Chords for guitar-accompanied campfire songs can sure come in handy when you're planning a camping event. Learn where to find dozens of your favorite tunes.
Resources for Campfire Songs
Almost everyone has a favorite campfire song, and most of these songs are fairly simple to play. All you need are a set of chords and, ideally, the lyrics to go with them, and you're ready to play. Strumming basic chords isn't too difficult even for most beginning players. Use LTK's chord chart for diagrams of all the chords you need.
In addition, try these original LoveToKnow versions of campfire songs. Click on the image of each song to download a PDF. See Guide for Adobe Printables for help with downloading the file if you have any difficulty.
This Land Is Your Land
Written in 1940 by folk legend Woody Guthrie, a huge influence on American music, this song has become a campfire standard. It's easy to play and sing, and its lyrics capture the magic of the great outdoors.
Click on the image above to download. Each chord is placed on the lyric syllable and beat of the melody where you make the chord change on the guitar. This original LoveToKnow lead sheet includes some chords--Dsus4 and D2 (also known as Dsus2)--for brief flourishes of ornamentation at the end of phrases. These chords are not essential to playing the song and can be ignored if too difficult.
Amazing Grace
This mellow but moving classic spiritual is another campfire standard that can add a wonderful reflective mood to the gathering of the occasion calls for it.
Click on the image above to download. Each chord is placed on the lyric syllable and beat of the melody where you make the chord change on the guitar.
She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain
Every campfire sing-a-long should have some upbeat songs that make you tap your toes. She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain fits the bill perfectly. Fun for kids and adults alike, this song sheet will have your group smiling and bobbing their heads the moment you start strumming.
Click on the image above to download. Each chord is placed on the lyric syllable and beat of the melody where you make the chord change on the guitar.
Chords Online
Check out the following resources to find campfire song guitar chords both online and in book form.
- Country Living and Farm Lifestyles - This website features guitar chords for traditional and timeless favorites you can play around the campfire while you have an old-fashioned sing along. Try Home On the Range and Oh Susannah!
- Chordie.com - Chordie offers public songbooks contributed by users that include chords, lyrics and some tablature to a variety of songs. You'll find some old, traditional campfire tunes amongst the listings, but there are many more contemporary songs that could also make a fun sing along.
- The SpongeBob Campfire Song - UltimateGuitar.com offers chords and lyrics to this campfire song from the ever-popular cartoon, SpongeBob SquarePants. In case you're not familiar with the song, the object is to sing it over and over while singing it faster each time. By the time you reach the last round, everyone will collapse in giggles.
- SongDrops.com - This is a very nice website that offers a large selection of children's campfire songs and guitar chords to go with them. You'll find traditional childhood tunes and well as some Girls and Boy Scouts songs. The website also advertises itself as a "child-safe site" so young players can spend time there learning song chords on their own.
- YouTube's Guitar Instructor Videos - YouTube has an endless supply of professionally trained guitarists who are more than happy to teach you some campfire songs. This video collection below of 20 classic campfire songs is a perfect example. The guitarist cuts to the chase and includes on-screen chord fingerings as he is playing.
- GuitarHippies.com - This site's take on campfire songs focuses on "non-kitschy" tunes that are drawn from acoustic versions of well-known folk, rock, or soul artists, such as Neil Young, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Otis Redding, and others. It's less for the kiddies and less traditional and a little more hip, like a coffee shop concert in the forest.
- Acoustic Music Archives - If you'd like to get an international flavor, this is the site for you. This educational site not only provides the chords and lyrics for a long list of beloved folk songs from other countries perfect for campfire singing, it includes the history of each song and a video or audio stream so that you can learn the song if you've never heard it before. It includes countries such as:
- English folk songs (English Country Garden, The Foggy Dew)
- Canadian Folk Songs (She's Like the Swallow, When You and I Were Young, Maggie)
- Irish folk songs (Carrickfergus, Danny Boy)
- Scottish folk songs (Loch Lomond (The Bonnie Banks Of Loch Lomond), My Bonnie)
- Caribbean folk songs (All My Trials, Sloop John B). Who knew that the famous Beach Boys song Sloop John B was actually a Caribbean folk song from around 1900? These are the kinds of things you'll learn at this fascinating archive.
- French folk songs (Alouette, Frère Jacques)
- Country Tabs - If you're a camper who just loves country music and not much else, and your friends feel the same way, then your sing-a-long would be much more enjoyable if you were playing the hits of country music. Country Tabs is an in-depth guitar chord sheet site dedicated solely to country music.
- Hymn Chords - If your campout is more of a revival than a sing-a-long, a list of beautiful hymns might be better suited for you. The Hymn Chords site provides chord sheets for a huge number of popular hymns in the public domain.
Campfire Songbooks
You may find it handier to have your songs in book form so you can take them with you where the Internet is unavailable. The following books offer campfire song guitar chords as well as lyrics.
- Campfire Songs, edited by Irene Maddox and Rosalyn Cobb, is filled with over 110 songs. If you're looking for a particular favorite, it's probably in here. This book contains cowboys songs like Home On the Range and Red River Valley. You'll also find spiritual tunes like Amazing Grace, He's Got the Whole World in His Hands, and Michael Row the Boat Ashore. American folk favorites include Clementine, Down in the Valley, and On Top of Old Smokey.
- Campfire Folk Songs, from Hal Leonard Publishing, includes 40 folk songs to enjoy as you gather around the fire. The listing includes chords for Blowin' in the Wind, Turn! Turn! Turn!, and American Pie among others.
- John Denver Anthology for Easy Guitar includes some of the most beautiful songs ever written, and they're perfect for a campfire gathering. You'll find chords to classic tunes like Take Me Home, Country Roads, Annie's Song, Sunshine On My Shoulders, and Rocky Mountain High.
- Peter, Paul and Mary: Around the Campfire is a must have collection for your campfire repertoire. Songs and chords from this iconic folk group include such favorites as Kumbaya, Puff the Magic Dragon, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, and 500 Miles.
Don't Forget the Most Important Thing
Make sure you begin practicing these songs well ahead of your trip so you're comfortable playing them. Your fellow campers will appreciate some accompaniment, and everyone will have a good time.
