Oct252021

Jim Reeves – Scarlet Ribbons Chords on Piano & Ukulele

Updated January 8, 2026

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[Intro]
D  D  A  A/D
(arpeggio)

[Verse 1]
D        Em     A       D
I peeped in, to say goodnight
G          A
And then I heard,
   G        D
my child in prayer
        Em      A7         D
And for me some scarlet ribbons
G          A     Em  D/A
Scarlet ribbons, for my hair

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[Verse 2]
        G
All the stores,
     A7         D
were locked and shuttered
G       A
All the streets,
     Em       D
were dark and bare
       G        A          D
In our town, no scarlet ribbons
   Em         A
No scarlet ribbons,
Em  D/A
for her hair

[Bridge]
D           A7
Through the night,
   D         G
my heart was aching
      F#m        Em
Just, before the dawn
    A
was breaking

Feel free to use our free Chord Shape Generator to see every chord in this song on guitar, ukulele and piano.

[Verse 3]
D        Em A          D
I peeped in and on her bed
G            Em         D
In gay profusion, lying there
           G     D/A
Scarlet ribbons, scarlet ribbons
       G          A
Pretty scarlet ribbons,
Em7/A   A
for her hair

[Verse 4]
D                      G
 If I live, to be a hundred
       Em/F#            A7
I will never, know from whe-ere
D          E
Came those lovely,
D/A
scarlet ribbons
G          A
Scarlet ribbons,
Em  A7  D     D
for her hair

How to play Scarlet Ribbons: key, chords and progression

These are the chords for Scarlet Ribbons by Jim Reeves on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar, and Keyboard

Scarlet Ribbons by Jim Reeves sits in D major (two sharps: F♯, C♯), and you need 11 chords to play it: D, A, A/D, Em, G, A7, D/A, F#m, Em7/A, Em/F# and E.

The backbone of the song is D – Em – A – D (I – ii – V – I in D major). In solfa, that is doh – reh – soh – doh. Practise these 4 changes until they feel natural and you can play most of it.

Beginner-friendly: almost every chord here is an open shape on guitar: no capo, no barre chords needed.