River Waltz Chords

KeyC CapoNone TuningStandard Difficulty Plays691

River Waltz by Cowboy Junkies is a moderately challenging guitar song played in the key of C. It uses the chords C, F, G, Dm and Am. Use the transpose and diagram tools on this page to change the key, see each shape, or simplify the chords.

Transpose
C
Text
16
Speed
  			
C 
I'm going to find me a dying river  
and strike a deal with her I'll say,  

      F 
I'll fold you in two and I'll carry you away  
     C 
to a place where your headwaters will flow  
                      G 
clean through to your mouth.  
    C 
In return I'll request a small sanctuary 
       F 
by her banks where we will live  
with our small family  
         C 
she will water our garden  
                            G 
and clean the dirt from our skin. 
             F 
As the world clamours at our door  
        G                      C 
we will dance and not let them in. 

    C 
And if one day we wake up to a bed dry as a bone  
F 
find our river stolen find our sanctuary gone 
        C 
we will stand and take stock and be grateful  
                   G 
for what we've not lost. 
        C 
We will pack up our bags, pack our small family  
F 
head across the valley to where the aspen trees  
C 
shiver as they ascend -  
                          G 
the green hills rising to blue.  
       F                            G 
At the edge of the chopping we will turn  
             C 
and bid fond adieu. 

F                  C 
All that I know to true  
                     G 
is the touch of your hand on my skin.  
F                        C 
One look from you can so easily soothe  
         G 
all this turmoil within.  
      Dm 
As we dance cheek to cheek  
         Am 
with our feet so completely  
C                        G 
locked in a time all our own. 
Dm 
I stop to speak  
    Am 
but you gently keep me  
C                     G 
moving in time to the song. 
         F             C           G 
And in a voice that is sloppy with gin  
                       C 
you say, let the world spin. 


I'm going to find me a dying river  
and strike a deal with her I'll say,  
     F 
I'll fold you in two and I'll carry you away  
     C 
to a place where your headwaters will flow  
                      G 
clean through to your mouth.  
   C 
In return I'll request a small sanctuary 
       F 
by her banks where we will live  
with our small family  
         C 
she will water our garden  
                            G 
and clean the dirt from our skin. 
             F 
As the world clamours at our door  
        G                      C 
we will dance and not let them in. 

F G C 
    	

Chord diagrams

Guitar tuner

--
Start the tuner and play a string

Reference tones

Standard tuning, lowest to highest. Click a string to play it; the string the mic hears is highlighted.

Click Start tuner and allow microphone access. The needle centers and turns green when a string is in tune (within 5 cents).
No microphone? You can still tap any string above to hear its exact reference pitch.

Metronome

100 BPM Andante