Aug62020

Taylor Swift – The Lakes Chord Progression on Piano & Ukulele

ChordsC Em Dm AmAm/BF G

KeyKeyCapo

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[Intro]
C  Em  Dm  Am  Am/B x2

[Verse 1]
C        Em               Dm 
Is it romantic how all of my 
           Am Am/B
elegies eulogize me?
C           Em         
I'm not cut out for all 
      Dm
these cynical clones
      Am Am/B
These hunters with cell phones

[Chorus]
Em                         
Take me to the lakes, where 
         F
all the poets went to die
           Am                 
I don't belong and, my beloved,
           C
 neither do you
Em                         
Those Windermere peaks look 
       F
like a perfect place to cry
            G
I'm setting off, but not 
without my muse

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[Verse 2]
C              Em           
What should be over burrowed
 Dm
 under my skin
   Am                   Am/B
In heart-stopping waves of hurt
C              Em              
I've come too far to watch some 
 Dm
namedropping sleaze
        Am          Am/B
Tell me what are my words worth

[Chorus]
Em                            
Take me to the lakes, where all
      F
 the poets went to die
           Am                 
I don't belong and, my beloved,
                 C
 neither do you
Em                         
Those Windermere peaks look
        F
 like a perfect place to cry
             G
I'm setting off, but not 
without my muse

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[Bridge]
C                  Em
I want auroras and sad prose
Dm                 Am    (Am/B)
I want to watch wisteria grow 
     C
right over my bare feet
Em                          Dm
Because I haven't moved in years
Am
And I want you right here
C                         Em
A red rose grew up out of ice
 frozen ground
     Dm               Am
With no one around to tweet it
C                Em
While I bathe in cliffside pools
          Dm               
With my calamitous love and 
    Am
insurmountable grief

[Chorus]
Em
Take me to the lakes, where all 
the poets went to die
           Am                  
I don't belong and, my beloved,
            C
 neither do you
Em                              
Those Windermere peaks look like 
   F
a perfect place to cry
            G
I'm setting off, but not without my muse
                  C
No, not without you

How to play The Lakes: key, chords and progression

This is the chords of The Lakes by Taylor Swift on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar and Keyboard.

The Lakes by Taylor Swift is centred on C major (no sharps or flats). The song uses 7 chords: C, Em, Dm, Am, Am/B, F and G.

Most of the song cycles through C – Em – Dm – Am (I – iii – ii – vi in C major). In solfa, that is doh – mi – reh – lah. Get these 4 changes smooth and the rest comes quickly.

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