Updated Ukulele Songbook

Even though our local uke group, CPLUG, is not currently meeting, the songbook has not died. I have updated it with new arrangements and made a few editorial changes to the older content this past fall and winter. I, of course, continue to play the ukulele every day.

If you don’t know this songbook, it’s a mix of more than 100 tunes ranging from traditional folk music to the 1980s, most of them arranged by me, with some that include my modifications of other people’s arrangements.

There are some songs with more than one version – either the song in two keys or an easy and a jazzy version. That makes for more than 120 arrangements, all with chords indicated by a letter and a graphic chord chart showing finger placements.

I will continue to add songs, but the songbook is already quite large (252 pages). Possibly it will require starting a second book. Most of what I add in future will be from the same eras – music I know and love. There isn’t anything post-90 simply because it’s not music I play nor am familiar with.

I am also learning new tunes and remembering old ones from my guitar days, as I do so, I will add them to the collection.

Of late, I’ve been listening to a lot of Leonard Cohen, and reading his biography, which inspires me to play more of his music, so expect a few more arrangements of his tunes to appear. Plus I’ve found a source of song sheets from the 20s and 30s that offers music I don’t know but think would be fun to learn.

You can download a PDF of the latest version of the songbook here. And if you’re interested in rekindling our ukulele group, please contact me.

Click the ‘continue’ button to read a list of the songs to date.

1. Act Naturally
2. Ain’t Misbehavin:
3. Ain’t She Sweet (easy and jazzy)
4. All I Have To Do Is Dream
5. All Of Me
6. All Shook Up
7. Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life (G and F)
8. As Time Goes By
9. Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest
10. Besame Mucho (Consuelo Velazquez)
11. Blue Moon (F and A)
12. Blue Skies (Irving Berlin)
13. Buckets Of Rain (Bob Dylan)
14. Bye, Bye, Blackbird
15. Cocktails For Two
16. Corrina, Corrina
17. Dance Me To The End Of Love (L. Cohen)
18. Dear Prudence (Beatles)
19. Dock Of The Bay (Sittin’ On The…)
20. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (in C and F)
21. Down In The Boondocks
22. Everybody Knows (L. Cohen)
23. First We Take Manhattan (L. Cohen)
24. Five Foot Two, Eyes Of Blue
25. Fly Me To The Moon
26. For Me And My Gal
27. For What It’s Worth
28. Georgia On My Mind
29. Girl From The North Country
30. Glory Of Love, The
31. Goody, Goody
32. Gotta Travel On (Bobby Grammer)
33. Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)
34. Happy Together – The Turtles
35. Honey Pie
36. Hot Tamales (They’re Red Hot)
37. House Of The Rising Sun, The
38. House Of The Rising Sun :
39. I Ain’t Lazy, I’m Just Dreamin’
40. I’m Into Something Good
41. I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You
42. I Shall Be Released
43. If Not For You (Dylan)
44. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (F and G)
45. It Ain’t Me Babe (Dylan)
46. It Takes A Lot To Laugh; It Takes A Train To Cry
47. It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie
48. It’s Only A Paper Moon
49. Jeepers Creepers
50. Just A Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody
51. King Of The Road (Roger Miller)
52. Lay, Lady, Lay (Bob Dylan)
53. Light My Fire (Doors)
54. A Little Bit Of Rain (Fred Neil)
55. Loch Lomond (Trad)
56. Long Black Veil (The Band)
57. Love Potion Number Nine
58. Mack The Knife
59. Makin’ Whoopee
60. Me And My Shadow
61. Monster Mash
62. Moonglow
63. Moonlight Bay
64. Mr. Bojangles (Jerry Jeff Walker)
65. Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter
66. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out
67. Octopus’s Garden
68. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
69. Paint It Black (Rolling Stones)
70. Pale Blue Eyes – Velvet Underground
71. Peggy Day
72. Return To Sender
73. Roll Along, Prairie Moon
74. St. James Infirmary Blues (Trad.)
75. St. Louis Blues (W.C. Handy)
76. Satin Doll
77. Shine On Harvest Moon
78. She’s Not There
79. Side By Side
80. Simple Twist Of Fate (Bob Dylan)
81. Singin’ The Blues
82. Sixteen Tons
83. Somewhere Over The Rainbow (easy and jazzy)
84. South Of The Border
85. Spoon River (Michael Smith)
86. Sporting Life Blues (This Sporting Life)
87. Stand By Me
88. Stray Cat Strut (Stray Cats)
89. Streets Of London (in C and D)
90. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
91. Sunday Morning – Velvet Underground
92. Sweet Baby James (James Taylor)
93. Sweet Sue, Just You
94. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (2 Versions)
95. Swinging On A Star
96. Tell Old Bill (Trad.)
97. That’s Amore
98. Things We Said Today (Beatles)
99. Tip-Toe Through The Tulips With Me
100. Till There Was You (in C and D)
101. Tower Of Song (Leonard Cohen)
102. Ukulele Lady (Gus Kahn)
103. The Way You Look Tonight
104. The Weight (The Band)
105. When I’m Sixty-Four (Beatles)
106. When The Red, Red Robin…
107. Where Do You Go To, My Lovely?
108. Where Have All The Flowers Gone?  (Pete Seeger)
109. Why Don’t You Do Right?
110. Wild Horses – The Rolling Stones
111. You Always Hurt The One You Love (easy and jazzy)
112. You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere (Bob Dylan)
113. Young At Heart

If there’s any song you’d particularly like me to arrange for the ukulele, please let me know.