Nov52022

Tommy Prine – Ships In The Harbor Chords on Piano & Ukulele

Updated January 8, 2026

ChordsG D Bm A

KeyKeyCapo

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[Intro]
G  D
G  D
Bm  G  D
D

[Verse 1]
G                       D
It must be the morning again,
    G               D
The sun through the window
      D          A
felt good on my skin,
      Bm              G
So it must be leaving soon,
        D        D
 as it should.

[Verse 2]
  G       D         D
I saw the bluebird again,
    G          D
She pointed it out in the
 D           A
yard on our fence,
      Bm              G
So it must be leaving soon,
       D        D
 as it should.

[Chorus]
         G
When I’m standing by water,
        A
It gets harder and harder,
     Bm
It’s why I get sad when
        G                   G
there’s ships in the harbor,
           D               A
Cause they must be leaving soon,
          D     D
 as they should.

[Interlude]
D

[Verse 3]
G        D          D
I got to see an old friend,
   G                  D
We laughed and stayed up
         D          A
till it came to an end,
         Bm              G
Cause he must be leaving soon,
      D        D
As he should.

[Verse 4]
  G           D           D
I tend to get lost in the stars,
  G           D
I waste every night wondering
 D            A
 where we all are,
           Bm              G
And how we must be leaving soon,
        D        D
 as we should.

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[Chorus]
         G
When I’m standing by water,
        A
It gets harder and harder,
     Bm
It’s why I get sad when
        G            D      G
there’s ships in the harbor,
           D
Cause they must, be leaving
 A             D     D
 soon, as they should.

[Interlude]
D  A  G  D
D  A  G  D
D

[Verse 5]
   G             D
It takes time to know
             D
when you’re wrong,
   G          D
It takes even longer
           D        A
to put it all in a song,
      Bm          D    G
And I wish it was easy to,
      D        D
like he did.

[Chorus]
         G
When I’m by peaceful waters,
        A
It gets harder and harder,
    Bm                  G
I’d do anything just to talk
 to my father,
      D
But I guess he was leaving
 A           Bm   Bm
 soon, as we do.

[Outro]
       D
Yeah I guess, he was passing
  A                 D
through; and I am too.

How to play Ships In The Harbor: key, chords and progression

These are Ships In The Harbor chords by Tommy Prine on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar, and Keyboard.

Ships In The Harbor by Tommy Prine keeps coming home to D major (two sharps: F♯, C♯). You need 4 chords: G, D, Bm and A.

Most of the song cycles through A – Bm – G – D (V – vi – IV – I in D major), a rotation of the “four-chord” pop progression (I–V–vi–IV). In solfa, that is soh – lah – fah – doh. Get these 4 changes smooth and the rest comes quickly.

Easier on guitar: put a capo on the 7th fret and play the shapes C, G, Em, D (100% of the chords become easy open shapes, against 75% without a capo). It sounds exactly the same.

Chord diagrams

Need another chord or a different shape? Feel free to use our free Chord Shape Generator.

Ships In The Harbor chords: questions

What key is Ships In The Harbor in?

Ships In The Harbor by Tommy Prine is centred on D major (two sharps: F♯, C♯).

What chords are in Ships In The Harbor?

Ships In The Harbor uses 4 chords: G, D, Bm, A.

What is the chord progression of Ships In The Harbor?

The main progression is A – Bm – G – D (V – vi – IV – I), a rotation of the “four-chord” pop progression (I–V–vi–IV).

Is Ships In The Harbor easy to play on guitar?

Yes, with a capo: put a capo on the 7th fret and play the shapes C, G, Em, D (100% of the chords become easy open shapes, against 75% without a capo).

How to play Ships In The Harbor: key, chords and progression

Chord diagrams

Ships In The Harbor chords: questions

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