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“Row, Row, Row Your Boat” is supposed to be a metaphor for life. The current takes us ever onwards, and we continue merrily to row, row, row as we progress gently (hopefully) down the stream.
Except we all sang it with the parody lyrics about throwing our teacher overboard. Or was that just me?
The timeless tune that lives on in the crude minds of third graders is credited to Eliphalet Oram Lyte, and while he definitely did write the lyrics, the melody he published in 1852 was very different from the one we know today. The modern melody didn’t emerge until 1881 in a separate printing, though whoever wrote the new melody went uncredited.
“Row, Row, Row Your Boat” Playing Tips
The melody of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” is simple mostly because we all already know it so well, but like a lot of children’s songs, it uses 6/8 time and is actually somewhat complex rhythmically when written out.
Don’t be intimidated by the mixture of note types. You know the tune. Play it how you know it should sound, but pay attention to how that translates to a pattern of quarter notes, eighth notes, and dotted notes on the page.
Both the low G and high G versions of the song include the tune in two different keys (G/C and C/F, respectively). Learning how to transpose a song into different keys is an important skill. Luckily, it’s mostly about shifting a pattern.
Once you learn a tune in one key on uke, you can play it in another key just by moving your hand to a different starting point and making a few adjustments. You can practice doing this with other tunes as well.
If you have a low G uke, you can download the high G sheet music and play “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” in three different keys. High G can’t get down low enough to play all three, though. The version in the key of F does require moving your hand to grab the 8th fret, though, so be careful!
Click the link or the ‘Download’ button below to see the sheet music if your browser doesn’t display the embedded PDF.
“Row, Row, Row Your Boat” Low G Sheet Music Download
“Row, Row, Row Your Boat” High G Sheet Music Download
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