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The Oak King

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Eminor

90BPM

Lyrics & ChordsClick chords to see diagrams

1/9

Tempo 80 BPMVol

Sound:

Position

Step 1 / 9Position: 2

1 index2 middle3 ring4 pinkyO openSpace = play/pause

-Josh Ritter-
-The Oak King-
--------------
This song has four different voices going on. First you have the narrator, then 
you have the Father trying to save his dying son. Up next is the dying son. Then 
we hear The Oak King come in, tempting the boy away from life.
Em1:    x|10|9|0|0|x
Gmaj13: x|9|7|0|0|x
Em2:    x|7|5|0|0|x
Em3:    x|5|4|0|0|x
Cmaj7:  x|3|2|0|0|x
Riff:
e|-----------------------|
B|-----------------------|
G|-----------------------|
D|-----------------------|
A|----------0-2-3-2-0----|
E|--0--2--3-----------3--|
Slide Prog.: Slide to Em1...Gmaj13...Em2...Em3...Cmaj7...Riff
Em
B7Who is Emthis that B7rides so Emlate
BeGtween the Dwoods and the Ggarden Dgate?
A B7father Emholds a B7child Emclose,
CBarely Gboy and B7almost Emghost
             Em         G           C       G(C/G)
Son why do you cry and hide your face?
Oh GFather, the DOak King is Gking of this Dplace,
                   Em             G           C       G(C/G)
With a crown made of thistle and septer of reeds
CSon, there's no GOak King, just the B7wind and the Emtrees
(Slide Prog.)
My Am7prince, my B7love, I Emknew you'd come
Now Am7you must B7join the Cother B7ones
Am7Cast your B7blues uEmpon the tide
Am7Sleep all B7day, Cplay all B7night
Oh Amfather, Oh Emfather, don't Amleave me I Empray
The GOak King is Dcloser than the Gdawn of the Dday
Than the Amdawn of the Emday, The Amedge of the Emwoods
The COak King is Gbad and he'll B7take me for Emgood
               Em            G            C      G(C/G)
Oh son, with his palaces of silver and gold
With a Gqueen and his Down pretty Gchildren to Dhold
                  Em               G                C     G(C/G)
With his own pretty children, why steal you from me?
What Ckind of a Gking would ever B7be such a Emthief?
(Slide Prog.)
My Am7prince, my B7love, I Emknew you'd come
Now Am7you must B7join the Cother B7ones
Am7Cast your B7blues uEmpon the tide
Am7My daughters will B7hold you Cclear through till B7night
Oh Amfather, Oh Emfather, scattered Amall along the Empath
The GOak Kings own Dchildren in the Gdark as we Dpass
The AmOak Kings own Emchildren, they sing Amsoftley and they Emsigh
They Cdon't seem to Gcare that they're B7blooming at Emnight
                Em         G               C        G(C/G)
Oh Son, who would leave a child in this place?
To the Gwind and the Ddark and the Grain on their Dfaces
The Amrain on their Emface, Ammud on their Emfeet
What Ckind of a GKing would dress his B7children in Emleaves? 
(Slide Prog.)
My Am7prince, my B7love, I Emknew you would come
Now Am7you must B7join the Cother B7ones
Oh Am7Father, Oh B7Father, I must Emgo away
The Am7Oak King B7sings, CI must B7obey
(Slide Prog. soft)
At the B7edge of the Emwoods and the B7break of the Emday,
The Gfather looked Ddown where his Gson used to Dlay,
And in B7grief and in Emsorrow, in B7sorrow and Emgrief,
Wondered Cwhat kind of Gking could ever B7be such a Emthief?
(Slide Prog.)

All chords in this song (8)

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The Oak King

by Josh Ritter

Lyrics & chords · Original key

Chords in this song · guitar

C/G

Am7

-Josh Ritter-

-The Oak King-

--------------

This song has four different voices going on. First you have the narrator, then

you have the Father trying to save his dying son. Up next is the dying son. Then

we hear The Oak King come in, tempting the boy away from life.

Em1: x|10|9|0|0|x

Gmaj13: x|9|7|0|0|x

Em2: x|7|5|0|0|x

Em3: x|5|4|0|0|x

Cmaj7: x|3|2|0|0|x

Riff:

e|-----------------------|

B|-----------------------|

G|-----------------------|

D|-----------------------|

A|----------0-2-3-2-0----|

E|--0--2--3-----------3--|

Slide Prog.: Slide to Em1...Gmaj13...Em2...Em3...Cmaj7...Riff

B7 Em B7 Em

Who is this that rides so late

G D G D

Between the woods and the garden gate?

B7 Em B7 Em

A father holds a child close,

C G B7 Em

Barely boy and almost ghost

Em G C G C/G

()

Son why do you cry and hide your face?

G D G D

Oh Father, the Oak King is king of this place,

Em G C G C/G

()

With a crown made of thistle and septer of reeds

C G B7 Em

Son, there's no Oak King, just the wind and the trees

(Slide Prog.)

Am7 B7 Em

My prince, my love, I knew you'd come

Am7 B7 C B7

Now you must join the other ones

Am7 B7 Em

Cast your blues upon the tide

Am7 B7 C B7

Sleep all day, play all night

Am Em Am Em

Oh father, Oh father, don't leave me I pray

G D G D

The Oak King is closer than the dawn of the day

Am Em Am Em

Than the dawn of the day, The edge of the woods

C G B7 Em

The Oak King is bad and he'll take me for good

Em G C G C/G

()

Oh son, with his palaces of silver and gold

G D G D

With a queen and his own pretty children to hold

Em G C G C/G

()

With his own pretty children, why steal you from me?

C G B7 Em

What kind of a king would ever be such a thief?

(Slide Prog.)

Am7 B7 Em

My prince, my love, I knew you'd come

Am7 B7 C B7

Now you must join the other ones

Am7 B7 Em

Cast your blues upon the tide

Am7 B7 C B7

My daughters will hold you clear through till night

Am Em Am Em

Oh father, Oh father, scattered all along the path

G D G D

The Oak Kings own children in the dark as we pass

Am Em Am Em

The Oak Kings own children, they sing softley and they sigh

C G B7 Em

They don't seem to care that they're blooming at night

Em G C G C/G

()

Oh Son, who would leave a child in this place?

G D G D

To the wind and the dark and the rain on their faces

Am Em Am Em

The rain on their face, mud on their feet

C G B7 Em

What kind of a King would dress his children in leaves?

(Slide Prog.)

Am7 B7 Em

My prince, my love, I knew you would come

Am7 B7 C B7

Now you must join the other ones

Am7 B7 Em

Oh Father, Oh Father, I must go away

Am7 B7 C B7

The Oak King sings, I must obey

(Slide Prog. soft)

B7 Em B7 Em

At the edge of the woods and the break of the day,

G D G D

The father looked down where his son used to lay,

B7 Em B7 Em

And in grief and in sorrow, in sorrow and grief,

C G B7 Em

Wondered what kind of king could ever be such a thief?

(Slide Prog.)

About The Oak King Chords by Josh Ritter

Learn how to play The Oak King by Josh Ritter with free guitar chords, lyrics, and interactive chord diagrams. Search for “The Oak King chords”, “The Oak King guitar chords”, or “Josh Ritter The Oak King 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 Oak King chords and for experienced players who want accurate The Oak King lyrics and chords in one place. Common chords in this song include B, G, D, A, E, Em.

FAQ — The Oak King by Josh Ritter

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The chords for "The Oak King" show the original chord names (including B, G, D, A, E, Em). Use transpose to move the song into any key that fits your voice or capo.