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The Ghost Ship

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Amajor

90BPM

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"The Ghost Ship" by Robyn Hitchcock
[Intro]
A
[Verse 1]
The Aghost ship haunts the sea
to F#mstill come back and marry me
The Drust is where her heart should be tonAight
Her Dface is where her fingers were tonAight
A Aglassy checkered engine room
The F#mspeechless silence of the tomb
The Dmanuscripts inside the womb unAfurls
A Egirl
TransDlucent as a jelly fish
that Apalpitates uF#mpon a dish
She Bmstings you with her Ggently falling Ecurl
And Dsinking in the waters green tonAight
I Dwonder where my love has been tonAight
[Verse 2]
The Aghost ship changes course
and F#mon the deck there stands a horse
who's Dmunching on sardines and gorse and hAay
The Dcaptain draws a net across the bAay
The Abubbles rising from the deep
where F#mdead men sing themselves to sleep
From Doak and coral they deceive to Asay
OEkay
You Dread my future like a chart
See Athrough my skin inF#mto my heart
That Bmflutters in my Gribcage like a Ebird
And the Dghost ship sails on into someone's Elife
[Interlude]
D    A
[Verse 3]
The Aair from bottles forms into
the F#mskeletons of all the crew
In Dwhite they dance against the blue and wAail
Their Dcurling bodies flail around the sAail
The Afigurehead before the mast
stares F#mback into the golden past
ADcross the wrinkled sea so vast, forAlorn
She Emoans
She Dflutters 'round me like a moth
that Abeats against mosF#mquito cloth
and Bmtries to eat her Gway into my Edreams
And Dsinking in the waters green tonAight
I Dwonder where my love has been tonAight
[Verse 4]
The Amelons on the riverbank
are F#mbulging through decaying plank
Their Dbeauty is so warm and dank and lAight
The Dcaptain wears a headless grin tonAight
And Asilhouetted on the blue
The F#mcook, the mate, the bosun too
They Dknow not why or what they do at Aall
They Efall
Like Dmasonry in the abyss
that Aopens every F#mtime we kiss
I Bmhear their laughter Gecho 'round the Ebay
And the Dghost ship sails on into someone's Elife
[Outro]
D     A    D    A
F#m   D    E    F#
D7    F#   D7   F#

All chords in this song (8)

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The Ghost Ship

by Robyn Hitchcock

Lyrics & chords · Original key

Chords in this song · guitar

F#m

"The Ghost Ship" by Robyn Hitchcock

[Intro]

[Verse 1]

The ghost ship haunts the sea

F#m

to still come back and marry me

D A

The rust is where her heart should be tonight

D A

Her face is where her fingers were tonight

A glassy checkered engine room

F#m

The speechless silence of the tomb

D A

The manuscripts inside the womb unfurls

A girl

Translucent as a jelly fish

A F#m

that palpitates upon a dish

Bm G E

She stings you with her gently falling curl

D A

And sinking in the waters green tonight

D A

I wonder where my love has been tonight

[Verse 2]

The ghost ship changes course

F#m

and on the deck there stands a horse

D A

who's munching on sardines and gorse and hay

D A

The captain draws a net across the bay

The bubbles rising from the deep

F#m

where dead men sing themselves to sleep

D A

From oak and coral they deceive to say

Okay

You read my future like a chart

A F#m

See through my skin into my heart

Bm G E

That flutters in my ribcage like a bird

D E

And the ghost ship sails on into someone's life

[Interlude]

D A

[Verse 3]

The air from bottles forms into

F#m

the skeletons of all the crew

D A

In white they dance against the blue and wail

D A

Their curling bodies flail around the sail

The figurehead before the mast

F#m

stares back into the golden past

D A

Across the wrinkled sea so vast, forlorn

She moans

She flutters 'round me like a moth

A F#m

that beats against mosquito cloth

Bm G E

and tries to eat her way into my dreams

D A

And sinking in the waters green tonight

D A

I wonder where my love has been tonight

[Verse 4]

The melons on the riverbank

F#m

are bulging through decaying plank

D A

Their beauty is so warm and dank and light

D A

The captain wears a headless grin tonight

And silhouetted on the blue

F#m

The cook, the mate, the bosun too

D A

They know not why or what they do at all

They fall

Like masonry in the abyss

A F#m

that opens every time we kiss

Bm G E

I hear their laughter echo 'round the bay

D E

And the ghost ship sails on into someone's life

[Outro]

D A D A

F#m D E F#

D7 F# D7 F#

About The Ghost Ship Chords by Robyn Hitchcock

Learn how to play The Ghost Ship by Robyn Hitchcock with free guitar chords, lyrics, and interactive chord diagrams. Search for “The Ghost Ship chords”, “The Ghost Ship guitar chords”, or “Robyn Hitchcock The Ghost Ship chords” and you will find this page — transpose to any key, tap chords for diagrams, and use auto-scroll while you play. Perfect for beginners looking for easy The Ghost Ship chords and for experienced players who want accurate The Ghost Ship lyrics and chords in one place. Common chords in this song include A, F#m, D, E, Bm, G.

FAQ — The Ghost Ship by Robyn Hitchcock

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Is "The Ghost Ship" easy to play on guitar?

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What key is "The Ghost Ship" in?

The chords for "The Ghost Ship" show the original chord names (including A, F#m, D, E, Bm, G). Use transpose to move the song into any key that fits your voice or capo.