About Kumbayah#
I used to make fun of this song when I was growing up, and I still do, even though I think the Boy Scouts of America are cool. It is an African American spiritual, and it has spent a long time as a campfire song, which is where most of us learned it and started teasing it.
Teasing aside, it is a very friendly piece for a new player. The tab stays between C and A, the same six notes taught in the first five lessons on this site, with no sharps or flats and nothing that needs a sub-hole or a thumb hole on the 12-hole ocarina. Four lines, thirty notes. Play it slowly and evenly, and let each note run into the next.
Kumbayah Lyrics#
Kumbayah, my Lord, kumbayah,
Kumbayah, my Lord, kumbayah,
Kumbayah, my Lord, kumbayah,
Oh Lord, kumbayah.
Someone’s singing, Lord, kumbayah,
Someone’s singing, Lord, kumbayah,
Someone’s singing, Lord, kumbayah,
Oh Lord, kumbayah.
Someone’s crying, Lord, kumbayah,
Someone’s crying, Lord, kumbayah,
Someone’s crying, Lord, kumbayah,
Oh Lord, kumbayah.
Someone’s praying, Lord, kumbayah,
Someone’s praying, Lord, kumbayah,
Someone’s praying, Lord, kumbayah,
Oh Lord, kumbayah.
Kumbayah Ocarina Tab#
| C | E | G | G | G | A | A | G | ||
| C | E | G | G | G | F | E | D | ||
| C | E | G | G | G | A | A | G | ||
| F | F | E | D | D | C |