous yell
It smashed down hard on Orpheus' head
And knocked him down a well

Chorus

The well went down very deep
Very deep went down the well
The well went down so very deep
Well, the well went down to hell

Chorus

Poor Orpheus woke up with a start
All amongst the rotting dead
His lyre tacked safe under his arm
His brains all down his head

Chorus

Eurydice appeared brindled in blood
And she said to Orpheus
If you play that fucking thing down here
I'll stick it up your orifice!

Chorus

This lyre lark is for the birds, said Orpheus
It's enough to send you bats
Let's stay down here, Eurydice, dear
And we'll have a bunch of screaming brats

Chorus

Orpheus picked up his lyre for the last time
He was on a real low down bummer
And stared deep into the abyss and said
This one is for Mama

Chorus:
O Mama
O Mama
O Mama
O Mama
O Mama
O Mama
O Mama
O Mama
O Mama
O Mama
O Mama
O Mama

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Ukulele Chord Diagrams

G

Ukulele chord G

Here you can see detailed diagrams for each ukulele 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 "The Lyre of Orpheus" on the guitar, check out the chords on our sister site: Guitar Chords for "The Lyre of Orpheus" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Song List