Aug142021

The Killers – The Getting By Chords on Piano & Ukulele

Updated January 8, 2026

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These are the chords for The Getting By by The Killers on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar, and Keyboard.

[Intro]
A   A

[Verse 1]
     A               Dsus2
When I get up, she swears
                A
that she don't hear it
 Dsus2
Says that I'm as quiet
as a mouse
   A
I comb my hair and
    Dsus2          A
throw some water on my face
     Dsus2
And back out of the stillness
         A
 of our house
            E
Lately, my patience is in
   F#m      Dsus2
 short supply
                      E
Nothing good seems to ever
           F#m
 come from all this work
    Dsus2              A    Asus2
No matter how hard I try

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[Verse 2]
      A                    Dsus2
You know I believe in the Son, I
               A
 ain't no backslider
        Dsus2
But my people were told
                         A
they'd prosper in this land
Still, I know some who've
  Dsus2         A
never seen the ocean
    Dsus2
Or set one foot on a
                A
 velvet bed of sand
                        E
But they've got their treasure
         F#m    Dsus2
 laying way up high
             E
Where there might be many mansions
         F#m        Dsus2
But when I look up, all I
         A   Asus2
see is sky

[Chorus]
                F#m
Maybe it's the getting by
       E               Dsus2
that gets right underneath you
                     E
It'd swallow up your every
    F#m             Dsus2
 step, boy, if it could
But maybe it's the stuff
                 E
 it takes to get up
        A     Dsus2
In the mor---ning and put
          E       F#m
 another day in, son
That holds you till the
  E         A   E/G#
getting's good

[Bridge]
F#m                       E
 Green ribbon front doors,
dishwater days
A
 This whole town is tied to
          Dsus2                   E
the torso of God's mysterious ways

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

[Chorus]
                F#m
Maybe it's the getting by
        E               Dsus2
that gets right underneath you
                     E       F#m
It'd swallow up your every step,
             Dsus2
boy, if it could
But maybe it's the stuff
                E
it takes to get up
        A     Dsus2
In the mor---ning and put
          E       F#m
 another day in, son
      A
That keeps you standing
   Dsus2     A
 where you should
                E       F#m
So put another day in, son, and
  A                Dsus2
hold on till the getting's
   A    Dsus2
good

[End]
A    Dsus2  A

How to play The Getting By: key, chords and progression

The Getting By by The Killers is in the key of A major (three sharps: F♯, C♯, G♯). The song uses 6 chords: A, Dsus2, E, F#m, Asus2 and E/G#.

The backbone of the song is E – F#m – Dsus2 – E (V – vi – IVsus2 – V in A major). In solfa, that is soh – lah – fah – soh. Practise these 4 changes until they feel natural and you can play most of it.

Beginner-friendly: on guitar almost every chord is an open shape, which makes this a good song to learn early on.