New Ukulele Songs! Beatles + Bright Eyes...

Yes, I know. All the Coustics Clubs need some new songs....

We work slightly differently than most other clubs in that, if songs prove to be unpopular or too difficult for the group, they get superseded, i.e. replaced in the book by something else. I do this so that the group has a focused set of 40 songs to play at any one time, unlike many groups, who have three or four books containing a total repertoire of 250+ songs, most of which they can’t possibly play on a regular basis. That's why some songs have letters as well as numbers. 14A replaces 14, 19D replaces 19C... they're not extra songs we'll play, they're replacements. I’m not saying that’s the right way of doing it, I’m just saying that’s how I do it.

Historically it’s also because I didn’t want to haul a bankers box of music to every club night. The advent of tablets and apps like OnSong and Mobilesheets kind of render that concept a bit outdated, but most of us are still pretty analogue when it comes to our club nights, so….

The next club night is our Ukulele Club, at The Friary Arms in Bognor on Thursday April 24th, 8pm - 10pm, (The fourth Thursday of the month, not necessarily the last!), so I thought I’d concentrate my first efforts there and choose some new songs.

I say new. They’re not new new, just new for the group. They’re actually a bit recycled and repurposed for me, but that’s cool. It’s surprisingly difficult to find suitable material. You’d think after running clubs like this for 17 whatever years I’d be an expert but I still regularly gauge it wrong. As the French say ‘That’s Life!’

So I’m going to run you through these two new songs. If you’re a club member, you can steal a march on everyone else and get some early practice in. If you’re not and you’d just like to play some new songs - you’re welcome! But we’re always happy for new members, so, why not come along and give us a go??

www.facebook.com/coustics

At The Bottom Of Everything

(Bright Eyes)

This is the one people probably won’t know, but it’s a jolly enough, if slightly weird, CFG romp that every ukulele player loves.

From Wikipedia:

Bright Eyes is an American indie rock band founded by singer-songwriter and guitarist Conor Oberst. It consists of Oberst, multi-instrumentalist and producer Mike Mogis, arranger, composer and trumpet and piano player Nate Walcott, and a rotating line-up of collaborators drawn primarily from Omaha's indie music scene.

Between 1998 and 2011, the band's albums were released through Saddle Creek Records, a Nebraska-based label founded by Justin Oberst (Conor's brother) and Mogis. In January 2020, the band announced their return, having signed with Dead Oceans. Their most recent album, Five Dice, All Threes, was released in September 2024.

Here’s the original video for the song. Obviously, I’ve excluded the spoken introduction in favour of a wholly musical arrangement..

Here are my chord sheets…

And here’s a playalong video for you…

(Gotta love it how youtube manages to choose the most unflattering screenshot possible, but hey-ho)

Liking this kind of stuff??

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Can’t Buy Me Love

(The Beatles)

Living under a rock? You’ll still know this one….

Again from Wikipedia

"Can't Buy Me Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in March 1964 as the A-side of their sixth single. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was included on the group's album A Hard Day's Night and was featured in a scene in Richard Lester's film of the same title. The single topped charts in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the Netherlands, France and Sweden. In the UK, it was the fourth highest selling single of the 1960s.

Here’s a video containing the original track….

Here are my chord sheets…

And here’s a playalong video for you…

(Once again, youtube, nice work :-( )

And if you're a club member, or you're just interested in what we play, a new contents page might be helpful!

Yes, I’ve made some key changes, simplification and additions in places to both tracks, but this is how we’re going to do them. These are always to make them more playable for the group in general, and to make them easier for me to sing and lead the group clearly.

Because that’s also what I do. I’m not saying that’s the right way of doing it, I’m just saying that’s how I do it. Hopefully you’ll find these enjoyable, maybe even a little challenge in places. The eagle eyed amongst you might notice that in the case of ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ I play the ‘Em’ chord using the ‘Bm’ shape with a barre on the seventh fret. Due to the quick chord changes, I found that easier, but use the traditional ‘Em’ shape if you prefer, no worries.

Questions? Comments? Let me know!

Cheers