Mar212026

Dermot Kennedy – Honest Chords on Piano & Ukulele

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These are Honest chords by Dermot Kennedy for Piano and Ukulele.

[Intro]
D  D  Dmaj7  Dsus2
Bm   G
D  F#m

[Verse 1]
     Bm
Oh I raced head first 
down the old stone road,
       G
To the bridge outside Kilteel,
      D
And I held my breath on 
that frosty morning,
F#m
Dreaming maybe you’re still there,
      Bm
Now I know in my heart 
that the original sin,
    G
Was never showing you my mind,
          D
‘Fore you crossed that sea,
    D                  F#m
You left this land and left 
                  Bm
my love behind.

[Chorus]
But my heart’s too honest,
G                        D
 All my colours spilling out,
Cause I know you’re all
   F#m        Bm
 I want, want
Bm
Have we missed our moment?
G                       D
 How could fate be so unfair?
                          F#m
Cause I know you’re all I want
         D  Dmaj7
 want
[Verse 2]
       Bm
Now my Father stands in the
 middle of the road saying,
 G
“Boy where have you been?
            D
You’ve been out all night 
chasing dogs and ghosts,
         F#m
And this hill has taken 
down good men.”
          Bm           
It’s been dark so long,
       D
 she’s so damn bright,
      G
I can barely get myself to leave,
        D
I don’t do this much, no it’s 
not like me, he said,
   F#m                       Bm
“I know just what you mean.”

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[Chorus]
Bm
But my heart’s too honest,
G                        D
 All my colours spilling out,
                          F#m        Bm
Cause I know you’re all I want, want . . .,
Bm
Have we missed our moment?
G                       D
 How could fate be so unfair?
                          F#m 
Cause I know you’re all I want,
      Bm       G    D
 want   want   want 
                          F#m  
Cause I know you’re all I want,
       Bm       G        D
 want        want    want
                       
Cause I know you’re all
   F#m         Bm
 I want, want


[Outro]
  Bm
I realise now there’s a wolf inside,
       G
That I dare not try to kill,
      D
I can change my path, 
I can learn his heart,
      F#m
But I cannot change his will,
  Bm
I watch her go, on a 
long cold night,
    G
I expect she’ll never
 leave my mind,
         D
And I’ll walk round broken,
 sceptical,
           F#m
Hoping one day she’ll r
eturn to my side.
D

Watch: Dermot Kennedy - Honest (Official Visualiser)

From DermotKennedyVEVO on YouTube. Play along with the chords above.

How to play Honest: key, chords and progression

Honest by Dermot Kennedy is built around D major (two sharps: F♯, C♯), with 6 chords in all: D, Dmaj7, Dsus2, Bm, G and F#m.

The backbone of the song is Bm – G – D – F#m (vi – IV – I – iii in D major). In solfa, that is lah – fah – doh – mi. Practise these 4 changes until they feel natural and you can play most of it.

Good to know: Bm and F#m are played as barre or movable shapes on guitar. Practise the change into them slowly; on piano and ukulele the same chords are easier.